is this enough light?

[madmanmerc]

Hey boys. first of all, just want to let you all know that this is an amazing forum. I just bought 4 t8 fixtures, 4 feet 2 bulbs each, total of 8 bulbs. Will this be enough for my garage? I have a 10x20 garage by the way. I am looking for enough light to detail the car, but mostly to impress my annoying neighbor lol. All responses will be greatly appreciated

 

[Oldbear]

Good rule of thumb is 1.80 watts per square foot. Your .3 short. I'd add a fixture or two on the walls if you plan on detailing; plus a few more on the ceiling. I went from one 100 watt to 7 32watt x2 + task lighting. World of difference - plus a fresh coat of white paint...

 

[ddawg16]

Boys? No boys here......

You can't use watts as a deciding factor....the light output from a T8 vs T5 or LED is different.

But as Oldbear says, your running a little light on the light (pun intended)....what you have will be fine for general lighting but for detail work your going to want a bit more light. A portable light might work for you.

 

[Modifieddriver]

Boys? No boys here......

QUOTE]

I disagree. We're all boys with toys.

As DW says, "Let's go racing boys".

 

[ddawg16]

Boys? No boys here......

QUOTE]

I disagree. We're all boys with toys.

As DW says, "Let's go racing boys".

Different inflection....

But when you say "hey boys".....well....I'm not one of those boys....though I do have plenty of friends who are....

 

[Steevo]

Back on topic here, if you use lumens of light output as a lighting value, you can more consistently calculate lighting.
If you shoot for 125-150 lumens per sq/ft, evenly distributed, it is good general work lighting. I prefer closer to 200 for a workshop.

 

[madmanmerc]

thanks steevo. ill aim for that number. dawg, i only meant it in a freindly fashion, seeing that we are all car guys, i thought maybe we can be a bit personal

 

[madmanmerc]

thanks jeremy. my garage is already painted white. these are the lights that i bought. i will try the calculations that steevo was talking about and determine how many more fixtures i will need

 

[madmanmerc]

by the way, they have plastic covers on them, does that make a diff?

 

[e-tek]

I'd say you close - for the ceiling. I have 8 fixtures on the ceiling in a 24x40 shop. But then I have 4 - 2 bulb fixtures on each wall. Still, when doing work in some spots - especially in the corners or under the lift, I add the 2x500W halogen fixture, or a couple incandescent trouble lights.

Plastic covers eat up a lot of light, plus get dirty and trap bugs. Mine are bare.

Of course my eyesight was better before turning 45 and I'm now 50!

 

[madmanmerc]

etek, im 39 so i hope my sight is not to bad yet lol. jeremy i have a 20 amp breaker running to my garage light, but the walls are already sheetrocked, so one switch will have to do. I thought abought putting up some shop lights with the string, but i dont like the way it looks.
by the way, i once saw a formula here on how to calculate lumens per square foot. can someone please post it for me if you know it? thanks

 

[Steevo]

Assuming a 10x20 floor space, you have 200 square feet
If you have fixtures that each take two 4' T8 tubes, they are typically right around 2800 lumens per tube, so we'll use that. Let's say you have 4 fixtures.

Take# tubes times lumens per tube times number of fixtures 2800*2*4=22,400 lumens
divide total lumens by square feet 22,400/200=112 lumens per square foot

If you want to calculate how many fixtures you need, and assume 2 bulbs each at 2800 lumens, you use 5600 for lumens per fixture
So,

Lumens desired per Sq/ft X square feet divided by 5600

or

(L/sq/Ft * Sq/Ft)/5600

If you want 150 it looks like this:

(150*200)/5600=5.357 fixtures

Replace 150 with whatever lumens per sq ft you desire.

Go with six and call it done.

 

[madmanmerc]

thanks steevo. 6 it is

 

[ddawg16]

thanks steevo. ill aim for that number. dawg, i only meant it in a freindly fashion, seeing that we are all car guys, i thought maybe we can be a bit personal

Mad...I was just having fun busting your chops......it's what us 'boys' do....I guess I really should toss one of those icons in the message when I post...

 

[madmanmerc]

np dawg, even though i was planning to go to cali and go ninja on you
so i have 6 fixtures now, and i bought a fixture with a power string for the work bench area, total of 7, ill fill you guys in on how the lighting is