Let there be light

[garage guy1of38]

Got my lights up and temp power run to them for testing.

I'm right around 80 lumens per square foot with the LED Panels and the LED Pot lights.

Total light output is 119,440 lumens.

The panels and pot lights are all 3000k too so they are not harsh on the eyes and the don't artificially "color" things. Very nice quality of light they emit.

 

[Richard Cranium]

looks like lots of light to me.

 

[Matt Matt]

Depending on your age, about 50 lm per square foot is ideal for shop General lighting. 100 lm per square-foot is more ideal for guys 45+ for general shop lighting. I think you'll do fine. You might need some certain task lighting depending on what you do. But it looks great.

I haven't been completely sold on LEDs for lighting yet. I'm still waiting for the price to come down.

I personally am running (floresent) about 225 lm per square foot at 9 foot ceilings, But most of my shop/Garage is high task.

How are you fueling heat for your garage? NG?

 

[Platonic Solid]

I'm a big fan of the LED edge lit flat panels. They have no hot spots, just a solid smooth even panel of light. A little efficiency is sacrificed, but well worth it in my book for the effect. What brand did you buy?

 

[cybrdyke]

I'm right around 80 lumens per square foot with the LED Panels and the LED Pot lights.

100 lm per square-foot is more ideal for guys 45+ for general shop lighting.

If you are measuring the amount of light that you have at any given target, you should be measuring foot-candles, either with a computer program or with a meter. If you're just dividing your total lumens by your square footage, you're wasting your time and probably have far less light than you think.
I only mention this because of the way you are wording your posts. When you say you have "x lumens per square foot", it tells me that you're doing it wrong.

CD

 

[garage guy1of38]

Depending on your age, about 50 lm per square foot is ideal for shop General lighting. 100 lm per square-foot is more ideal for guys 45+ for general shop lighting. I think you'll do fine. You might need some certain task lighting depending on what you do. But it looks great.

I haven't been completely sold on LEDs for lighting yet. I'm still waiting for the price to come down.

I personally am running (floresent) about 225 lm per square foot at 9 foot ceilings, But most of my shop/Garage is high task.

How are you fueling heat for your garage? NG?

NG to an IBC Combi Boiler

I'm a big fan of the LED edge lit flat panels. They have no hot spots, just a solid smooth even panel of light. A little efficiency is sacrificed, but well worth it in my book for the effect. What brand did you buy?

Glimmer.

If you are measuring the amount of light that you have at any given target, you should be measuring foot-candles, either with a computer program or with a meter. If you're just dividing your total lumens by your square footage, you're wasting your time and probably have far less light than you think.
I only mention this because of the way you are wording your posts. When you say you have "x lumens per square foot", it tells me that you're doing it wrong.

CD

I Won't do the actual test until walls are finished. Any test now would be useless.

So yes....the above is strictly a math calculation given known on paper parameters.

Because we install extremely high end home theatres I'm planning on using our equipment to get proper measurements of foot lamberts at 15-20 different points of reference around the shop.

Our software also says I should have an SPL of 121db given my audio set up, but again, I will be measuring that too.

 

[barnee]

Very nice. I'm in buying mode for my garage light and have been eyeballing the flat panels as an option. I was going to use an LED wrap light but these are much better for similar cost.

How are they attached to the ceiling? Can you place a fastener anywhere or are there specific locations. Trying to figure out how hard its going to be to mount them to my framing. I also see you have access holes near some but not all, and did you use a ceiling box or is the wire just coming through the drywall?

I suppose you could also put these on a vertical wall to light underneath a lift.

 

[Falcon67]

I can't stand "3000K" LEDs. Too orange for me. I have to have 3500-5000 to be happy LOL. Looks good in the pics. Flat panels are the cat's meow. These are small 5 row x 24" flats on our new trailer - great lights. 5000K I think.

 

[garage guy1of38]

Very nice. I'm in buying mode for my garage light and have been eyeballing the flat panels as an option. I was going to use an LED wrap light but these are much better for similar cost.

How are they attached to the ceiling? Can you place a fastener anywhere or are there specific locations. Trying to figure out how hard its going to be to mount them to my framing. I also see you have access holes near some but not all, and did you use a ceiling box or is the wire just coming through the drywall?

I suppose you could also put these on a vertical wall to light underneath a lift.

They attach in mount holes which I screwed into the trusses (24 inch centres on both trusses and the span of the panels). Four screws per frame.

Holes are pre drilled but you could drill your own too.

I'm installing two on a wall for a detailing area for paint correction and detail work.

I can't stand "3000K" LEDs. Too orange for me. I have to have 3500-5000 to be happy LOL. Looks good in the pics. Flat panels are the cat's meow. These are small 5 row x 24" flats on our new trailer - great lights. 5000K I think.

Looks great.

I needed something that would show true color reproduction. 5k's are nice but they really influence perceived color versus that same color in reality.

 

[American Locomotive]

I needed something that would show true color reproduction. 5k's are nice but they really influence perceived color versus that same color in reality.

You're mixing up color rendering index with color temperature. 5000k light is about the same color temperature of actual sunlight (true daylight is closer to around 5500k). There's a reason why almost every paint-booth in the world uses 5000k 90+ CRI lights.

Color rendering index is how "accurately" colors are reproduced. Traditional 5000k or 6500k bulbs had pretty bad CRI, so a lot of colors would seem off. However, modern 5000k LEDs can have CRIs of 90+, and specialty fluorescent bulbs like the Sylvania DSGN 50 or GE Chroma 50 do as well.

 

[cybrdyke]

I needed something that would show true color reproduction. 5k's are nice but they really influence perceived color versus that same color in reality.

What is reality? Daytime? Daytime at 8am or Daytime at noon? Are we talking Anchorage or Ecuador?
Cool color temps like 5000k, even with 90 CRI, wont show your red paint well. Warm color temps wont show dark blues and dark greens well. And forget about white.
Point is, you wont get true color reproduction under artificial light.

 

[Showkey]

^^^^^^^thank you.......and its a garage not a photography shop and car **** does not count or care.

 

[garage guy1of38]

Thanks all. Learned something today.

And mine is not going to be finished like a garage, it's a 1500 square foot living room with my summer cars parked in it. I already have a 30x40 "shop" for wrenching and working on stuff.

The interior finishing budget is well over the build budget and the A/V budget is larger than both!

 

[Ak Jim]

Thanks all. Learned something today.

And mine is not going to be finished like a garage, it's a 1500 square foot living room with my summer cars parked in it. I already have a 30x40 "shop" for wrenching and working on stuff.

The interior finishing budget is well over the build budget and the A/V budget is larger than both!

Sounds like my kind of place!