Light Fixture Layout Collections

[wagspe208]

Whew.... lighting, lighting, lighting.
Fixtures, bulbs, frosted shield things...
Makes my head hurt.
I am working on my lighting now. It is a machine shop. Race engine work. It needs to be bright!
I am a fan of 8' fixtures with the (4) 4' bulbs. I think you call them tandem or whatever.
White painted OSB walls. White metal tin ceiling. Light gray coated floor.
Equipment will be lined on wall as shown in one pic.
(it is headed to paint shop tomorrow... had a fire destroy my old shop... long sad story).
My ceiling is 11'6". I saw the link for the shrineretrofits joint. I will spend some time checking out what I think I need.
Wags

Boat pic is mine. I generally build blown alcohol chevy stuff.

I'm leaning towards these. No real reason why, other than 8' 4 bulb fixtures. I am not a huge fan of the reflectors, though. How much do I gain with those ugly things?

http://www.shineretrofits.com/us-en...low-profile-reflector.html?gpc_from_compare=1

 

[turtl631]

Finally got my lights installed. Maxlite fixtures, James 18.5W 5000K bulbs. I have eight fixtures oriented horizontally over the two car, "daily driver side" of the garage, and then a platonic solid style ring of light around the shop side of the garage, with a total of 14 fixtures. So, 22 fixtures in a 24 deep, 36 wide, 10 foot ceiling garage. Light output is excellent, I am curious to see how things look once I have everything organized.

Looking at this photo now, it appears a bit shadowy and dim. I can assure you it's quite bright, my contractor and electrician think it's relatively hilarious that I did this.

The garage is pretty significantly influenced by this board, and I am grateful for all of the help I received from countless members here, directly and indirectly.

 

[T8R]

Platonic,
I have put up a 40'x60'x16' shop that is lined with white steel with a 15'x8' office/utility room. I having trouble figure out how many T8 32 watt 6 bulb fixtures I will need and what bulbs to use? Thank you for your input

 

[Westbank]

Anyone has feedback on the Metalux (Cooper) SLSTP LED fixtures ? They are fairly cheap at 70$. 4000K, 4000 Lumens and CRI of 83. I know the CRI is not impressive but for 70$ it’s not bad.

Specs here: http://www.cooperindustries.com/cont...-SLSTP-SSS.pdf

 

[RaskyR1]

Since I’ve spent a fair amount of time doing Light Fixture Layouts for GJ members, I figured I'd put them all in one thread as a general reference guide. I’ll start with the latest and add more as time permits.

All Isoplots in footcandles and done at 30" workplane height (30" from the floor).

Hi PS. I'm getting ready to start wiring up the garage and would love to get a layout suggestion from you if possible.

I've been watching your thread on the best fixture and based on that I'm now thinking of going with the LED set up.

Best bang for the buck LED bypass 4ft 2-lamp strip light known as of 11/23/2015:

Price for 10 2-lamp 4ft LED bypass fixtures:

18W James LED $11.99 x 20 = $240 + Free Shipping
(Be sure to get frosted lens)

MaxLite LED Ready Strip Hsg $12.50 x 10 = $125.00 + $20 shipping

Total = $385 / 10 = $38.50 per complete fixture (all tax and shipping included),
4500 lumens, 36W, 125 Lumens per Watt

Aside for my own vehicle parking the main use for the garage will be for high end detailing, so lightning is very important. The garage is 24'x40'x11', the walls and ceilings will be painted white and the floor with either be a light grey epoxy or possibly a light grey/dark grey metallic epoxy for a more "marble" look. Most of my work will be focused with the vehicle park on the lift, but wet work will be performed in the front bay. The edge of the lift is 20' from the main garage door. I plan to install workbenches and cabinets in the location shown in red, but they may still change slightly.

Thanks!
Rasky

 

[qcdstick]

I am in the middle of a 30x45 garage addition. I may be a little late to the party as I have already roughed in electrical boxes for where I thought I wanted lighting. Now, after spending half a day reading through the entire "Best Light Fixture Ever!" thread I am both more educated (I hope) and more confused (of this I am sure) than when I started, but this is all completely new to me.

The space: 30'x45' in total (see attached PDF, 1/4"=1' scale). The back half is 22'x30' with 13' ceilings, the front half 23'x30' with 10' ceilings. I will be using this space for general car maintenance/shop work (hobby), and have provisions to install up to 2 lifts in the tall half. Everything will be drywall and painted white, floor unfinished concrete save for a sealer and hardener.

I had planned for 6 8' 4bulb fixtures on the 13' side with a pair in the center and one pair to either side. I then figured 6 4' 2bulb units on the 10' half. I had guessed this would be TONS of light, and had the electricians rough it in that way, and now after reading on here I'm starting to 2nd guess myself. I found the Maxlite + James LED setup very intriguing, and affordable. 2160lumens x 24 bulbs over 660 square feet (just for the 13' ceiling work area) is 78 lumens per square foot, but I am much less sure of how the ceiling height factors into this in terms of real world use.

Am I on the right path here? Should there be an alternate layout I need to be considering? As the drywall is already hung and ceiling insulation blown in I would rather not move the locations of the electrical boxes at this point, but that is not to say it couldn't be done if it were to make a big difference in the lighting.

 

[roadrunner255]

Re: ihscomputers 40x60x14

2 wiring diagram options.
Option 1 uses more connectors.
Option 2 uses some wire connection holes from lampholders.

Strip all wires between 3/8" to 1/2".

All wire connections should have slack.
A few extra inches of wire is good.
Coiling lots of extra wire into the fixture is bad = more RFI.

Quick question; what is the most common wiring up the tandem lights from the 2 options above?

Thanks

 

[Platonic Solid]

roadrunner255 - I'm amazed that 9 months later all the prices and links in the quoted post are still accurate, plus at 120 lumens per $1 and $80,000 hr + lamp life, it's still a good buy. To answer your question: Option #1 is the least likely to damage the lamp holder wire connections.

 

[mike528]

I will be finishing the ceiling in my garage his summer and am considering changing my lighting setup to the leds recommended on the other thread. Need some help with layout. Was thinking something along the lines of post #13-15. Dimensions are 25x25x8. Garage doors are what I'm worried the most about.
Both corners are the same.

Between the doors

Back wall will get some wall cabinets and all walls will eventually be painted white on the top half and light gray on the bottom. Ceiling will also be white

 

[boat2230]

Re: Light Fixture Layout Collections frosted or clear

I hope this is the right place for this question. I am just completing my pole barn
36x40 12ft ceiling. 2 windows in each wall and side door in one wall, a 9ft x 10 side gets a lift and 14 ft x 10 high foot doors and entrance door in front. It will have drywall top and bottom. I am using the lay out for FSKSS recommended by Platonic. I scored some used t8 4ft 2 bulbs fixtures (8) and placed some 2100 lumens clear 4000k tubes in them. then then tried the 5000k frosted. They, frosted seemed to be less light. I also put up the covers(diffusers?) on the fixture housings. At this point drywall is not up and this was only one row 3,5 out from the wall length of building, boy its a lot of light. My friend helping me is and electrician and they are installing a lot of these clear in some high end homes and is pushing the clear but from what I have read here the frosted is better? The shop will be used for car repair and restoration as well as boat repair and some woodworking.They have a local source from a guy who has the factory making these things five year no question replacement his cost is right in line with james and might be same source. Would I be making a mistake using the clear? too confused to understand and this is gonna be my one and only chance to get it right for a few years?? HELP any and all input is appreciated, just don't want to look back and go should have done it different. Bottom line pro and con of frosted tube vs clear for my intended use, or modifying fixture placement based on tube use .

 

[Platonic Solid]

boat2230 - You will sacrifice some lumen output going from clear to frosted lensed lamps. Generally, the frosted lens will give you a wider beam spread. In typical exposed lamp strip fixtures I recommend frosted to reduce the harsh point light source emitted from individual LEDs. On the flip side, with 12 ft ceilings, the harsh point light source may not bother you as much.

 

[boat2230]

Thank You very much!! All your time and effort and posting about layouts and light choices are very much appreciated and made it very easy for me to make the leap of faith to the LED band wagon and get a head start on lighting my shop
.

 

[TOYJOETA]

I have a 36x48 pole barn. Getting ready to do lighting with the led's from the best lighting fixture ever. According to this http://www.visual-3d.com/tools/interior/default.aspx?id=14782 I'll have 44FC. Is this bright enough for a shop? I have no frame of reference.

Thanks Joe.

 

[Platonic Solid]

TOYJOETA - If this is a shop that you don't mind using supplemental task lighting as needed then you can get by with 44fc average. For professional shops I would aim for 90fc average. How much light you personally need depends on the level of detail you want to be able to perform with your general lighting layout and your visual acuity.

 

[the_cowman]

I'll throw this out there and see if anyone has suggestions. Looking at lighting the 36x52 shop in the attached layout. Ceilings are 16', ceiling and wall finished in white pole-barn style ribbed steel. I'd like to go with LED lighting for energy savings/not having to change bulbs. Not hung up on any particular fixture

Most of the space is probably going to be parking/storage, 90% of the work I'm going to do will be in the area between the overhead door on the left and the loft. So, I'm thinking about something like a row or two of basic lighting and then a few extra fixtures over the work area. The contractor was suggesting 3 rows of 3-4 2-bulb 4' fixtures. Seemed reasonable to me but I see the lighting layouts on here have a metric crapton more lights per foot than that...

My last garage was about 20 x 30 and had two standard screw-in type fixtures in the middle that I put 250w equivalent CFLs into, then 2 2-bulb 4' shop lights on each side and I never felt like I didn't have enough light if that helps.

 

[TOYJOETA]

TOYJOETA - If this is a shop that you don't mind using supplemental task lighting as needed then you can get by with 44fc average. For professional shops I would aim for 90fc average. How much light you personally need depends on the level of detail you want to be able to perform with your general lighting layout and your visual acuity.

Thanks. That was with 18 fixtures. If I move some of the stringers in my rafters and add an other row and go to 24 I get 66cf which I think for now will suit my needs. I plan on having a couple drop lights for working under vehicles. So for now that's all my budget will allow. Thanks for all your input it's been very helpful.

 

[LB62]

Finally got my lights installed. Maxlite fixtures, James 18.5W 5000K bulbs. I have eight fixtures oriented horizontally over the two car, "daily driver side" of the garage, and then a platonic solid style ring of light around the shop side of the garage, with a total of 14 fixtures. So, 22 fixtures in a 24 deep, 36 wide, 10 foot ceiling garage. Light output is excellent, I am curious to see how things look once I have everything organized.

Looking at this photo now, it appears a bit shadowy and dim. I can assure you it's quite bright, my contractor and electrician think it's relatively hilarious that I did this.


The garage is pretty significantly influenced by this board, and I am grateful for all of the help I received from countless members here, directly and indirectly.

Turtl,

On the platonic side how far of the walls, side, front and back?

 

[Joe Cool]

Is anyone using Dialux Evo to plan their garage lighting using the recommended James LED combination from Platonic Solid?
If so what photometric IES file are you using? I've downloaded the IES file from the James Lighting site but they appear as small cube fixture on my layout rather than the rectangular fixture I expect.

BTW. some incredible garages and lighting solution here.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Joe Cool - Here is a link to a 2-lamp James strip light fixture IES file I made. It downloads as a zip file but it's not actually a zip file. After download, rename to remove the ".zip" at the end and it's ready to use.

 

[Atmartin23]

Platonic Solid - I've learned a ton reading your posts and used that information to layout the lighting in my shop. One thing I've run into and have gotten mixed positions on is light angle. Specifically, I'm considering 2 different LEDs (1) 5000k, 2200lm, 120 degree or (2) 5000k, 2000lm, 240 degree. Both are available on beeslighting.com. I made my own light fixtures for cost and simplicity and my whole shop is painted semi-gloss white(ish). I've heard the 240 deg would be better since it would reflect off the ceiling and give more even lighting and I've heard 120 deg would be better because the light is focused to give more light at the work area. I'm leaning towards the 120 deg version. Seeing you as one of the experts in this area, what are your thoughts? Which light is best?

My shop is 19x25 with 10' ceilings. the light fixtures I made from 2x4 are angled 20 deg on each side. there's a few pictures here to show them.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=326099

 

[Platonic Solid]

Atmartin23 - For typical garage lighting go with 120°. I would only consider using 240° aperture for non-surface mounted hanging fixtures in applications where back-lighting is critical or for surface mounting on extremely low ceiling heights (less than 8ft).

 

[wmr71]

Looking for lighting help:

25'x22' garage with 9-6" ceilings. Would be surface mount lights since the ceiling is finished and smooth.

Currently have a lift in the space for one of my toys. tired of the single light on the ceiling as well as the one on the garage door opener being terribly inadequate.

let me know what else you might need from me-thanks in advance

Mike

 

[Joe Cool]

Not sure if this is the proper place to ask for assistance or if I should have started a new thread so please let me know if this isn't the right place.

After many hours of tutorials on Youtube and lots of redos I think that I have something that represents my shop in Dialux Evo.
So I have modeled my 36x50x13 shop and have laid out 61 4' 2 bulb fixtures with the James LED tubes to achieve 90fc on the workplane (Thanks Platonic Solid for the IES file). I have tried to do as much of this on my own but I now I have some questions:

1. Can someone (<cough> <cough> Platonic Solid )recommend a better layout? I think I may be a little overboard as most of the area is above 90fc but if I tried to cutting back on fixtures caused a significant reduction on fc output.
2. How do you get the garage doors to look the way they do in your models?
3. The floor has been painted in a little grey epoxy and the ceiling and walls are going to be covered in white PVC paneling. What should the reflective settings be to properly reflect that (no pun intended)?

I am currently trying to figure out how to place a 2 post and 4 post lift in the model as well as an 8' ceiling fan to see how that affects the lighting.

Any help/advice would be appreciated as figuring out the lighting is now holding up the completion of the shop and I would like to have this completed so that I can get around to using the shop for its intended purpose of restoring and storing vintage trucks.

Joe Cool

 

[wizo]

I updated my post with a little more info.

Requesting a little assistance. We are building a new home and I am looking to light my garage. I do mostly auto maintenance, detailing, and small projects in the garage. The space is 26'x22'x14' but you can subtract 4' for the stairs (22x22x14). The walls will be finished drywall (light grey), ceilings will be finished drywall in white. The floors will be a medium grey epoxy.

I am interested in a LED solution such as the Maxlite LSS2XT8USE4803 2 Lamp LED T8 with the James bulbs.
18 Watts - Daylight 5000K - James T818W1200BIXXDF50F1

Budget: Initial budget to be under $1,200, I can expand in the future, for now I need the layout to install the required electrical connections.

Concerns: Garage doors blocking lights when opened.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!!!

-Christopher

There is a beam that cuts down through the garage. This may interfere with the lighting as it sits down 16" from the finished 14' ceiling height.

View media item 60077
I used the lighting layout tool from Maxlite. I broke up the garage into two separate portions (each side of the beam). However the back side has 5 lights which seems overkill. This area will have work benches and tool boxes. I plan to have supplemental lighting suspended above the bench(s).
View media item 60079
The front of the garage has a total of 8 fixtures.
View media item 60078
View media item 59940View media item 59939View media item 59938

 

[Platonic Solid]

You've come a long way Joe!

1. If you email me your Evo file I'd like to play with the layout. I'll pm my email to you. If possible, I would start by spacing the 2 long rows of fixtures 3ft from the adjacent wall.

2. Here is a link to the garagedoor.m3d that I use.

3. Accurate material reflectance may be difficult to get. The best source is the manufacturer of the products. If that isn't possible, then I would expect white PVC to be no less than 70%. I would tend to leave the floor at the default standard of 20%.

I haven't seen any ceiling fan models and haven't been motivated to make my own.

 

[MrBalll]

Just need to clarify.

I have looked through most if not all of this lighting layout topic. I am looking mainly at posts #11 and #14. I have an interior of 28d x 24w x 14h. Would I be good in going with the same layout that was suggested to these two, basically a row on the outside of each car and lights at the top and bottom perpendicular? I'm mainly looking at #11.

Thanks for posting all that info, Platonic. Has helped me in deciding what to do. Just want to see if my 14' ceiling would need any changes. If anything I'm guessing have the lights closer together to make up for the height.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Joe Cool - Here's my recommendation for your layout:

(Image linked to larger image)


Here's the Dialux Isoplot PDF (linked)

I left your fixtures at your preferred 1ft from the side walls as requested. 36' is a bit tight for 3 bays.

 

[Platonic Solid]

For those trying to make the James LED strip light work with taller 12' to 14' ceilings, consider an adaptation of the Joe Cool layout above. If you have the room, put fixtures 2.5' to 3' from parallel walls.

 

[MJockey]

For those trying to make the James LED strip light work with taller 12' to 14' ceilings, consider an adaptation of the Joe Cool layout above. If you have the room, put fixtures 2.5' to 3' from parallel walls.

What .ies file are you using for the James led light strip? Also I see Bees Lighting is now selling a Diva Lite (James Industry) 12300 Lumens LED Linear Low Bay / High Bay Light Fixture. Any chance you know where to find the IES files for them. I looking for a LED option to Lithonia Lighting IBZ 454 WD. Thanks.

Also, I have been playing with DIALux 4.12, but I can't find a way output the 3-D image.

 

[Joe Cool]

What .ies file are you using for the James led light strip?

See post # 259

 

[Joe Cool]

Joe Cool - Here's my recommendation for your layout:

(Image linked to larger image)


Here's the Dialux Isoplot PDF (linked)

I left your fixtures at your preferred 1ft from the side walls as requested. 36' is a bit tight for 3 bays.

Thanks Platonic. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
I tried changing my model with the layout that you provided but my Isoplot isn't as even as yours. Did you tweak something in my model besides the fixture layout?

Is there any advantage if we move the fixtures from the side walls from 1ft to 3ft where we are clear of the garage doors?

 

[Platonic Solid]

Joe - I made a new simplified model based on yours for a couple reasons:

• The higher level of detail in your model made it take longer for Dialux to calculate and I don't like waiting when I'm running multiple tests and tweaks. My model has no windows or doors.
  
• The space under the stairs made the Max/Min isoplot info erroneous. The goal is to keep the Max/Min figure at 3 or less. I just inserted a full height rectangular cube to simulate the stair area.

You get slightly higher efficiency and reduce the bright spots on the walls by moving the fixtures away from the walls. Whether it’s worth doing has more to do with how you use the space, how you layout the objects in the space, and how important the overall aesthetic symmetry of the lighting layout is to you. Consider moving fixtures out from any walls where you anticipate putting shelves. Depending on how close the lift is to the wall, keeping those fixtures near the wall could work to your benefit.

 

[Dennx]

Hi and thanks for this resource. Any suggestions for an RV garage 15'x34' with 16' ceilings? There are three square 24"x24" windows near the top on the outside wall.

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ ^ Start planning to use T5HO flourescent since you have tall ceilings.

Those are your best bet now and common for gymnasiums, large buildings, etc.

 

[Dennx]

^ ^ ^ Start planning to use T5HO flourescent since you have tall ceilings.

Those are your best bet now and common for gymnasiums, large buildings, etc.

Not T8 high bay fixtures or bright LEDs?

 

[nsula_country]

Dennx,

16' is a middle ground for T5 and T8...

My shop is 40x60x17, 3/12 pitch. Inside this translates about 16' eve and 21' peak. I chose 4 lamp T8 high bays due to they are cheaper and operate reliably in a wider range of temperatures.

T5's will put out more lumens vs an equal lamp quantity T8 (with more watts 32w vs 54w) at almost twice the cost fixture and bulbs.

I'm waiting on my order to come in from ShineRetrofits. I can report out how they work once installed. I have a lumen meter and I am estimating 78-80 fc at 3' workplane.

CT

 

[Dennx]

Dennx,

16' is a middle ground for T5 and T8...

My shop is 40x60x17, 3/12 pitch. Inside this translates about 16' eve and 21' peak. I chose 4 lamp T8 high bays due to they are cheaper and operate reliably in a wider range of temperatures.

T5's will put out more lumens vs an equal lamp quantity T8 (with more watts 32w vs 54w) at almost twice the cost fixture and bulbs.

I'm waiting on my order to come in from ShineRetrofits. I can report out how they work once installed. I have a lumen meter and I am estimating 78-80 fc at 3' workplane.

CT

Thanks for the info. My ceilings are 16' and flat. I was looking at 4 lamp T8 fixtures as an alternative to LED. Which model did you get from ShineRetrofits?

 

[nsula_country]

These are the fixtures I bought. I will have 24 of them in 2400 sq/ft. Should be in this week, shipping today. I intentionally went with a fixture with a high (1.18) ballast factor. Lumens were more important than energy consumption!

For the 30x60 lean I just chose 12, T8 Tandem strip lights @ $46 and some change.

T8 Highbay http://www.shineretrofits.com/catalog/product/view/id/1540/s/us-energy-sciences-ohb-043204-ea-h-4-lamp-t8-high-bay-full-aluminum-body-light-fixture-with-high-power-ballast-and-miro4-reflector/

Also chose these highbays over some other choices due to surface mount capable.

Enjoy,

CT

 

[Skelly]

Platonic,

Can you take a quick look at my layout and provide some feedback on light count?

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5305986&postcount=197

Please PM me your paypal address if you are accepting consulting donations. Been kicking this project down the road way to long. I have so little light in the garage it's borderline dangerous.

Thanks!

 

[MJockey]

Okay, here is what I came up with for the main shop area of my new garage. The two blue diamonds in the middle will be the two post lift. That and the two workbenches will be the main work areas.

I've been trying to reduce the fixture count but keep the heavy shadows to a minimum. Thoughts?

Here is the full DIALux output file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByiuTGbjGeKrMGpRYy1CNjRfdW8/view?usp=sharing

Thanks for any input.