lighting dilema for newbie

[madmanmerc]

Hello, Being new to this forum, I am excited about all the info I will learn. My current dilema is that I have a single 10x20 with a single 60 watt bulb. Seeing that I am planning on doing a complete makeover, I thought i would start with lighting. I was at Home depot today and found for around 50 bucks I can buy an additional fixture, some wire and 2 42watt cfl bulbs at 2700 lumens each and are the equivilent of 150 watts incadecent. My question is will this be sufficient lighting, or will i have to go to fluorecent tubes. What I want is a nice bright garage were I can work on my baby (1970 mercedes coupe) and have a nice even distribution of light. I have a budget of around 200 dollars, although the specialist at Home depot told me I should be fine with the previous 50 dollar option. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. thank you
Madmanmerc

 

[rburke65]

Myself, I would start with 2 eight foot, fluorescent fixtures, with the 4 lamp, T8 lamps. As they say...you should see what your missing. You won't regret going with the above. Good luck and welcome to G. J.

 

[Journaler]

Somewhere on this site, somebody posted a link to a calculator that figures out how many of your desired fixture types you'll need.

It was pretty accurate in my case.

You might want to search for that link.

 

[Sparkfarmer]

If you're walls are not already white then painting them a high gloss white will significantly reduce the amount of light you need. Also looks good.

 

[pattenp]

Activity ------------------------Illumination (lux, lumen/m2)
Public areas with dark surroundings ---------- 20 - 50
Simple orientation for short visits ----------- 50 - 100
Working areas where visual tasks
are only occasionally performed --------------100 - 150
Warehouses, Homes, Theaters, Archives-------- 150
Easy Office Work, Classes---------------------- 250
Normal Office Work, PC Work, Study Library,
Groceries, Show Rooms, Laboratories-------------500
Supermarkets, Mechanical Workshops,
Office Landscape ------------------------------ 750
Normal Drawing Work, Detailed Mechanical
Workshops, Operation Theatres----------------- 1,000
Detailed Drawing Work, Very Detailed
Mechanical Works -----------------------------1500 - 2000
Performance of visual tasks of low contrast
and very small size for prolonged periods of time - 2000 - 5000
Performance of very prolonged and exacting
visual tasks ------------- ---------------------5000 - 10000
Performance of very special visual tasks of
extremely low contrast and small size - ---------10000 - 20000