lighting for noobs

[hoffman912]

is there a good thread for noobies like myself to go to when it comes to lighting?

some basic questions here but i dont want to hit too hard on a belabored topic..

1) whats the best recomendation for shop lighting with out going over kill (504 sq ft shop).


2) is there a prevaling thought on how many lights or lighting bays per sq ft, or spacing etc? for example, some are 4 wide or two wide, some are one deep and others are two deep... how many of those on a side for a two car garage, or how do you space them out etc


3) is there a difference between florescent lights that you plug into sockets vs ones that are installed hardwired?


4) t8 vs t5 vs t12 vs t10 etc?


sorry if this has been rehashed. if it has point me in the right direction..

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Have u tried searching the forum? There must be hundreds of threads on this exact same topic!

 

[ddawg16]

Don't listen to wyliesdiesels......he is exaggerating....there are not hundreds of threads.....

Maybe a hundred or so.....(this year)

Yes....do a search.....and the answers you seek will be found.....along with a lot of other info......like t5 vs t8 vs CFL vs LED.....ect.....you will get answers to questions you have have not thought to ask yet...

 

[theoldwizard1]

First question. How high above the work surface will the fixture be mounted.

Second question. What type of work is going to be done ? Precision work work requires more light on the work area, which is why grinders and other bench tools have their own lights. Painting requires light from multiple angles to minimize shadows.

For inexpensive garage lighting, you can't beat T8 double bulb fixtures. They are cheap. Start with 4, but you might need more. Plan your wiring and switches. Do you need light from to back or left to right.

YOU ARE OVER THINKING IT !

 

[hoffman912]

Thanks guys. its a 21x24 504 sq ft space, about 100 year old garage with bare studs. ceiling height is short my guess is 8-10 foot (sorry only been in it twice - when we first saw the house and when we had the inspection and only measured the length and width, not height).

the garage needs some work and I am looking at having the ceiling height raised and the size of the garage expanded a little (there was a lean to added on at some point -the goal is to knock out a wall and expand the total size to encompass where the lean to is). we close on the house in a few weeks and i am doing some pregame research so i can go in with all guns blazing when we take possession. the work i want to have done to expand the height and size is probably for 2 years down the road as it will require a little more saving. the plan was to buy a house with a bitchin garage ready to go, and instead we found the house of our dreams with a serviceable garage

short term plan is going to paint the walls/bays white, and add some temporary ceiling (tyvek, silver colored bubble wrap insulation or something really white or bright and light weight since i do not think the joists are rated for any load).


as far as work done in there, 99% of the work done will be on cars, mostly mechanical, some detail work, some paint work (occasional bumper or panel respray, or suspension component respray), eventually (several years done the road) I would like to do a full restoration of my 912.

you are right, i am probably over thinking it, but i want to make it really bright with out going way overkill or killing the bank. i do have a budget to maintain but dont want to have junk or a fire hazard.

my initial thoughts were these plug ins at 50 a pop. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia...y-Shoplight-1284GRD-RE/202968125#BVRRWidgetID

but i also saw a thread giving good reviews on these at 16 a pop. http://www.menards.com/main/lightin...erformance-utility-light/p-1385009-c-6354.htm

the sub panel didnt seem too big, and there are not too many existing lights or outlets in there.. really minimal. i would rather do a major electrical project (expanding service, tons of wiring etc) after we do the garage expansion.. so my initial thought is if i can run a series of outlets based on what is existing for lighting and plug into those....

admittedly i only know enough about electric work to be dangerous and have just done basic work like changing out fixtures or changing out plugs.

 

[theoldwizard1]

2 bulb fixture. The shade should be as wide as possible.

If you are going to paint, you are going to need more light. You will need light from at least 3 different angles. You can always take one of those double bulb T8 firture and temporarily screw it to a vertical 2x4 with a some kind of stand to hold it. 2 of those will give you 2 other angles.

 

[hoffman912]

thanks! i was basically planning on rigging up some fluorescent on a stand on each side of the car when i go to paint it (or mount some to walls on each side of a make shift paint booth).

so why do you say the 2 bulb fixture over the 4? the 4 looks to have a wider shade and double the bulbs so it would seem better to me.. for my own knowledge and to learn why would the 2 be better off, or what makes you say no to the 4? is it a cost item or something else?

 

[Stuart in MN]

There's a lighting layout estimator at this website: http://www.gelighting.com/LightingW...sistant-toolkit/lighting-layout-estimator.jsp You fill in the square footage, number of fixtures and lamps, lumens per lamp (2600 lumens is a typical value for a single four foot long, 32 watt T8 fluorescent tube, but you can look up values online for specific brands and models) and the desired footcandle level.

There is another blank in the calculator for Coefficient of Utilization. It has a default value of 0.60, which is for a typical room with fairly bright walls - if the garage walls are dark you may want to change that value to 0.40 or 0.50.

Here's a chart of recommended footcandle levels for various kinds of rooms: http://www.ncat.org/energy/images/IES footcandles.pdf I think 50 footcandles is pretty good for a home garage, you can go higher if you want or else just use brighter task lighting over the workbench or in other areas where you need it.

Personally I'd rather use more two lamp fixtures instead of fewer four lamp fixtures. I think you get more even light distribution that way, but in a garage your size it probably won't make a lot of difference either way.

Putting the following values into the calculator: 504 square feet, 50 footcandles, 64 watts per fixture (2 x 32watt lamps) and 2600 lumens per lamp, it estimates eight fixtures will be required. Changing to 4 lamp fixtures it estimates four fixtures will be required.