lights for my garage

[z28dad]

I'm getting close to needing to purchase some lights for the garage. The main section is 20ft wide by 24ft deep. The ceilings are 11-13ft on scissor trusses. I plan to perform detail work in this area, and I'm getting old, so the more light the better. I have ran a few of my feeder wires for 3 different type of light circuits. The three circuits are:

Overhead fluorescents: When there on, they are all on. "Alot of light"
Wall lights: mounted around the room on the wall controlled by a separate switch
Recessed lights: Enough light to walk in and get something, or when detail lighting is not really needed.

As far as the wall mounted lights I was planning on using these:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

The bulbs are protected if some how they get bumped by anything.

Now for the overhead lights I was looking into these:

http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-F...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-F...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

They look like a nice setup for the money.

I really like these, but they are really expensive:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

As far as the recessed light go I will pick something that is ic contact rated. I"m thinking I will only need around 4.

Does anybody have any experience with any of these fixtures? With scissor trusses I'm thinking about running the fluorescent fixtures from left to right instead of front to rear. I would pair one 4ft fixture with two 8ft fixture that would be 20ft "one row". I'm thinking of a total of 4 rows, two on each side of the gable. Is this too much? How many overhead fluorescents would you think I would need for this space? Also I have read that some fluorescent fixtures cause problems with radios.

As far as installation goes, there is no drywall ceiling installed yet. I'm thinking I will go ahead and install the lights where I want them, then run the electrical. I then would have to take them down before the drywall guys show up. This will also help me get my recessed lights in the correct locations between my fluorescent fixtures.

Thanks for any input. Russ

 

[suicidekings]

I just installed this type of lighting. I went to home depot and got the "2 tube" 4 ft sections (20 bucks a piece). I did 3 and just ran them on either side of where the car sits and the front. it is PLENTY of light. Make sure you get the brightest and best bulbs, I bought a 8 or 10 pack for about 40 bucks I think.

Here you can see I ran 14/2 wire in conduit to tie them all together.

Here you can see the center light is where the main power source comes in from the ceiling. and I ran wiring to the others

Here is a pic to show you the size of my garage. (im not home to measure)

All the way in the back near the water heater I replaced that cfl light with another 4 ft section and needless to say I have plenty of light above where my tool boxes will be.

Quite frankly you cant have "too much light" in my opinion lol. With no drywall your job should be easy. Hope this helps!

 

[z28dad]

Suicidekings, your garage looks really nice. Thanks, for the pics. Russ

 

[suicidekings]

Thanks! I just moved in and I have to bring all my tools from michigan to AZ so its going to get pretty interesting in there. Next on my list is my floor.... thinking about just paint with sealer, I know its not durable with cars on it, but I will make diamond plate runners for the car to drive onto. Keep and eye out for the project... Should be fun!

But as far as your garage, like I said, the bulbs will make the difference. As you can see from my pic, I choose daylight color and you see the difference between that small cfl bulb and the daylight bulbs.

 

[ddawg16]

I'm a fan of recessed cans......they are tucked up in the ceiling and now worries about getting hit.....also gives you a lot more options on color and wattage.

Click on the link in my sig for pics.

 

[suicidekings]

Recessed cans wont touch the light output that the overhead fluorescents do.

 

[ddawg16]

Recessed cans wont touch the light output that the overhead fluorescents do.

You are mis-informed. I guess you also believe that LED's put out more light than CFL's too....

On light output, a T8 bulb is about 10% more efficient than a CFL. Yes, you need about 3 recessed cans to equal one 4' 2 bulb fixture....that's assuming you use 23w (100w equiv) CFL's.....

Guess what....I can put in higher wattage CFL's in those recessed cans.

When it comes to tubes....there are no upgrade options.....

So.....I can load up my recessed cans with higher wattage CFL's that will blow away any light you get out of your 4' tubes....

 

[sfckiddo]

my bays are 30x16 i use 5, 4 footers running crossways and 2 on each side about a foot from the wall. my ceilings are 11ft. i use inexpensive shop lights and wired a plug in at each light in the ceiling that way when one goes bad unplug and hang a new one.

 

[buzz4041]

My shop area is 25 x 30 and I use 9 of this style fixture. 4 bulb x 4' Troffer. It is like daylight. My ceilings are 9'6" high.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[suicidekings]

You are mis-informed. I guess you also believe that LED's put out more light than CFL's too....

On light output, a T8 bulb is about 10% more efficient than a CFL. Yes, you need about 3 recessed cans to equal one 4' 2 bulb fixture....that's assuming you use 23w (100w equiv) CFL's.....

Guess what....I can put in higher wattage CFL's in those recessed cans.

When it comes to tubes....there are no upgrade options.....

So.....I can load up my recessed cans with higher wattage CFL's that will blow away any light you get out of your 4' tubes....

My statement was based off of direct comparison of one 4ft section vs one recessed can light.

If you load up your recessed cans with higher wattage bulbs it will be a lot more than 10% less efficient. And as far as upgrade options, I know there are 4 or 5 different brightness options.

Nobody ever said anything about LED's either so lets not bring up things that are not relevant here.

 

[D.J.]

buzz4041; I think the fence would go in the front or back yatd and not in the garage?

 

[buzz4041]

buzz4041; I think the fence would go in the front or back yatd and not in the garage?

The fence was to protect my hotrod from the dog and other mishaps while I am gone. Now I have my lift and I just send it up in the air while I am away.

 

[leeklm]

I just installed the $60 Lithonia T8 4-bulb fixtures from HD. I used 9 fixtures for 1300 sqf on two switches. One switch controls the center bank of 3, and the other controls the two outer banks of 3 each. Lots of light when all fixtures are on. Although only a few weeks old, the fixtures start up immediately, no buzz, nice and quiet.

I opted to first install my sheetrock, then drilled a 1" hole at the center of where each fixture would mount. Mounted the fixtures direct to ceiling. Gives it a clean look, but I can envision myself eventually knocking a bulb out with a 2x4 or piece of square tubing... Ceilings are 9.8 high.

 

[brucer]

You are mis-informed. I guess you also believe that LED's put out more light than CFL's too....

On light output, a T8 bulb is about 10% more efficient than a CFL. Yes, you need about 3 recessed cans to equal one 4' 2 bulb fixture....that's assuming you use 23w (100w equiv) CFL's.....

Guess what....I can put in higher wattage CFL's in those recessed cans.

I didnt think you were suppose to mount cfl's with the base up..