PLT Lighting Fixture Question

[houtan]

All I did was went onto the link you posted, changed illuminance from 30 to 90 (hit "Enter") and it gave me 15 fixtures, 3 x 5. I didn't change anything else, so I used all the other settings that you had.
Platonic is using different dimensions than you are. He has 21x20, you have 20x30. If I change it to 21x20 and 90fc, then it goes to 12 fixtures, 3x4.
CD

ahhhh ok that makes sense now. For some reason the link shows up with different entries between my computer and iPhone. The room is 21x20x9, with 90fc I get the layout I posted earlier. I think you got 12 fixtures because the ceiling height may have been at 12ft.

Thinking I will still go with three rows of four.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Visual tool will open with either software default room dimensions or whatever room size was last entered on your device. I'm also using a slightly different fixture when in Dialux. I'd stick with your 3x4 layout. If you find you'd like more, add 2 fixtures near front and back walls.

 

[houtan]

Platonic Solid - thanks.

Shubox - what does your layout look like?

 

[shubox56]

Platonic Solid - thanks.

Shubox - what does your layout look like?

I have an odd garage layout with a staggered ceiling height, a 4' X 15' recess, and a beam to deal with. That said, I have NOT finalized my plan. Still "noodling" the layout. Lots of things going on in the garage outside of lighting.

See the link --- my last update to my layout.

FYI: The switch locations will NOT all be scattered as shown in the pic. And the green lights are task lights over work areas.

 

[houtan]

Thanks. I should probably do a real drawing like that especially since my light purchase will be delayed a few weeks (roof leak just sucked my garage budget dry).

What are you using to do the drawing?

If the price stays similar to now, I plan on buying the LED light Platonic Solid posted. The value is great and they should be really bright.

 

[shubox56]

Thanks. I should probably do a real drawing like that especially since my light purchase will be delayed a few weeks (roof leak just sucked my garage budget dry).

What are you using to do the drawing?

If the price stays similar to now, I plan on buying the LED light Platonic Solid posted. The value is great and they should be really bright.

I live in spreadsheets 10 hours a day at work and I even use them to draft stuff like this. So to answer your question, MS Excel.

 

[houtan]

Thanks. I actually live in Excel most of the day as well. That is a great idea.

 

[shubox56]

Thanks. I actually live in Excel most of the day as well. That is a great idea.

It's semi crude, but gets the job done.

 

[shubox56]

After looking at many fixtures, I decided to go with a vapor tight. ETi is the manufacturer. I got an extremely good deal through home Depot --- $47.50 each which is half off. It's not a discontinued item at ETi, but maybe home Depot is dropping the product. Works for me!

To simplify wiring, I decided to build my own plug-N-play fixtures which allows me to bench wire the lights. I suffer from spinal stenosis in multiple locations so anything I can do on a bench is preferred. Wiring was accomplished by cutting a heavy duty exterior 16 gauge extension cord in half, adding the male connector on one end and the female connector on the other. And mounting the lights to the ceiling is SUPER easy. Mount 2 brackets 31.5" on center and then CLICK
the lights into place.

I'm not one for dangling wires, so I cut each cord to exact length with no cord being longer than 8" outside of the fixture. I think it looks nice and should be quite safe considering it's low amperage with no more than 3 lights daisy chained together. And if I ever need to replace a light, they will come down as quick as they went up. Replacement will be a breeze if needed.

I wasn't happy with the cheap plug-and-play lights found at Costco or Amazon, and I think my custom-made plug-N-play is a better quality light with added flexibility.

Any issue with my modular lighting idea? and I'm assuming that there's nothing wrong with using the patio cord shown in the picture below? It certainly can handle the amperage. Is an SJTW cord reasonable?

The lights are 5400 Lm each and 4000K. After much consideration, I chose to go with 4000 versus 5000 because the room is used as a shop AND a room for play. The lights will be on 3 different switches for selective dimming by zone. A total 8 lights --- 43,200 total Lm. I will also be adding several task flights over benches which we'll fill in light around the perimeter.

Here's a couple pics of the first 2 lights installed. They're lit by an extension cord reaching up to the ceiling until I mount one additional surface mounted outlet. I already have 3 surface mounted outlets in place.

 

[shubox56]

And one other thing --- a decent self-leveling laser level is worth its weight in gold when hanging these lights. It helps tremendously.

 

[houtan]

Nice find on the lights! Even though I’m still a few weeks out before installing lights, the price is really good and I am tempted to order them.

I like your wiring solution. For the brackets, do they just mount into the drywall with an anchor?

Definitely getting a laser level after seeing your picture! What brand are you using?

 

[shubox56]

Nice find on the lights! Even though I’m still a few weeks out before installing lights, the price is really good and I am tempted to order them.

I like your wiring solution. For the brackets, do they just mount into the drywall with an anchor?

Definitely getting a laser level after seeing your picture! What brand are you using?

1) Yes, I used toggle type wall anchors to mount the clips where are studs we're not available. I used a Hillman's anchor (see pic) which can be a little finicky, but work fine.

2) I didn't buy the best of the best laser level, but the ratings on Amazon for the product that I purchased we're good and I had zero issues in real world use. Go to Amazon and plug-in "Inspiritech 3D Red Beam Self-Leveling Laser Level". At $60 it was a bargain is far as I'm concerned. I truly can't believe that I've spent my entire adult life without a laser level like this. I love it!

Also be aware that if you're daisy chaining these lights together, you'll need to drill a hole on one end the fixture. I used a quality step bit with a low drill speed which gets the job done perfectly. You will also have to buy a bag of cable restraints. The fixture comes with 1 PG13.5 restraint -- I'm using a PG11 on the opposing end which requires a smaller whole to be drilled.

Before I wire any additional lights, I need answers about the extension cord that I purchased for this job. I assumed that any outdoor quality 16 gauge cable would be adequate. I'm not daisy chaining more than 3 lights together, so a 16 gauge cable should be plenty big enough when you consider that each fixture is only drawing .8 amps -- 3 lights Daisy chained together is only 2.4 amps. What I'm second-guessing is the vinyl sleeve used on this cord. After installing the lights and running them for a couple hours, I pulled one of the lights down to inspect and was surprised at how warm the LED driver gets. Not so hot that you can't touch it, but certainly warm. It builds more heat than I expected. And when you consider that a vapor tight light by design is sealed, it's making me question weather my cord is up for the task. The vinyl sleeve is rated at 60° c, which is 140° Fahrenheit. I really don't feel like unwiring the lights that I did, but now's the time to ask those who are in the know. Maybe I should have bought an outdoor extension cord rated at 105° Celsius? I bought a total of eight of these chords with two already cut.

 

[cybrdyke]

On the cords, I wouldn't be concerned about them, although, technically, they are probably not code compliant. Also, you can just run the length of the cord from driver to driver without the connection in between.
And above all, please dont make a "widow-maker" connecting cord!
Looking good!
CD

 

[shubox56]

On the cords, I wouldn't be concerned about them, although, technically, they are probably not code compliant. Also, you can just run the length of the cord from driver to driver without the connection in between.
And above all, please dont make a "widow-maker" connecting cord!
Looking good!
CD

Hi CD --- What do you consider a "widow-maker" connecting cord?

By connection in between, you mean the plug between fixtures? It's the plug that makes it plug-N-play with the wiring done at the bench.

Is there a cable that WOULD be code compliant that has male and female ends?

So the temp rating of the SJTW cord isn't a concern?

Thanks for the feedback! I want to get this right.

 

[Greeny]

And above all, please dont make a "widow-maker" connecting cord!
Looking good!
CD

In other words, be careful that you don't make your male connector hot. Make sure you only have the female connectors energized.

 

[cybrdyke]

Hi CD --- What do you consider a "widow-maker" connecting cord?

By connection in between, you mean the plug between fixtures? It's the plug that makes it plug-N-play with the wiring done at the bench.

Is there a cable that WOULD be code compliant that has male and female ends?

So the temp rating of the SJTW cord isn't a concern?

Thanks for the feedback! I want to get this right.

Yeah, as stated in above post, a widow-maker is when the male prongs are hot. You could touch them and get shocked. It should be the female that is hot.

I get why you want the connection. Much easier to install that way. And also to move around. It was just a suggestion to clean up the aesthetic by hardwiring both fixtures together. I think it would be much harder to install because you couldn't do it on the bench. Well, you could do one end, but not the other.

I'm not a code expert, but from what I do know, portable cord (any S, SJ) isn't supposed to be used in a permanent installation. These days, LED fixtures that are linkable are blurring the picture some. So, what exactly IS that linking cable that they use? What makes it different than SJTW? What makes it better or safer? Probably nothing. In fact, being that it's coming on cheap Chinese fixtures, it's probably alot worse than SJ cord.
But I digress.
The temp rating of the SJTW isn't a concern. The only difference that I see between what you've done and what a plug and play strip has, is that your connection is between the fixtures and theirs is at the end of the fixtures. That's pretty nit-picky, I think. A keen-eyed inspector might question it, but after looking at the pure garbage that is out there (looking at you, Costco) I dont see how he'd have a real problem with it.
Good job,
CD

 

[houtan]

Ordered the laser level. Will be here today. Can’t wait to try it out!

Wow, thanks for the clarification on what a widow maker is. Probably something I would do by accident!

 

[shubox56]

This is how I currently have it wired. The flow. This is good?

 

[shubox56]

I'm not a code expert, but from what I do know, portable cord (any S, SJ) isn't supposed to be used in a permanent installation. These days, LED fixtures that are linkable are blurring the picture some. So, what exactly IS that linking cable that they use? What makes it different than SJTW? What makes it better or safer? Probably nothing. In fact, being that it's coming on cheap Chinese fixtures, it's probably alot worse than SJ cord.
But I digress.
The temp rating of the SJTW isn't a concern. The only difference that I see between what you've done and what a plug and play strip has, is that your connection is between the fixtures and theirs is at the end of the fixtures. That's pretty nit-picky, I think. A keen-eyed inspector might question it, but after looking at the pure garbage that is out there (looking at you, Costco) I dont see how he'd have a real problem with it.
Good job,
CD

You are asking every question that has been going though my mind when building my own plug-N-play lights. WHAT makes mine any less safe? Beyond the female plug being attached to the fixture itself, what other difference could there be? The only other thing would be the wire size and type. And I'm willing to bet that they are using 18G wire as opposed to my 16G wire (connection between fixtures).

I did freak out a bit when I ran the test --- to see how warm the driver gets. No idea what the temp actually is.

 

[cybrdyke]

This is how I currently have it wired. The flow. This is good?

Yes, that's good.
CD

 

[shubox56]

For those that know: From a code standpoint, will my setup fail inspection? If yes, why? I just cannot imagine that an inspector would allow a home owner to install any of the numerous off-the-shelf plug & play lighting systems, but not allow me to do virtually the same thing with a better fixture AND better cabling.

Go to Amazon --- you can buy a box of 10 to 12 linkable fixtures for $250 or less. They are crazy cheap in more than one way.

I want to be safe and in compliance, I just need to know how to get there. I don't want to back off my plug & play idea. I hope.

And CD, as ALWAYS, thanks for all your input. MUCH appreciated!

 

[houtan]

Sorry, I don't have any input on whether or not your current wiring will pass inspection. I agree with you on why it should.

Been working on my layout and wanted to post it up for feedback. Still not sure how I will run the conduit between the two lights that have the garage door mount between them. Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions on anything in the picture. Each regular size square is meant to be 12x12 inches. It's not perfect but I think it will help me lay everything out.

I really appreciate everyone's help!

 

[shubox56]

Sorry, I don't have any input on whether or not your current wiring will pass inspection. I agree with you on why it should.

Been working on my layout and wanted to post it up for feedback. Still not sure how I will run the conduit between the two lights that have the garage door mount between them. Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions on anything in the picture. Each regular size square is meant to be 12x12 inches. It's not perfect but I think it will help me lay everything out.

I really appreciate everyone's help!

What's above the garage? Lucky enough to have an attic?

 

[houtan]

Nope, the opposite unfortunately. A bedroom. Initially, I was going to cut a long slot in the drywall and run all the wiring in the ceiling. But then I was worried about all the holes I would need to cut in the ceiling for the wiring to pop out and air leakage into the ceiling g floor. So I am leaning towards conduit now.

 

[shubox56]

I think I may have answered my own question regarding the temperature rating required for the supply conductors. Somehow I overlooked a sticker that said 75 degrees Celsius supply conductors minimum. My cable is rated at 60 degrees Celsius. It looks like I chose the wrong cable.

 

[houtan]

That *****. But at least you found that out now and not after they were all installed.

 

[shubox56]

That *****. But at least you found that out now and not after they were all installed.

No biggie. I still have 6 of 8 cords that are untouched and returnable. I'm purchasing a better grade of cable rated at 105c which far exceeds the 75c min required by ETi. A better grade of cabling is for the best when considering that these lights (and the heat that they produce) will be in service for a decade plus if the 50,000 hours holds true.