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The Best Light Fixture Ever!

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Toomanytools?

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Nov 4, 2010
Messages
855
Location
Washington
WarDamnEagle said:
Is there any advantage to a 2' linear high bay LED (e.g.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DJYT1KR/?tag=atomicindus08-20 ) vs a UFO LED fixture for an approximate 16' high open shop mounting? It looks like either fixture will get me where I want to be foot candle wise. Apologies in advance if that's a stupid question.

.....

Just want to make sure I make the best choice I can as I'm looking at 12 15k lumen (or maybe 18 k lumen) fixtures for my 40 x 40 shop.
Click to expand...

No stupid questions , only stupid people asking questions...ha I'm kidding, so many choices with lighting.
Have you tried the Visual lighting tool you can plug in the IES file on your space and see what lighting works?
I've been told on here at 16' and lower you really don't want to go over 20K lumens, your link is for 22K not much difference.
My shop is 36x56x16 and I have been looking at 14,400 lumens seems layout is 3x5 so 15 total fixtures, gives me high 80 low 90 for FC at work surface.
Bees lighting has similar (Lithionia) fixtures a bit cheaper. https://www.beeslighting.com/IBE-18LM-MVOLT-50K
Remember more lower lumen fixtures gives more even lighting than fewer higher lumen fixtures which tends to cast shadows.

War.. I see your post on the other thread, so skip the Visual comment you found it.
 
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WarDamnEagle

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Mar 13, 2009
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Auburn
Toomanytools? said:
No stupid questions , only stupid people asking questions...ha I'm kidding, so many choices with lighting.
Have you tried the Visual lighting tool you can plug in the IES file on your space and see what lighting works?
I've been told on here at 16' and lower you really don't want to go over 20K lumens, your link is for 22K not much difference.
My shop is 36x56x16 and I have been looking at 14,400 lumens seems layout is 3x5 so 15 total fixtures, gives me high 80 low 90 for FC at work surface.
Bees lighting has similar (Lithionia) fixtures a bit cheaper. https://www.beeslighting.com/IBE-18LM-MVOLT-50K
Remember more lower lumen fixtures gives more even lighting than fewer higher lumen fixtures which tends to cast shadows.

War.. I see your post on the other thread, so skip the Visual comment you found it.
Click to expand...

Yes, after playing around with the tool some more I am now leaning toward 16 ~15k lumen linear LED fixtures with dimmers. The current fixtures are wired as two rows of four on separate switches so it will be pretty easy to go to two rows on each half instead of one and have two switches and two dimmers (or two switch/dimmer combos).
 
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Injected65

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Jan 6, 2008
Messages
43
Location
Salina, KS
I read through the thread, but didn't quite see anyone with a similar setup. I have a small 20x24x8 detached garage. Currently it is unfinished inside, but the plan is to insulate and have painted OSB on the walls. Any recommendations on number of fixtures and the lumens? The more budget minded the better if possible... this project has already pushed the limits. :)

Thanks
 
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Terry2T

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Jul 16, 2018
Messages
5
Location
SC
Back in Feb 2019, Platonic Solid helped me with a light layout for my 40x80x14 workshop using James 110W lights. For a number of power company reasons, I just now got power to the shop and ready to run lighting. Looking at recent posts, don't see the James fixture recommended much. Looking on ledlightingwholesaleinc.com, I see this fixture:

LLWINC LED High Bay, 1x2 Foot, 120 Watt, Dimmable -Pack of 2- Product Code: HB-120W320605-L-D-2

Anyone know if this would be a comparable fixture or if there is a more efficient fixture for my application? Thanks.
 
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Toomanytools?

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Nov 4, 2010
Messages
855
Location
Washington
Injected65 said:
I read through the thread, but didn't quite see anyone with a similar setup. I have a small 20x24x8 detached garage. Currently it is unfinished inside, but the plan is to insulate and have painted OSB on the walls. Any recommendations on number of fixtures and the lumens? The more budget minded the better if possible... this project has already pushed the limits. :)

Thanks
Click to expand...
Part of my shop height is 10'6" I have an 8500 lumen fixture in 5000k, I would think at 8' 5000L -4000L would be fine. I may get booed but have you looked at the Costco LED fixture 4000L at 4000k linkable, and on sale at times for $20 each? I think 9-12 lights may work, they do have similar fixture at 5000k but not as often.
 
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Injected65

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Jan 6, 2008
Messages
43
Location
Salina, KS
Toomanytools? said:
Part of my shop height is 10'6" I have an 8500 lumen fixture in 5000k, I would think at 8' 5000L -4000L would be fine. I may get booed but have you looked at the Costco LED fixture 4000L at 4000k linkable, and on sale at times for $20 each? I think 9-12 lights may work, they do have similar fixture at 5000k but not as often.
Click to expand...

I went ahead and picked up some LED lights at Menards. They were on sale plus their 11% rebate. They are from Smart Electrician. Model Number: NH-MPSHOP4K They are rated at 4000L and had a 5 year warranty. I went with 6 of them to start with. The way I have it configured I could add in a middle row of 3 if I end up with some shadows. I only temporarily wired them in to make sure they worked. Tomorrow the electrician comes out to run the power from the house and mount the panel in the garage. Hopefully by tomorrow night I can have them wired up and going.
 
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02chuck

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Sep 11, 2007
Messages
69
Location
Collegeville, Ca
Finally finished the front part of the shop with the lights Platonic Solid help with. As calculated it is a bit bright, but usable.

Platonic Solid thanks


Chuck
 

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OneOfEm

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Dec 7, 2015
Messages
255
I'm finished wiring up 12 of these high bay fixtures in the center section of my workshop:

https://www.beeslighting.com/MLH-12L-UV-50K-D10

I spoke with Bee's engineer about the bracket that's shown in the plans for mounting to a box, and he said that the manufacturer hasn't started making them yet.

Both Bee's and another supplier list these as "surface mountable," but I know heat from the driver can be a concern with the longevity of the driver. There are no vents on the back of the fixture, but I added a small spacer behind each fixture to allow for a bit of airflow. I ran one for a few hours temporarily wired to a pigtail upside down in the yellow cart, and got hotter than you'd want to keep your hand on for more than a couple of seconds (wish I'd remembered to check it with the infrared thermometer).

I'm going to be very pleased with the lighting and the layout. There are no hotspots, and the light is very even with no shadows.

For reference, the center space is 24x44 with ceilings up to nearly 18' at the highest point. I'm following the layout Platonic Solid provided in the other thread - 12 fixtures in three rows of four, 3' from each wall.

I couldn't be happier.

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mustangcrazy77

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recountryman

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Apr 20, 2013
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In process of finally getting my metal garage built its a 30x50 with 12' wall with a roof pitch of 4:12 so I'm guess close to 17' at its highest point. Would I highbay light be OK to use as I see some are using them at this height and I have also seen some posts of people saying not to.

I was planning on using something like the Lithonia Lighting IBE 12LM MVOLT 50K using 12 in a 3 x 4 arrangement as stated by the Visual Design tool program. Right now Home Depot has the EnviroLite HB218DMDPE on sale for $76.69 and thinking about getting those instead but worried that a highbay light due to my ceiling height may have to use a dimmer...what you think? Thanks!
 
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thoraxe

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Apr 9, 2016
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46
Location
Atlanta
This thread is really long, and the initial post doesn't explain how to use the various calculators, so I'm sorry for what is very likely a repost.

I'm building a 50x38 shop which is something like 18' high at the sides (38) and 21' high at the center.

I'm looking at the bulbs and fixtures from the first post in the thread:

Greentek Energy Systems GT-T8-18W1200 BIXX(5000K)(3000K) 48" 18W LED T8
2520 Lumens per bulb, 120° Beam Angle

LED Ready Fixture Housing
Maxlite LSS2XT8USE4803

One of the posts linked to this calculator:
http://www.visual-3d.com/tools/interior/default.aspx?id=14782

I'm not really sure what to put in it, or what I want out of it.

The ceiling and walls are going to be a white-ish insulation material, so the reflectance is probably decent, but not amazing.

You can see my floorplan here:



* that back left corner will be a completely enclosed bathroom, so I probably don't need much/any light over there, although the sink is "outside" the bathroom.

* the front left corner is the lift area

If someone can link to a calculation post, or tell me what numbers they think I should pop in, that'd be awesome. Thanks!
 
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RD235404

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Aug 2, 2020
Messages
2
Location
Garage
Just built a 18 x 26 garage with 12 ft high ceilings. Trying to figure out my lighting situation.

Are Primelights Stringray's decent or should I be looking at something else?

Thanks.
 
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Bowman85merc

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Aug 12, 2011
Messages
49
Location
Central Iowa
RD235404 said:
Just built a 18 x 26 garage with 12 ft high ceilings. Trying to figure out my lighting situation.

Are Primelights Stringray's decent or should I be looking at something else?

Thanks.
Click to expand...


I have a very similar sized garage (18x28x12) and I am wondering the same. It seems like lighting gets tricky in small garages with a 12' height trying not to have shadows or too extreme brightness.

I ran both of these lights through the Visual Interior Tool, and it says I'll need x6 of the high bay lights (2 rows of 3), or x8 of the 96" strips lights (4 rows of 2). The high bays are cheaper but I am afraid they'll throw shadows. Also, I couldn't get the program to run the 96" lights like I am imagining, where I'd use x6 of them to do the 'surround the car' layout.

Also I will have a small loft on one side the of the garage and a two post lift in the center of the garage and cant figure out how to put all that into the program and see where to best put lights to keep the shadows down. especially with the high bays. Or I suppose I could get extreme and get x8 of the high bays and a 0-10v dimmer?


Patriot Lighting® 14476 Lumens Integrated LED High Bay Light
--Menards® SKU: 3480121 $75 ea.

or

Lithonia Lighting® 11,000 Lumen 96" White Integrated LED Double Strip Light
--Menards® SKU: 3482109 $120 ea.
 
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Stickymatch

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Oct 19, 2020
Messages
3
Location
Missouri
Long time lurker and have just reread the thread and I'm floored at the wealth of info posted here and all the help from Platonic.

I'm getting ready to build my 20' W x 24' D detached and it will have 10' ceilings. Walls and ceilings will be drywalled and painted white. Using the Visual Interior Tool that was linked, it looks like I'll need 12 Maxlite LSS2XT8USE4803 fixtures running the GreenTek GT-T8-18W1200 BIXX(5000K) bulbs, which should give me 98 fc at 30". My plan is to run them 4x3 at 90 degree orientation so that I have 3 rows of 4 fixtures at the required spacing (6' OC front to back, 6.6' OC left to right). Sound right so far?

My only question is given that I'm putting in a 4 post lift on one side of the garage, do I need to change any spacing of the lights to prevent shadowing? As it stands now, the first row of lights will be over the lift space by about 6-12"

Any info is appreciated.
 
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dschmit

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Sep 6, 2011
Messages
64
Location
Nebraska
I am wanting to convert my 8' 4 bulb fluorescent fixtures to LED and looking at the bulb in the first post -- LEDMyplace WEN-T8-4FT-18WF(4000K) that is single end wired. My fixtures are shunted. I plan on replacing the tombstones on the power end of the bulb with non-shunted ones. But I am wondering if I need to change the non-power end tombstones form shunted to non or if it matters.
 
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rodster_67

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Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
360
Location
Near Allentown PA
Mr onetwo said:
I am thinking about replacing all the T8 4ft 6500K tubes in my shop with LED's. I want to buy quality replacements...are these about the best around or are there better ones? https://www.prolighting.com/pl-t8-f18-ab-50k.html Thanks
Click to expand...

I have a 24' x 40' x 10' garage with Philips Alto II 6500k 2710 lumen T8's and need to replace some bad bulbs. A 30 pack of the same bulbs are $1.99 each at HD, or I found a direct wire LED replacement 5000k 2340 lumen for $5.83 each.

Thinking for now it makes more sense stick with replacement bulbs vs less light for more money and more work eliminating the ballast. :headscrat
 
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OneOfEm

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Dec 7, 2015
Messages
255
A little more feedback: I ordered the bulbs in the first post from Greenlight Depot last Thursday and they arrived the next day. I haven't received the fixtures yet (from another company) nor installed the bulbs yet, however their shipping department rocks!
 
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duneslider

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Jan 20, 2013
Messages
2,262
Location
Riverton, Utah
A question on wiring these things, prepping electrical for new build.

Let's say I have 4 rows of 3 lights on each row. How many electrical drops do I need to put in? 1 for each light, or 1 for each row of lights? Not sure if these connect together or not?
 
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OneOfEm

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Messages
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duneslider said:
Let's say I have 4 rows of 3 lights on each row. How many electrical drops do I need to put in? 1 for each light, or 1 for each row of lights? Not sure if these connect together or not?
Click to expand...

I would think that depends on how far apart they will be.

In two lower sections of my shop, the fixtures in each row are 10" apart, so I just have a short section of emt between them. Depending on your build, you may not be ok with exposed conduit between the fixtures. I painted it white, like the ceiling, and I used surface-mount emt everywhere, so it's fine in my situation.
 
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duneslider

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Riverton, Utah
OneOfEm said:
I would think that depends on how far apart they will be.

In two lower sections of my shop, the fixtures in each row are 10" apart, so I just have a short section of emt between them. Depending on your build, you may not be ok with exposed conduit between the fixtures. I painted it white, like the ceiling, and I used surface-mount emt everywhere, so it's fine in my situation.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I have no issue with a little emt between them. How do you feed the first one? Did you put a box in and the light over the top, or is the romex just coming out of the drywall into the light?

I'm just trying to figure out the best approach for prepping before drywall.
 
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OneOfEm

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Dec 7, 2015
Messages
255
duneslider said:
How do you feed the first one? Did you put a box in and the light over the top, or is the romex just coming out of the drywall into the light?

I'm just trying to figure out the best approach for prepping before drywall.
Click to expand...


Mine was easier since the lights are fed via surface emt.

I'm not a sparky, but I think with the proper fitting at the top of the fixture you can bring romex into the top of the light. Hopefully someone else will chime in if I'm wrong.

Both the high bay fixtures and the 4' standard fixtures that I used have lots of knockouts, and I'd expect that to be common, so it should be easy whichever way you choose to go.
 
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Ashgrove

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Jan 13, 2015
Messages
57
I am planning to update my shop lighting and was hoping to use 4' bypass bulbs, but not certain I can get enough output to be equal or greater than the current setup.

Details of main shop floor to be updated:
60x60x18.
White steel ceiling and walls, with 6 years of grime attached.
30 fixtures on a 5x6 layout.
4 bulb fixtures with specular reflectors.
Ushio F32T8/841 bulbs.
1.18 factor ballasts.

Bulb rated at 3050 lumens x 1.18 = 3600 lumens.

The Greentek 20 watt are rated at 2800 lumens.

My question is given the fixture losses with my current setup vs. the more directional output of the LED bulb will the fc on the workplane be similar?
Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
 
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Lurch67

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Dec 2, 2012
Messages
169
Location
Near Philly, Yo.
I need to light my 20 wide x 22 long x 10 high two bay garage. It's drywall, painted white. Looking for lighting fixtures which have a motion detector, since wife can't work the light switch.

Can you recommend a lighting fixture, and which a motion can be added?
Are motion detectors reliable?
 
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OneOfEm

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Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
255
Platonic Solid said:
2 rows of 8, 2-lamp strip lights in each lean-to section
3 rows of 4 of the 13700 lumen Diva Lite (linked) or similar in the 16ft section
yield = 103 lm @ 30" workplane
Click to expand...

Platonic Solid,

I did the above with a model change for the high bays. I could not be happier with the lighting.

The light meter app on my phone shows just over 100fc everywhere. Shadows are basically nonexistant. My family thinks I've gone off the deep end, but I didn't build the shop for them. :D

Thank you very much for the advice!!


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KaiserM715

Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
24
Location
Houston, TX
I used the fixture and bulb combo listed below (quoted from the first post) for my 18 x 30 garage. My garage is finished out and painted white. I bought seven fixtures set up into two strips of three and a single right over my workbench. Very pleased with how it turned out. I don't currently have a good pic hosting service, so I'll have to do without for now.

Thank you for the recommendations!

Platonic Solid said:
LED BULBS

LEDMyplace WEN-T8-4FT-18WF(4000K) 48" 18W LED T8
2400 Lumens per bulb, 120° Beam Angle, Single Ended Power
4000K - 120-277V - 133 Lumens/Watt - Frosted Lens - Extruded Aluminum Body
$6.99 ea. (link) - no minimum - Free Shipping $99

LED Ready Fixture Housing

Maxlite LSS2XT8USE4803 (link to data sheets) 2-Lamp T8 LED Tube Ready 4ft Linear Utility Pre-Wired Strip Light Housing:
See pictorial review of the Maxlite housing in this thread (link).​

Shineretrofits $15.96 ea. - 10 piece minimum - Free Shipping over $95
Click to expand...
 
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