Thought I had my lighting all figured out.....

[jmlcolorado]

So...... I have some pretty good fluorescents already up, and have see them in the past couple homes I've loved in.
I have a total of 3 fixtures, each have 4 T8 bulbs at 6500k temp. Each bulb puts out 3000 lumens. Total in the garage right now is 11,000 lumens.
I LOVE the color, and love the output. Problem is, in this garage, these 3 fixtures are towards the back and I can't install more at the front of the garage due to clearances with the garage door to the ceiling :/
Here's a picture, don't mind my lack of artistic availability.

I recently ran into some retrofit "can light" led fixtures that put out some good light. They install in a normal round ceiling electrical box and mount flush to the ceiling. They put out 9.4 watts, for a total of 604 Lumens per fixture.
My thinking is axing the fluorescent fixtures and install 25 of these.
The total output with 25 fixtures would only be 15,100 lumens to fill the whole garage.


For myself to see what kind of "loss" I would be getting, I laid out the can lights that would fill the area the current fluorescents take up and found I would utilize 15 can lights in the same area. This is only just over 9,000 lumens. The remaining 10 would be at the front of the garage where. Have no fixtures anyways.

So I would be loosing lumens, but I would be gaining more even lighting. One thing I have noticed with the fluorescents is that with only 3 rows of fixtures, I get shadows when not working right below them. Not a show stopper, but get on my nerves

Here's my proposed layout with the can lights :

And here's some pictures of the current setup:
Back of the garage:

Front of the garage:

Do the can lights seem like a good idea? I really want to get light towards the garage door so when I'm working in there with the door closed, I get good light.
Here's a link to the lights similar to what I'm thinking of:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25e...yword=Led+retrofit&storeId=10051#.UQX933y9KSO

I never thought I would entertain can lights in the garage as I think they are a too "direct" light and don't proving enough spread, but in this case, I don't see much of an option.

 

[jlckmj]

What is above the garage door? living space? insulation?

I have cans in my kitchen, but my personal opinion is that they are a good fit there, but in a garage, not so much, for the same reasons you mentioned.

What about burying 4 footers up into the ceiling? that's way I asked what was up there. Another possibility would be to put some along the top of the wall at the ceiling on a 45* angle, not the optimum situation, but could work.

Jim

Jim

 

[jmlcolorado]

What is above the garage door? living space? insulation?

I have cans in my kitchen, but my personal opinion is that they are a good fit there, but in a garage, not so much, for the same reasons you mentioned.

What about burying 4 footers up into the ceiling? that's way I asked what was up there. Another possibility would be to put some along the top of the wall at the ceiling on a 45* angle, not the optimum situation, but could work.

Jim

Jim

It's attic space up there with full access.
I was kind of thinking of cutting out the rock and recessing 3 more fixtures flush with the existing lid.
I really like the light these put out now and would never think of going to can lights if I didn't have another option.

 

[Satesh]

I would keep the fluorescent using flush mount. Here are 3 other alternatives
1. You can get different rails for you garage door (this would give you more space.

2. You can run a 12 foot fluorescent above the American Flag closest to the front wall. When the door opens the natural bend of the door should give you enough clearance.

3. You can always mount on the side (and yes it will not me optimum but would do the trick)

 

[machine_punk]

I think I'd see if there are some low-profile fluorescent tubes which might work (the units meant to go in the kitchen). Otherwise, with what you've said, I think add can lights over the garage door and leave the tubes over the rest of the garage. The easy access to the attic area above the garage helps with that decision.

Kev

 

[bglad]

I was in the same situation. I had a 2 bulb fixture which wouldn't clear the door. With a single bulb it cleared after cutting out the drywall. A friend mentioned attaching a fixture to the top panel of the garage door and using a recepticle when I needed the light.