Too much light? Thoughts?

[cadunkle]

I have been working on the 16*x16* shed, OSB ceiling and lights. I previously had one 4' two tube fluorescent fixture which was terribly inadequate both in lumens and light distribution. I hung OSB, painted it semi gloss white, and installed 7x 4' two tube fixture with 2080 lumen LED T8 style tubes. I got them installed earlier tonight and wow, it is bright. My initial impression is too bright, it's just so much light.

I was going to wire them so half of each fixture came on using two switches for half or full brightness. The fixtures I got have both sockets prewired with a short wire between them, so I wired them every other fixture on each of two switches to simplify the wiring. One switch controls three lights, the other controls four. Three fixtures seems comfortable in overall light but a bit shadowy. I have one more fixture but have to move a shelf to install it. It's a bit shadowy toward that corner so another fixture would be nice in that regard, but maybe too bright with these bulbs.

I used 2080 lumen bulbs because they were cheapest. I have 2200 lumen tubes in the same fixtures in my garage and they're great. Most of my garage lights are at 10' height, whereas the shed is slightly under 8'.

What do you guys think is too much light? This works out to 114 lumens per sq/ft, 130 lumens per sq/ft if I add the last fixture. Should I leave it as is? Get tubes with fewer lumens?

 

[cybrdyke]

First things first...lumens per square foot isn't a metric that means anything.
With 7 fixtures, you're overlit. You can reduce the number of fixtures to 4...5 if necessary. Some of your fixtures are too close to the walls. The perpendicular fixtures aren't helping either. They're just adding unnecessary light and wasting power.
Run the fixtures all in one direction, about 4' off the side walls (parallel) with an 8' space in between them. From the ends, run them 2' off the wall with 4' between the ends. If you want a little more, put the 5th one in the center.
The lowest lumen package in 4' tubes is about 1600 lumens, 400 lumens less than what you currently have. It wont make a huge difference if you change them, but it's an option if you feel like there's still too much light with 4 fixtures.
Painting the walls white will make a big difference. Wall reflectance is what fills in all the heavy shadows and reduces contrast.
Healthwise, too much light is bad for you. It creates eye strain, headaches, and can cause other health issues. It's well documented.
Hope that helps.
CD

 

[Poolshark314]

You should use a candle power calculator to help you gauge how many fixtures you want to achieve the amount of light you need. I think 30 is a standard number people get up around 50 when they really want to see well. Keep in mind if you are doing most of your work at bench height instead of the ground, adjust the height accordingly

 

[Sumboodie]

I don't think I've ever been in a shop and thought, "it's too bright!"


It's always needing more light. Some are so bad, you about need a flashlight to read something in a manual or on a label.

I'd imagine a building designer has tools to design a workspace with proper lighting?

I've worked in $$$ shops that weren't too bad for lighting.

 

[Bucko]

Your eyes get use to the light thats in a room and grow to expect it. After a while it will seem normal.

 

[Sumboodie]

Your eyes get use to the light thats in a room and grow to expect it. After a while it will seem normal.

After I added lights in my garage I thought I'd need sunglasses.
10 years later and I'm looking to add more, as it's too dim in areas.

 

[Metal-Marc]

If you need sunglasses in your shop, then it's too bright.

 

[kbuhagiar]

I don't think I've ever been in a shop and thought, "it's too bright!"

Couldn't agree more.
I like my garage to be lit up like an operating room. My 63-year-old eyes need all the help they can get.

 

[Showkey]

There is free “ft candle“ or “LUX” measuring app for smart phones.
Amazon has a hand held device for $40 ish……..professional quality no, but close enough for comparison in DIY a situation.

How to Measure Light in Foot-candles, Lumens and Lux | Stanpro

How to measure light in foot-candles, lumens and lux and the basic references that will help you to do so.

www.standardpro.com

Detailed work on bench top LUX might be a 1000.
Table saw would be example for 1500 lux.
While general storage area might be 300 LUX.

 

[cybrdyke]

After I added lights in my garage I thought I'd need sunglasses.
10 years later and I'm looking to add more, as it's too dim in areas.

As you age, you do require more light to see well.
As your lighting ages, it gets dimmer.
Point is, both you and your lighting have changed. Neither of you for the better.
Sometimes replacing a lamp with a new one will help. Sometimes you might have to add a few new lights.
Good luck,
CD

 

[cybrdyke]

I don't think I've ever been in a shop and thought, "it's too bright!"


I

I have. Plenty of times. But, that's my job. The really painful ones are usually clear-lensed LED with 6500K diodes. Ouch.

Couldn't agree more.
I like my garage to be lit up like an operating room. My 63-year-old eyes need all the help they can get.

Standard operating room is 150 foot-candles, PLUS, they use task lighting (those overhead lights on movable arms, kinda like the dentist uses, except brighter) PLUS, the doctor might wear lights on his forehead.
The 150 foot-candles alone is severe overkill for a garage. You wouldn't want to be in there too long.
(Yes, I know you were being anecdotal)

 

[isb cornbinder]

If I were to give any advice about lighting, it would be this. Ditch the fluorescent and incandescent and use LED. Another bad idea I have is too many windows that let in daylight. The daylight makes shadows that are very difficult to overcome with a handheld light. After spend considerable money on double glassed sliding windows, I had go buy Venetian blinds to cut down on the daylight.
I bought my LED 4 foot replacements for the fluorescent tubes on AMAZON. Do your due diligence for price.
Two things happened. I have a much better light at a lower operating cost and I got rid of the annoying transformers and the buzzing sound they made.

 

[marak]

I prefer to have way more fixtures/recessed lighting than maybe necessary, but use three methods of controlling the light.

1. Switches on the wall to control banks of light.
2. Toggle switches on 48" fixtures to individually control specific fixtures.
3. Dedicated lighting fixed to equipment such as mill, DP, lathe, surface plate, etc.

This allows me to be pretty specific as to what gets illuminated. Sometimes I need the whole shop area lit; other times I just want specific areas lit, especially at 3am when I am trying to wind myself down for bedtime.

 

[mepstein]

I actually took out the old windows in my shop and didn’t replace them.
energy efficient
More secure
Less shadows and sun glare
Less expensive
More room on the walls
I have plenty of large windows in my house so I just didn’t see a big need for them.
I do have a window in the door so I can see if someone is on the other side and it also lets me see from the house if I left lights on.
upgraded everything in the shop from fluorescents to led’s. Worth every penny.

 

[Metal-Marc]

I actually took out the old windows in my shop and didn’t replace them.

I have seven windows in my garage, and I'm going to add more when I replace the garage door.

 

[mepstein]

I have seven windows in my garage, and I'm going to add more when I replace the garage door.

Obviously, to each his own.

 

[AP514]

You can never have too much Lite ....the older you get the more this makes sense.

 

[BreeStephany]

I agree with others, in a shop environment, you can never have too much light! When I helped my parents wire their garage, I installed can lights 2' on center over all common task areas to ensure there was enough light in common work areas.

Mind you, this was when can lights were the way to go for getting a lot of light relatively affordably! Now LED pucks, LED high bays and LED strips are affordable and the way to go! I try to shoot for 2000 ~ 2500 LUX at work benches, at equipment and in common task areas and try to shoot for at least 750 LUX in storage areas where small items are commonly handled.

Its a bit overkill, but I love being able to see what I'm working on without shadows and to be able to quickly spot small parts if I drop them on the floor.

Just my two cents.