Too Much Light?

[Kenswheels]

I've come up with a couple lighting scenarios for my 50 x 20 x 16h RV garage.

My question is, where do foot-candles end and blindness begin?

One scenario comes to about 100 fc.

The other comes to about 140 fc.

Both will be on dimmers and separate switches (40/60 front/rear).

I'm concerned that when I begin to get interference (RV, double lift with cars, etc) I may need more light to make its way to the areas I'm working in.

Any thoughts?

 

[ratdoggy]

It's kind of hard to think of having too much light in a garage that's used for a shop...
I have probably 12 double 4 footers and white walls in a 3 car garage.
Picture is with 6 I added some 4 foot LED's after this...Everything in there that isn't white ***** some the lighting

 

[cybrdyke]

My question is, where do foot-candles end and blindness begin?

Depends on a number of things, but mostly your time spent under them.
There are plenty of places where the recommended light levels are into the 200 foot-candle range. That seems like insanity to most folks.
Light levels in that range can lead to a number of health issues. I know that I wouldn't like being under them for very long.

You'll always hear folks kidding that you can never have too much...but that's absolutely untrue.

140 is excessive for a garage/shop. It's not comfortable to work under and you'll be paying more for power than you need to.

Good luck,
CD

 

[Radix2]

I've come up with a couple lighting scenarios for my 50 x 20 x 16h RV garage.

My question is, where do foot-candles end and blindness begin?

One scenario comes to about 100 fc.

The other comes to about 140 fc.

Both will be on dimmers and separate switches (40/60 front/rear).

I'm concerned that when I begin to get interference (RV, double lift with cars, etc) I may need more light to make its way to the areas I'm working in.

Any thoughts?

I think you may have a valid point with your concern about light interference, without a detailed simulation that show how even your lighting is in the first place, it hard to tell.

How did you get your 100fc, 140fc estimates ?

since you are on a dimmer, if the cost difference is not great, there is not real harm to have some extra for working in the corners when necessary.

I notice that some the LED fixtures are almost the same price for fairly big differences in lumen rating, so having more than needed is not necessarily much expense.

 

[Kenswheels]

How did you get your 100fc, 140fc estimates ?

I used the Acuity Brand simulator and the fixture .ies files.

 

[Platonic Solid]

The key to a good lighting layout is even distribution throughout the space. Pumping more lumens into an unevenly lit space to fill the corner to acceptable levels will not help you. Your eyes take a few minutes to fully adjust to different light levels, thus standing in the middle of a room with 100fc @ workplane and then walking over to a corner with 30fc is no worse than the same room with 140fc in the middle and 70fc in the corner. Much better to have more evenly distributed fixtures and aim for 100fc, than fewer fixtures yielding less even and higher avg workplane fc.

How much you personally need @ workplane needs to be adjusted based on:

• The tasks being performed.
• Your visual acuity (which is related to your age).
• Area surface reflectance.
• How clean you keep your shop.
• Fixture beam spread, lumen output, qty, and placement.

 

[johnnyradiant]

So is brand X's lumen output the same as brand D's lumen output? With projcetors, and other things lumen one's 1400 lumens was not necessarily the same 1400 lumens.