What kind of lights?

[DWinTX]

I am in the process of building a new 20' x 28' garage. Part of the garage will have a vaulted ceiling to make room for a lift. I need to figure out the best lighting arrangement to illuminate it well enough for my old eyes.

The vaulted part is 20' x 20' and the lights will be 13' from the floor, mounted on the angled roof rafters. I am going to finish the interior with OSB and paint it the brightest white I can find. Probably going to epoxy coat the floor also with a light grey. I'm hoping these will reflect my light well.

I was figuring on using four 4' florescent fixtures. But I'm not sure what brand or specifications to look for to get the brightest light. Or if the four fixtures will be enough.

I've attached a pic where I've roughly shown where I'm thinking of putting the lights (red lines). What do you think? Do I need more fixtures?

Here is a link to my build thread. There are more pics if it helps:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4402684#post4402684

 

[keating]

I have 4x 48" twin tube T8 fixtures in my 17x18 attached garage with a 9' ceiling.
Fine for putting out the garbage, but once I install the subpanel and rewire, I will be going to 6.

With your 13' ceiling, my advice would be to push those 4 red lines out toward the perimeter of the building and add another 4, crossways, down the middle

 

[DWinTX]

Thanks Keating. After looking at some other posts, I'm getting the idea that you're right, 4 would not be enough. I'll double them up. They're not expensive and we haven't wired yet, so why not?

 

[cybrdyke]

Food for thought...
Fluorescent fixtures are made to shoot straight down, unless you use strip fixtures.
When you mount them at an angle, 2 things happen. First, you mess up the photometrics (fancy word for the pattern that they put on the ground). That means that you wont have any reflection off the walls and may have poor illumination where the wall meets the floor. Second, you will be able to look directly into the lights, which is really bad. It gets real glarey when you do that. It's good for paint booths because in that case you really need to see the imperfections, but for a garage, it's pretty bad.
If you are a big box shopper, you'll find the cheapest version of each brand out there. My recommendation is to go to a local electrical supply house and get something better than that stuff.
Good luck
CD

 

[pattenp]

4 4ft fixtures is no where enough for a 20 X 28 space. You need to at least double it to 8 fixtures, or even 10. I assume you are talking about 4ft 2 lamp T8 fixtures. I like at least a 100 lumens per sqft.

 

[DWinTX]

Yes, I'm starting to realize that I'm way under-lighting it with only 4.

Cybrdyke, I am a classic car guy and this garage is pretty much being built to restore them. I had thought of putting them at an angle with the idea that they would point some light under the cars I'm working on. But I sure don't want an issue with glare. I can mount them on the collar ties instead and they would be pointing straight down.

What kind of lights are you referring to from an electrical supply? Can you post a link to an example?

 

[astroracer]

I see you are in Texas so cold may not be an issue but, if it is, you may want to look into cold starts. If you are keeping the shop heated this will not be an issue. Here in Michigan cold starts are almost a requirement if you work in an unheated space.
Mark

 

[DWinTX]

Well, cold can be an issue sometimes, but probably not nearly like you have up there. We were down in the 20's last week, but that was the overnight low. Daytime was in the 30's. We rarely get down into the 20's or below for a high, and if we do, I won't be out in the shop!

The cheapo florescents I have in my current garage seem to work OK in the cold. They're a little dim when I first turn them on, but they brighten up after a few minutes.

I could get something like this:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_391750-337-...ct_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=#BVRRWidgetID

One review says he got 4 for his 24' x 24' shop, and it's like turning on the sun. Perfect.

Still wondering about putting lights on the rafters (angled). When I have a car on the lift, it would block any light on the collar ties as they would be directly above it. Maybe use 3 of the lights above along the ties and some lesser lights along the rafters (like in my pic) on a different switch. Then I could turn them off if glare is an issue.

 

[astroracer]

I wouldn't be to concerned about putting the lights on the rafters. There will be plenty of light and it will bounce around in there pretty good once you get it finished. If you need light above work benches put in some twin tubes right above them and you'll be good.
Mark

 

[tncatadjuster]

A friend of mine just recommended these, he has them and likes the way they perform, nothing to replace for a long time. I will be buying some soon.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia...ng-White-LED-Wraparound-Light-LBL-4/203839057

I'm also going to get one of the sensors to turn off and on. I worked in a location that had this recently and now want that feature in my shop.

 

[DWinTX]

Just noticed the link to the lights in my earlier post is getting truncated. If you're interested, google "Metalux Hbl Series Fluorescent Troffer", and then go to the Lowes link.

 

[jlckmj]

Here is an alternative
Jim

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38658

 

[DWinTX]

Thanks Jim, that garage looks really well lit. I'll check them out.

 

[Petey156]

Check out T5 strip fixtures. Like this, More lumens than t8's, Less energy.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKVBX8O/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[pattenp]

Check out T5 strip fixtures. Like this, More lumens than t8's, Less energy.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKVBX8O/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. The T5 F54 is a HO lamp. A standard F28 T5 vs. F32 T8 has the same lumens but does use less power. Another thing to consider is T5 lamps cost 50% to 100% more than T8 lamps.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Our host Ryan is working through these same issues at the Atomic Industry headquarters.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267261