How Many Garage Lights Do I need?

[Bannon]

Hey folks,

Finally got my mini garage mahal project started. It is 26' 4" x 28' with 11' 4" ceilings. My question is regarding how to size how many lights to install. I am looking to buy 1x4 ft troffer (recessed) fluorecents from Home Depot. They each have 2 32w t-8 bulbs in them. My gut tells me I need between 6 & 8 of these contraptions. (3-4 in each bay.)

Anybody got experience sizing this sort of thing? Don't want to have too little light but don't want to throw away good money from the cobra fund either. I plan on wiring them so I can turn various lights or pairs on seperately.

Thoughts?

JB

[imagine2frolic]

As many as you can afford. I have 10 dbl 8 footers in a 50X30 ft work space, and it isn't enough. On cloudy days, or when it is getting dark I wish I had dble that.

[fsstnotch]

I had 4 overhead 6' flourescent sets and a 150w halogen outdoor light in each corner of my 2 car. Different switches for each halogen and each side of the garage for the flourescent. Those halogens are BRIGHT! I was very glad i installed them when it came time to paint! The only thing that sucks is when you are looking directly towards them. it's like looking into the sun!

[mike knight]

One thing to keep in mind with flourescents is the ballast. If your garage is unheated and not attached to your house you should consider cold weather ballasts. A little Off topic I know but just a suggestion.

[redchief]

The amount of light from a light is reduced by the square of the distance. With your ceiling height, this becomes a problem. Use a T8 Tube fluorescent light similar to what Griot's has (www.griotsgarage.com). Also the amount of light you need is dependent on your age also. What you could see when you were 20 (50W) will require 150W at the age of 60. I didn't buy the Griot's lights but found similar lights from a commercial lighting distributor. I have a 13' ceiling height in one bay and 10' ceiling height in the other two. I added more lights to the 13' to counter the issue of distance. I do not have any problems with enough light at the age of 62 with these types of lights.

[Bill Wells]

you can never ha e enough square footage in a garage , or lights ..

i added a 24x24 two stall garage for the toys with a 9-1/2 foot ceiling, with a lift in each stall so i can stack 2 with 2 underneath . i could not go higher due to zoning regs.

i put in 4 recessed 90 w incandescent flood lights spaced across the front of the garage just to the inside of a 22 foot long workbench , 2 of the same on one side and 4 on the opposite side . i have windows at the top on the front and one side that are 3' h x 20' long, so lots of natural light during day time . i added 4 four foot double fluorsecent tube lights across the front , two more on the side without window and two between the two stalls centerline . then put in two hanging rewind power cords so i can move around a double halogen light on a tripod to position lighting when i need it at certain working projects .

the lights are independently switched in banks so i can have on all or just some as needed . the flourescent lights give a good shadowless balance of lights for working on the cars . i do not need any more lighting than that - the place lights up like 4th of July when all are on . if i did not have the windows on the one side i would have added two more 4 footer double bulb flourescent lights on that side .

The incandescent lights are not good enough by themselves , more would be needed if no flourescent lights.

do not be stingy on lights or eletric outlets .

my garage is heated and air conditioned so i do not worry about ballasts . bill

[wtm442]

The color of the walls and ceiling have a tremendous impact on the "usable" light in a garage. They should be white. Of course, a white wall and ceiling will get dirty looking, but then you can repaint.

I'd also suggest some 6 or 8 foot rather than all 4 foot bulbs. Concentrate the bulbs toward the outside walls, rather than the center of the bays.

You said the project has just been started. Have you thought about a couple of skylights? Good if you intend to do work during the daytime. Also good idea to have them open in the summer if no A/C.

[Rick 427 Cobra]

The older I get, the more light I seem to need. My shop is 26x36 and I have 8 8' flourescents, 2 bulbs each. the paint is untinted white.
My old shop had the same set-up only I used magnetic ballasts. You couldn't hear yourself think in there. Electonic ballasts take care of the noise and the temperature issues. More expensive but well worth it.
As others have said, your can't have too much light. Opening skylights would be a real plus.

Let there be light!

[imagine2frolic]

One last thought is to go with a light colored floor too. This will help reflect light up under the car when it is on the lift.

[olddog]

Originally Posted by mike knight

One thing to keep in mind with flourescents is the ballast. If your garage is unheated and not attached to your house you should consider cold weather ballasts. A little Off topic I know but just a suggestion.

Listen to this wise advise!

Regular flourescents will hum and flicker at 65 deg for about a half hour. At 35 deg they usually will not light at all. Even cold weather ballasts will not light bellow zero. The colder it is the less light you get.

I'm not sure which is worse the hum or the flicker. They will drive you up a wall.

[MaSnaka]

What was said about wall, ceiling and floor color are important things not to be ignored. Open wood framing and bare concrete floors will suck so much light from the room. I would say insulate and drywall walls and ceiling, painted a light color although it doesn't have to be straight white...Dunn Edwards Swiss Coffee is a great choice. I would also emphasize epoxy paint for the floor with something added so it's not too slick. My garage is swiss coffee with a blue (the blue masking tape color) on the floor. I used a 2 part polyamide epoxy semi gloss. I tell you with any sawdust or water on the floor it can be like ice. Just add a handful silica sand to the paint before applying or spinkle those colored chips on the topcoat while it's still wet.

I think you'll be happy with the lights you selected, they put out a lot. I would think 4 in each bay would be fine. Switched abab abab. Have a drop light for specific tasks such as inside or under your car.

John

[fsiewert]

I have 6 500 watt halogen flood lights in my 24' x 36' shop. The lights are 11' off the ground. The light is good but I go through a lot of bulbs and fixtures.

[jdog]

Here is my Cobra's cave!



6ea. 4' shoplights hung from the rafters in and array. And some directional track lights over the workbench for detail work. I also have a couple of droplights for under the car work.

I little bit underlit, but it reminds me of a cave, and don't most snakes live in caves?

jdog

[G.R.]

If you use T-8 bulbs look for the ones that give "natural light" rather than soft or pastel lights---huge difference it light output and quality. I use 6 4' T-8's in my garage/workarea, white ceiling and walls.

[Dwight]

8' high output fixtures for unheated shops. (cold weather ballast)

My shop is 30' x 50' - 10' ceiling and I have 6 high output 8' double tube fixtures in the center. I have them in groups of three so I have one on each side of a car and one at the front end of the car. I have 4' fixtures every 8' above my work bench and one over the welding table. All my fixtures are surface mounted. The wall and ceiling are gloss white. I'll try to post a picture.

Dwight
PS I'm a electrican and get paid to do this.

[Jeffs_66SC]

My shop is 30 x 30 with a 10 foot ceiling, heated and cooled, painted one coat of base white. I used eight 8-foot double tube lights arranged in four rows. Left a little room at the center of the ceiling and placed the rows a little closer to the walls to get good light bounce. It's all the light I need. Originally was going to put up 16 4-foot lights. Glad I went with the 8 footers instead. Also have 2 8-foot work benches with two 4-foot lights each. My wife calls it the "man building."

[Mark Husar]

The best lighting bang for your buck is the following:

Use what is called a T-5 5000 kelvin lamp/fixture. There are four high output t-5 lamps controlled by two ballasts. This is great for energy conservation as you can wire a two switch controller and bring in two switch legs to operate either two or four lamps depending on the need for light.
you can most likely get by with one on either side of the car and one in the front. If your bays are side by side, use one on the left, one in the center and one on the right.
Put in the appropriate number of fixtures at the front of the car depending on your needs.

They put out huge lumens and will take care of your need for "extreme" light when it gets dark.
I install these all the time and they cost about a hundred bucks each. A little pricey, but man, will you be happy!!
Leave me an email if you would like more info.

Mark

[KM480]

My shop is 40x40 and I can tell you that the more white walls the better. I found that using FRP (fiberglass resinous panelling) is much better than paint but more expensive. It is very durable and impervious to chemicals, at least the ones I have exposed it too. Easy to dust off once it gets a little dirty. I have the first four feet up covered with this stuff and am planning to use vinyl covered hardboard for higher up. This really helps reflect a lot of light.

[Madmiles442]

You definitely want to go with strip fluorescent. Be it T12, T8 or T5 lamps. T12 size bulbs are the standard ones you see at Home Depot. The T8's are 3/4" dia and the T5's are even smaller. The standard T12 fixtures are cheapest, but the least effecient in lumen output. HO T5 are most effecient, but initial cost is higher.
The color of the light is measured in Temperature. A real yellow light will be 2800K and a really blue-ish light will be 5000K. Get ones at least 3500K.
You'll want the fixture to be bare-lamped, no plastic diffuser over the bulbs. They block too much light. You might want a cage if you think you'll hit the lamps.
The fixtures come in 2 lamp or 4 lamp. 4 lamp basically puts out twice the light, although not exactly, more like 150% more light, but you get the idea.
Spacing should be no less than 6 feet apart.
A neat trick is to put some strips along the wall at the engine bay end of the garage, like the picture below. This gives you side directional into the engine compartment.
Another cool trick is to put a couple of strips on each side of the car, down low on the wall at the floor, aiming up and out at 45 degrees. This way, when the car is up on the lift or jack, you have general undercar lighting. Someone here has a photo of that, but I can't find it right off.
Sounds like a great project - enjoy the Garage Majal!!

[Tom Kirkham]

Here is a link to a drawing of a paint booth. Almost all the paint booths I have seen are set up very similar.
http://www.paintboothtechnologies.co...aftDrawing.pdf