How Many Garage Lights Do I need?

[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.

[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!

[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.