Suggestions on light/power for shed

[LoBelly]

My shed at home currently has no power or lighting.

I had the house re-wired recently and am going to get to the shed soon.

If anyone has any tips or lessons learned from the fit-out of their shed/workshop in terms of lighting and power (or even in terms of other items - like maybe a sink or computer station) I would be interested in hearing them.


Thankyou in anticipation.

LoBelly

[paul68]

LoBelly,
Just had ceiling fans put in to help with any unwanted fumes from paint,fiberglass and other things plus a 15amp power point put in for the welder and other electrical items that need 15amp circuit.Aircon very soon.Got to be comforable when working on the car as summers coming.
Paul

[Rob. Smith]

Have a look at "Garage Journal" on the net and go to the forums. It's American but there's some 'flash' ideas. there's also a thread on lighting and wiring. It's an entertaining look !

[trularin]

I have five barns.

I recommend you put full service in. If you run #10 and are okay for a year, the next year you will want #8 or #6 and it doesn't end until you have full service for compressors, lifts, welders, hydraulic equipement, etc...

Do it once and do it right. Why revisit this later?

Just my $0.02 worth.

[WKB]

3 phase is the best way to go, but if it is not available make sure that sub main from your main switchboard to the shed is large enough to accomodate everything that you want to do in shed now and in the future. This goes for you switchboard as well. Once this equipment is installed it is not that easy or cheap to upgrade later.

Lighting is another area where you need to have enough(I have 16 in a 6mtr X 7.5mtr area of my shed where I am building my car) to be able to work at night without throwing shadows.

At least two 15 amp power points, plus any number of 10amp power points you require. The more 15 amp power points there are reduces the temptation to file down the earth pin on a 15 amp plug to fit into a 10amp power point(not safe and I don't is legal).

Now I have spent a lot of your money, but once the switchboard is in place, you can add lighting, power points, fans, airconditioners etc as you require them at a later date.

Another way to increase the light output is to paint the walls white. The difference this makes is incredible.

And don't forget to run a telephone line and water line to the shed when you have the trench open for your cable.

Warren

[LoBelly]

Thankyou for your suggestions

When the electrician was here I said I'd probably want at least 2x15amp outlets

He seemed to think this was excessive (!) wait til he sees the upgraded list...

Any opinions on using (or not) fluro lighting.

ta
LoBelly

[Gav]

How high is your roof?
If it is 4m or more you might want to look at discharge lighting (high bays or low bays). They give a much more 'true' light which makes life sooo much easier when working on fiddly things.

I would think one 15amp outlet near a bench would be enough, and 10 amp everywhere else.
I have leads strung up on a wire running the length of the shed which keeps leads off the floor and they can be pulled across to where ever you are working.
I would think that unless you are planning to run a full workshop that a 32 amp 1ph supply would be heaps, but if you have 3 ph run to the house I would recommend that you at least run 3ph cabling to the shed even if you don't use it. It will add value if you want to sell.

[Heidelberg]

Hi LoBelly,

Have to agree with Gav....If 3 phase is an option, I'd put it in...you never know when you're going to need more power.

If you have any thoughts about an electric instant Hot water system, air conditioning, or a hoist, some of those units can certainly consume the amps!

In my shed, I installed a sink with hot & cold water next to a fridge so that with a kettle on top of the sink, you have a basic kitchen set up for the odd cuppa for not only me, but for any mates that drop by!

I had 2 x 15 amp power points, and 2 x 3 phase points as both my Hoist and Instant HWS were 3 phase units.

I'd also suggest that you're generous with the number of 10 amp normal powerpoints because if your shed is anything like mine, it's amazing how many recharger type units you'll want plugged in at the same time!

With regards to lighting, double flouro's mounted up on the actual rafters do the job really well in my shed which has a ceiling height ranging from 2.9m up to about 4.4 m. My shed's 13.5m x 9m and I have 15 double flouro's and I think the lighting works well!

Regards....Paul

[tomcat racing]

if you want the best light you can get from fluoros, put in tri phosper tubes which are 6600 lumens compared to normal tubes which are 3600 lumens, or you can now go to quad phosper tubes at about 8000 lumens,they are only about $3 to $4 tube and you wont believe the difference, you wont need as many lights and they use no more power than a std tube. regards tomcat.

[Gav]

Thats right Tom Cat, or down here they generally refer to them as daylight tubes. Expect to pay about $5-10 each.
Fluros are are a cheap efficiant way to light your work place. I have both fluro's and low bays (horizontal high bays) the only downside is that they take about a minute to fire up, where as the fluro's don't.

[LoBelly]

Thanks guys for the feedback

The brothers shed has some high bays and sometimes you forget that its dark outside.
Getting the lighting right makes a big difference to how hard it is to get stuff done.

Was a bit concerned about the 'washed out' fluro light but the extra juicy tubes sound good

thankyou all

LoBelly