OT: Garage Lighting

[Jeremy Billiel]

I am finally fed up with the extremely poor lighting in my two car garage and I am looking for advice on what the best options are to light the place up. I was thinking about running 2 8 ft fluorescent lights length wise over each car and then a 4 ft'er over the workbench.

Anyone care to offer pros/cons or suggestions?

[chuck baader]

Depends greatly on the area. My work has about 20' of work bench with two 8'ers over the benches. My actual work area is about 24x45 basement in which I painted the walls white (very important). Inside I have 5-8' fixtures, one each ahead and behind the car, and two between, plus one in fornt of the workbench. Usually don't need a drop light when working under the car. However, I never go outside after dark after working in all that light :119: Hope that helps, Chuck

[Geo]

In my shop we have (4) 4' 2 bulb flourescent lights over each car and I think that is minimum. They are about 2-4' above the car depending upon location (they are all the same height from the floor).

[dickita15]

I have 3, 2 bulb 8 foot fixtures in each bay. each bay is 12 x 24. i went with high output (HO) fixtures as they light well even when the shop is cold.

[joeg]

Clearly Follow Dick's suggestion HO (or even SHO) for those tubes--even if they cost a bit more!

[benspeed]

Make sure your ballast will light up in very cold weather - check the temp rating.

I have a 3 bay garage with 2 8" (T96) fluerescent bulbs over each bay and 2 sets in the work bench area. Lighting is awesome.

Problem - I have one set that started pooping out on me. I changed the ballast with the exact same model. Worked for about a week and now she just hums and flickers again.

Any suggestions before I call an eletrician? New bulbs didn't help.

[chuck baader]

Check your internal wiring inside the light...reds to reds, etc. and make sure the colors to the ends of the bulbs are the way they should be. Have had one do the same thing and I had wires crossed. Chuck

[gsbaker]

Then there is my friend the neurological surgeon. He ignores all the over head stuff and just goes with same setup he uses in the OR: miner's hat-style lighting, but not the fiber optic type.

[Bill Miller]

I've got a dbl 8' along the back wall, over the bench, and one down the side wall, over the other bench (1 car garage). I've got a quad 4' over the front of the car, just behind the opener. I need better lighting on the sides, but I have a 20A duplex on each side of the garage, so I can pull drop lights from them. I put kinda the same setup in the trailer (24' Haulmark). Dbl 8' down each side, and a dbl 4' in the front, over the bench (seperate switch), and a dbl 4' across the back. That way, the car can be in either way, and there's light to work on the front of the car. I've got a 20A duplex in the back, by the door, and a large outlet strip across the front, over the bench. The hookup plug is setup as a 220, which feeds a breaker panel. From there, the lights are on one circuit and the outlets are on the other. My 5500W generator puts out 20A @ 220v.

[Jeremy Billiel]

My garage is on the smallish side at 21' x 22' for two cars. By the sounds of your responses my lighting thoughts are way under what you are using. Should I run 4 8' lights on the ceiling over the 2 cars (2 each side) and a 8' over the work bench?

[dickita15]

Jeremy,

I think that is just about the minimum. I think you can get away withthat but you will need task lighting.

[Wreckerboy]

More is better, and seperately switched is better yet. In my smallish one-car shop (something like 12 x 20) I have two fixtures along each side, a fixture at either end, and a large central fixture overhead. I don't have the HO lamps and would have preferred to, had they been in the budget at the time. On cold days it takes a while for the lamps to join the land of the living. I also have two flourescent drop lights mounted on reels in the center of the shop.

I thought the overheads would be sufficient for the workbench, but I recently acquired one of those smaller clamp-mounted halogen lights which now both illuminates AND warms the area!

Add as many outlets as you can manage - I have three down each side wall and find that it is very handy to have one within relatively easy reach at all times. Don't forget ventilation - I took a cheapy window fan and use it as en exhaust fan during the warmer months. It helps whole big bunches.

My garage walls and floor are dark however, and I think that this spring white paint will be applied to them.

[JamesB]

I went with a different configuration. I went with the newer 4' lights, I have one over my workbench/toolbox, two in the center of the garage and one mounted ont eh bulkhead so if the garage door is up or down the light always shines. The only thing I would like to add would be two single tube 4' on the walls of each side. But as it is right now I only need my work light for stuff that would be shadowed if I had more lighting in my garage anyway.

[Festus E. Simkins]

My shop is 24 X 30. I put in 15 two tube 4' lights. Had brain fade and left it up to the contractor. He put in cheaper units, i.e., 2 tube. If I had to do it again I would make sure he put in 4 tube. I didn't know about HO and SHO tubes. If I had I would have opted for them. Put in as much light as you can afford. The older you get the more you need. In my shop I have three separate circuits for the lights. Four tube lights are only a few dollars more than two tube. The difference in cost is well worth the extra light you get from a 4 tube.

[ITANorm]

I'll concur with the "you can't have too much" crowd. My new (as yet unfinished) shop is 45x50 and has approximately 25 8' doubles - 12 of which are SHO. We did both overhead and side lighting in the 3 work bays - put 3 fixtures mounted on the walls at ~8' for each bay. And lots of switches - 2 for overhead, plus 1 for each work bay and one for the motorhome bay. I also installed a duplex 120v and a 30A 240v receptacle for each bay, plus 2 of each for the "workshop" area.

[Festus E. Simkins]

Norm,

Now that is a SHOP. I wanted a 30 x 36 but the wife said I had taken enough of her back yard. Now to hit the PowerBall and do what I want. Hope you are feeling better. I may get up to Memphis this year so we can pop a top.

Festus

[ITANorm]

Heh - when we bought the "new" house, we negotiated for an additional 30' on the back of the lot so I'd have room to build the shop, without "getting in the way" of the "view" from the sunroom.

[eMKay]

5 4' dual tube fourescent fixtures and it's not nearly enough. I might add some on the walls too. This is in a 20x24' garage.

[Jeremy Billiel]

This week I got some quotes for lighting and I was a bit shocked with the pricing. For an industrial High Output 8 ft 2 bulb light fisture with a reflector is $125 each with Bulbs. Home Depot this week has regular 8 ft lights (not high output) for $29 each without bulbs. Is the high Output really worth that kind of money? Heck I can buy at least three regulars for just one High Output. Any opinions?

[ITANorm]

Yeah, they are expensive. They start better in cool weather, last longer, and provide more light per KWH than the regular ones. Ultimately, it's your call, of course.

One factor in your decision may be the longevity. How difficult is it to change the bulbs? In my case, the HO's are 18' above the floor - so that was a factor.