# Garage Lighting



## kawisser (Aug 15, 2011)

I feel like I've read for days on workshop lighting and it's still just as confusing as the day I started. Every website/forum has different formulas and different requirements. To make this simple, my garage is 21'x24'x10'. How many 4ft sections of T8 bulbs would you use?


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

Personally? Zero. I'd put in probably 6- 8 23W daylight CFL's myself! I have 15 in my 28' by 38' shop. Cut the power consumption from 2200 watts to a bit less than 400W and have way better/quieter light than I had before with 4' and 8' flourescent fixtures!

Only cost around $150... conduit, light sockets, bulbs and all!


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## kawisser (Aug 15, 2011)

Dmeadows said:


> Personally? Zero. I'd put in probably 6- 8 23W daylight CFL's myself! I have 15 in my 28' by 38' shop. Cut the power consumption from 2200 watts to a bit less than 400W and have way better/quieter light than I had before with 4' and 8' flourescent fixtures!
> 
> Only cost around $150... conduit, light sockets, bulbs and all!


I don't have any experience in electrical work. Right now my garage is wired with just 2 sockets. Is it possible to branch off those to create several more, or is it more involved than that?


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

kawisser said:


> I don't have any experience in electrical work. Right now my garage is wired with just 2 sockets. Is it possible to branch off those to create several more, or is it more involved than that?


Kevin, it depends on how many lights are on that circuit. If the 2 light boxes are the only thing on that circuit, yes you van branch off for more lights. If you are not comfortable with the electrical work, I'd let an electrician do it though. Ten 23W CFL's use less energy than some large screen tvs and certainly less than most power tools. I did run mine on 3 circuits with 5 lights each so I can turn on only part of them if I choose! Lights must be on separate circuits from outlets, though.


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## kawisser (Aug 15, 2011)

Dmeadows said:


> Kevin, it depends on how many lights are on that circuit. If the 2 light boxes are the only thing on that circuit, yes you van branch off for more lights. If you are not comfortable with the electrical work, I'd let an electrician do it though. Ten 23W CFL's use less energy than some large screen tvs and certainly less than most power tools. I did run mine on 3 circuits with 5 lights each so I can turn on only part of them if I choose! Lights must be on separate circuits from outlets, though.


Maybe I'd be better off just picking up a couple of these until I get a little more serious in my garage.

Leviton 660-Watt Keyless Twin-Socket Lamp Holder Adapter-R52-00128-00W at The Home Depot


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## GulfcoastGuy (Feb 27, 2012)

kawisser said:


> Maybe I'd be better off just picking up a couple of these until I get a little more serious in my garage.
> 
> Leviton 660-Watt Keyless Twin-Socket Lamp Holder Adapter-R52-00128-00W at The Home Depot


or these ...









Leviton Socket with Outlets - White-R52-01403-00W at The Home Depot








Leviton Porcelain Keyless Lamp Holder-R50-09875-000 at The Home Depot

run a short extension to another standard socket and use the CFL's that fit 'em like Duane suggested.









EcoSmart 23-Watt (100W) Bright White CFL Light Bulb (4-Pack) (E)*-ES9M823435K at The Home Depot

You should get plenty more light without overloading the existing circuit.


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

Kevin.......I'm pretty new to everything but I have found that as far as stationary tools go, it helps me to have a 4 foot light above or nearly above the tool mounted crossways to the way I will be standing. This has eliminated a lot of the problem of my own shadow dimming the work piece. Especially using the bandsaw and drill press. Also, good light coming in from all sides can do away with the bandsaw blade casting a shadow on the cut line. Jim


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## bileo4 (Feb 16, 2013)

Great idea,that leaves more light were you need it the most and not wasting light were you don't need it


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## richjh (Jan 14, 2013)

My garage is a similar size to yours. I went with 2 8ft fluorescent fixtures end to end about 2 ft past the end of the open garage door. I'm running on a single circuit. They use a HO T12 bulb at 110W, 8600 Lumens each for a total of 440W and provide plenty of light for my shop use. I have a 4ft one that I have directly over my work bench.


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## routergieck (Feb 11, 2013)

Kevin
My shop is about the same size as yours with a lower (8ft) ceiling. I have six double T8 fixtures and a row of single T8 fixtures along one side of the shop above a workbench. There never seems to be enough light in the right place so I also use a portable light on a stand to place at the workcenter that I am using. Recently I had a number of the ballasts starting to give me problems so I bit the bullet and went LED which requires no ballasts and gives the same amount of light using about 16 watts and they say 20 year life (I think 60,000hrs.) but at a cost! The bulbs were about $60 each so I spent almost $800 just for bulbs but they should now last for as long as I will use the shop and utilize less than 200 watts total about 1/2 to 1/3 of regular flourescents. I would recommend using at lest 8 double fixtures instead of 6 and probably put them on two circuits so you don't have to turn them all on at any given time. You will never have too much light in my experience

Dennis


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## kawisser (Aug 15, 2011)

routergieck said:


> Kevin
> My shop is about the same size as yours with a lower (8ft) ceiling. I have six double T8 fixtures and a row of single T8 fixtures along one side of the shop above a workbench. There never seems to be enough light in the right place so I also use a portable light on a stand to place at the workcenter that I am using. Recently I had a number of the ballasts starting to give me problems so I bit the bullet and went LED which requires no ballasts and gives the same amount of light using about 16 watts and they say 20 year life (I think 60,000hrs.) but at a cost! The bulbs were about $60 each so I spent almost $800 just for bulbs but they should now last for as long as I will use the shop and utilize less than 200 watts total about 1/2 to 1/3 of regular flourescents. I would recommend using at lest 8 double fixtures instead of 6 and probably put them on two circuits so you don't have to turn them all on at any given time. You will never have too much light in my experience
> 
> Dennis


Thanks Dennis


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I just discovered a great LED fixture that I'm going to start installing instead of the CFLs over each of my tools, bench and main workbench. It is an 11 inch square LED fixture I found at Home Depot for $50. Here's the link for HD Lithonia Lighting 11 in. Square Low Profile White LED Flush Mount-FMLSL 11 840 M4 at The Home Depot
Puts out 1100 lumens (120 Watt equiv.) and it is an amazing amount of light for very low wattage. Plus it is less than 2.5 inches thick. I have a low overhead in my shed shop so this will be a bit more out of the way. Presently using CFLs in a floodlight plastic casing to reduce risk of breakage. The LED is more, but is a good option for shadowless task lighting in addition to general fluorescent illumination.


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

kawisser said:


> I feel like I've read for days on workshop lighting and it's still just as confusing as the day I started. Every website/forum has different formulas and different requirements. To make this simple, my garage is 21'x24'x10'. How many 4ft sections of T8 bulbs would you use?


Kevin

My shop is 20' wide and 24' deep. I opted for three rows of T8 bulbs. Each rows consists of (2) 8' lights which contains (4) 4' T8 bulbs. I chose to recess my lights by making a pocket out of plywood. I then used white stain and painted the insides on the pockets containing the lights to help with reflecting light. I also painted all the walls with white paint to keep it as bright as possible.

If you have 10' ceilings your lucky. You will not need to recess the lights like I had too. You can just simply screw them into the ceiling. I assume the ceiling is finished if it is not I would suggest strapping it and allowing for points to install the lights and insulate the ceiling and applying a layer of 12 mm poly before covering it with sheeting.

The lights are 2 feet away from the walls and spaced 2 feet away from the front of the garage and the back. The middle row is dead on the middle of the shop. My table saw is directly below the middle row of lights providing great coverage where I do most of my work. My work bench is situated directly under the first row of lights giving me great lighting. You will also find as you get older you will need more lighting. If you do it right the first time you will not have to add additional lighting and if required task lighting will suffice.

I have attached the article from Fine Woodworking I used to reference the amount of lights I would need based on the square footage. I have no dark areas in my shop and I am really happy I chose to put the amount of fixtures I did. Trust me you will not be disappointed. The T8 bulbs are great on energy too and last a long time.

I have also taken two pictures showing 1 of 3 banks of lights. The second picture shows the 8' long light fixture butted up against the other light fixture.

Good luck and if you have any more questions feel free to fire them off and I am sure someone will be able to answer your questions.


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## papawd (Jan 5, 2011)

Kevin, I have 2 bulb 4' t8's (skinny bulbs) spaced 2-4' apart in alternating rows 3 rows in shop area plenty of light. One thing I can highly recommend is all of my work tables have a white top, (4'x8'x1/4" ) sold at Lowe's or Home Depot cut to fit the white helps reflect light making it brighter, also 3 of 4 walls have white pegboard also reflecting light..... Good luck hope this helps


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## bileo4 (Feb 16, 2013)

I agree with DMeadows,More light bang for the buck . Replacing 4 foot bulb & starters is a pain in the butt and not cheap,and they can be noisy.


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## oldrusty (Mar 31, 2011)

Why not use one circuit for lighting and then install a switch for each area you want to switch on separately. Just be aware that if this breaker trips you would be in complete darkness. It would also be good to have a separate circuit dedicated to the outlets for your power tools. Oldrusty


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Al, for that reason I would never have all my lighting load on one circuit. It's too dangerous if it should go down on you and 15 amp breakers aren't that expensive. I like to have any plugins along workbench areas on their own breaker but even a 1500 watt router will still usually work with one light on the same circuit. I agree with you about the switches. I have a total of 6 for my 28 x 35 shop. The most I usually have on at one time is 3.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Kevin; aside from all the great advice above, those ballasts should be under warranty!
You may have to fight to get service, but don't let them off the hook. I did a relighting project for a local fraternal organization, 40 2-lamp 4' T8 fixtures.
We paid extra for the _premium quality_ fixtures, in the hopes that they'd basically last forever. 20% crapped out in the first month. Mexican made Sylvania ballasts. Yes, they replaced the ballasts, but we had to buy new ones for immediate installation as they wanted to 'evaluate the original defective ones' before Ok'ing the warranty replacement. Took months before we/I got my money back. Never did collect for the labour.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Not exactly lighting, but I would recommend the walls, ceiling, and floor, be painted at least two coats of gloss white paint. Amazing how that can brighten up your shop.


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## oldrusty (Mar 31, 2011)

Hi Charles . I'm a retired electrician and did not want to overcomplicate the solution. Breakers are cheap but the installation could be quite expensive. Also the space in the panel limited. A sub-panel in the workshop would be a good idea. We work on the assumption that all outlets would not be used at one time, therefor several outlets could be on one circuit limiting cost. Oldrusty


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I do all my own wiring Al so it is less costly for me. Although our code allows up to 12 outlets on a circuit, I would never have that many in a shop. Like the kitchen, there are too many high draw appliances.


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## thedude306 (Nov 13, 2013)

Just did a count on my roof. 18 4ft sections. two of those 4ft have four rows over the standard two rows. Best peice of equipment I have ever added to my garage. 

Here is a an older layout with the extra lights added at the front of the garage:

argh I can post a pic later or you can PM me if interested. (if I have access to PMs!)


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Brad you can't PM someone yet but you can post a picture that is in your hard drive by going to manage attachments on an advanced reply or reply with quote and then browsing your files until you find the picture. It's easy to get past 10 posts by saying hello to other newcomers or commenting on show and tell posts.


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## Ben I (May 21, 2010)

KEVIN

My thoughts:

Layout your tool location first then the light locations should logically follow. If you aren't comfortable wiring your lighting just do the cable pulling yourself leaving an extra 100 MM or so at the fixture locations. Just check your electrical codes first to ensure that you buy the correct wire gauge. Finally hire an electrician to make connection to your power source.


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## thedude306 (Nov 13, 2013)

Thanks Charles, I was trying to post a URL from photobucket, I will use the attachment tool.

You can see in this rendering of light output using 23W t8 lights. you want 80 and up. 100 rep bright daylight. I have added another "box" on the LHS to brighten it up.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Brad,,,

How did you come about the rendering you posted? That is most intriguing.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I am assuming that the long skinny rectangles are you r rows of lighting. It looks to me like you got it covered. It looks like all the placements will avoid you working in shadows which is how I laid my pattern out. I would suggest that you perhaps have every other light in the longer rows on the same switch and maybe also have switches for different areas. I've found that I usually only need about 1/2 of my lights on at any time (or less)and having the 1/2 off you don't need will save you some money. It costs a little more in materials but it starts paying you back right away and does so (forever).


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## thedude306 (Nov 13, 2013)

TwoSkies57 said:


> Brad,,,
> 
> How did you come about the rendering you posted? That is most intriguing.


It was done for me by a friend in the lighting business. 

I have all those lights on 3 separate switches so that they don't all have to be on at once. Basically you have the bays and then each side at the top is switchable. I also didn't hard wire the lights. They are plugged into recepticles so that I can easily remove them is I move. Proper lighting is an expensive investment and I wanted to be able to take it with me.


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