Shop Lighting

[E. D. Eliot]

I've done some research on shop lighting and am ready to purchase 'fixtures'. I will be using 4' shop lights hung from the ceiling of my garage. Have painted the ceiling white, etc.

I would appreciate any input as to specifically which 4' shop 'fixture' to purchase. Manufacturer and model number would be good. As I need twelve fixtures, $$$$ is a definite consideration but I don't want to cause myself problems by going 'cheap'. Please advise.

[FresnoR]

Even the cheapest of florescents from Home Depot will work just fine as long as your garage does not get too cold. The cheaper one's ballasts sometimes have trouble below freezing. Other than that, your better off buying more cheaper fixtures than fewer more expensive ones.

[AltonD]

I highly recommend 8' fixtures. I have two fixtures (4 bulbs) in my shop. It is operating room bright. It does get cold where I live. I have the cold start ballast.

[aarvig]

I have 7 100 watt single bulb fixtures that will be converted to recessed lights when the basement is finished. This has been more than enough light and my ceiling is not painted white.

[jetjok]

If you go the route of florescent bulbs, I would highly recommend using T-8 fixtures. The cheapo Lowes and Home Depot versions will begin to flicker after a while and the ballasts will ultimately fail. Additionally, the lumens output of the T-8's is greater and a whiter light. I have been going for 8 years now, without losing a bulb, still have instantaneous startup, and no flickering.
When I built my hangar, I used the T-8's (8 ea in a 43x36 structure), 4 tube fixtures, and it really illuminates the hangar well. My neighbor who used the HD T-4(?) models?...Umm, not so much.
YMMV

[David Paule]

Concur on the T-8 ones. They are nice.

There's a bit of a choice in bulbs, too. The trade-offs are lumen amounts and the color of the light. Your choice, but I'd suggest getting the same bulbs for all the fixtures.

I'm using Sylvania 4100 K and like them.

Dave

[mikehoover]

Just don't use the four-foot cheap ones from local home store. You can't buy a good light for $12. I bought two 8' commercial grade ones and they have been fantastic. Some of my 4' ones didn't work out of the box.

[mculver]

I used to be in the lighting biz (thankfully not for years), so some thoughts about lighting in general:

1. You want a minimum of 100 footcandles (fc) on the task (your project) and more is mo betta. You can calculate this by using "room cavity ratio" calculations, which Google will return any number of results for. The essence of RCR is that different shape rooms take more (or less) light to get to the result.

2. As mentioned elsewhere, white ceilings and walls make a huge difference.

3. Efficiency is important, and the el-cheapo fixtures have trash ballasts that produce a LOT less light. Electronic ballasts generally put out more light while consuming less electricity. However they generally want the temp to be 60 or higher, so if you live in Wisconsin and turn on the heat about the time you head into the garage, then think about low-temp ("High Output" or "HO" fixtures).

4. 4 ft fixtures are designed for offices and libraries, and 8 ft fixtures are designed for warehouses. Translation: 4 ft fixtures are quiet and like warm temps. 8 ft fixtures are noisy (buzz) but if you use high-output fixtures, they work much better in cold temps. Skip "very high output" fixtures -- they are quite a bit less efficient than "HO" fixtures.

5. Hang them by chains, or at least on S hooks. Ceilings make great sound boards, and will actually amplify the racket.

6. T8 tubes are much more efficient than the old T-12 tubes, and brand names count. GE, Osram/Sylvania, and Phillips all work well. Stay away from no-name brands. They might be private label form one of the big 3, or they might be junk. The number is 1/8 of an inch, so T-8 tubes are 1" in diameter and T-12 tubes are 1-1/2" in diameter. Also, you will see numbers such as 3500, 4500, etc., which represent color temperature. The higher the number, the "colder" (bluer) the light. 4500 is about right. Sometimes you also see a CRI, or color rendering index. Try for 95 or higher -- especially if you plan to pain or match colors using the light source. (Painting is generally going to require additional paint booth precautions though, for safety reasons.)

7. Set up switching so that you can control light levels at 50% and 100%. Will save electricity for general lighting once the project is complete.

8. If you want enough light, install too many fixtures.

[joe gremlin]

What has already been said is spot on. But I will add the following which I will qualify as my opinion only. It is better to use quality (i.e. $$$$) fixtures and bulbs than cheap alternatives. But given the choice between putting in 3 expensive fixtures or 6 cheap-o fixtures in a given space, I'll go with more fixtures even I have to go cheap to do it. You can never have too much light even if its cheap light.

IOW if my lighting budget was limited to $100, I would rather spend that $100 on 10 cheap fixtures than on 4 expensive fixtures even that means I replace the cheap ones with expensive ones as they fail thereby spending more in the long run. Like I said, my opinion only YMMV.

[tkatc]

I have the 8' high output fixtures in my garage. They were a bit more money at the onset but I think I only changed 1 bulb in 6-7 years now and the light is second to none. HIGHLY recommend them!! Bought them from Lowes.