[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]

Just make sure they are bright...

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.

 

[Paul K]

shop lighting

OK, here is what I did but keep in mind that I am in the lighting business and lights are all free to me (used ones we took down for some reason or another) My shop is 24' wide by 36 ' long with 14' high ceilings. The interior walls are completely covered with white metal panels, basically everything inside is white, even the windows and doors and floor. I installed double lamp fixtures that were used that I removed from awnings. Each is 8' HO T12 (F96T12/D/HO) So, I have 4 rows of double lamps the full length of the shop. A total of 32 lamps. Each row is on it's own switch so I can choose to only run some of the lights or all of the lights if I want to super charge my system! (have a hard time getting to sleep after a night session) Two of the rows are mounted on the ceiling roughly split in thirds and the other two rows are mounted on the side walls up near the ceiling. With all the lights on, there is no dark place in the shop. I can lay on a creeper and work on the underside of the engine with not a problem.

Even with all of this, there isn't enough to paint. I have another 6 - 4' fixtures on the walls of my small paint booth and that isn't enough! I am looking for more fixtures to add here.

Go to all the awning and sign companies in your area and ask them to save the fixtures they take down. Usually just toss them anyway. You may have to pay some small fee and you may have to remove them from the awnings but they are super bright and will start in very cold temps. Offer to purchase new lamps from the companies, should be about $8 each. Heck, even good used lamps are still bright.

I have to admit that working with all the lights on and then going outside at night, it takes about a good minute for my eyes to adjust enough to find the house

 

[Denase]

No T12

Don't install the T12 light fixtures, the bulbs will not be available after 2012. This according to the lighting expert at Home Depot. The T8 bulbs and fixtures put out more lumens, and use less electricity. They also light almost instantaniously, and are not affected by low temps. I have four 8' fixtures, (each fixture uses four 4' bulbs) and the light output is incredible.

 

[Subwaybob]

Don't install the T12 light fixtures, the bulbs will not be available after 2012. This according to the lighting expert at Home Depot. The T8 bulbs and fixtures put out more lumens, and use less electricity. They also light almost instantaniously, and are not affected by low temps. I have four 8' fixtures, (each fixture uses four 4' bulbs) and the light output is incredible.

If I have to replace all the t12 fixtures in my Subways I am going to be one unhappy sandwich maker. I hate to get off the point but I wish the govt would get off me so I can put 50 T12 fixtures in the bathroom if I want to! Go tan in there! Outside of my rant I am not sure about the bulb thing. They did that with celing fans to the small bulbs but you can still buy the bulbs. They will stop making the fixtures but not the bulbs. BILLIONS of fixtures out there with em. So put 25 four foot fixtures in your 10 X 10 work shop if you want to. When one burns out you wont even know it. Plus you can reheat your Subway sandwich in there if you want to. IMHO

 

[RV7Guy]

Changed

My hangar is 45' x 40'. It originally came with 6 48" two bulb fixtures. Completely inadequate. Finally after many years, I switched to 6- 48" FOUR bulb T8 fixtures. I now have light!!!!

Definitely don't short yourself on lighting even it cost you more than you planned to spend.

BTW, I got my fixtures at (S)Lowes. They had a contractor price if you buy 6, which was perfect. List was $75, contractor price was $69. Pretty much paid for the bulbs.

 

[Paul K]

T12's

Just to clear up a little smoke, Not all T12 lamps are being eliminated in 2012, just the consumer ones. Basically FXXT12/XX lamps. Not commercial HO lamps. At least not yet!

Another slight misconception, T8's put out more lumens per watt but they burn a lot less watts.

If you have to purchase, go with T8's. In my case, I have an unlimited supply of T12's, I'll just stock up a little to last the rest of my life and let someone else worry about what is next. As little as I use them, these darn things will outlast me. I would guess LED's are going to trump everything anyway

 

[Denase]

Ballast

You might buy an extra ballast or two to go with the bulbs. They are no longer being manufactured.

 

[tmillican]

LED bulbs.

I would guess LED's are going to trump everything anyway

Maybe eventually. But not at today's prices.

I'm also looking at putting in more shop lighting. On vacation this summer, I noticed in the stairwell of the condo, on about half of the floors, they had replaced the two 4' fluorescents with one 4' LED tube. In looking for these on the internet, it sounds as if the fixtures do not require ballasts. If replacing them into a normal fluorescent fixture, you'd have to re-wire it. But just in a google search they are about $60 per tube!!!! I think I'll go with the traditional T-8 fluorescent bulbs.