Garage LED light in office?

[jyl]

I need to improve the lighting in this space.



It is hard to tell from the iPhone photo, because the phone does its best to brighten the image, but this space has a single overhead light fixture with a single bulb socket, and it just isn't very bright. Even if I install a 13 w LED bulb (equiv to 100 w), the room will be dim.

(It is gloomy a lot in Portland and my eyesight is bad, so I use only "daylight" spectrum bulbs, 5000 Kelvin and up, and I want a room where I'm going to work to be "operating room" bright. My small kitchen has six 13 w daylight LEDs hanging from the ceiling and that's just about adequate.)

The fixture isn't great for illumination, it looks like a larger version of this



So I am thinking of trying one of these

Sailstar LED Garage Lights, 60W Garage Ceiling Lighting Deformable, 6000K E26 Basement Light, 6000LM Super Bright Light, Triple LED Adjustable Light for Car Garage, Attic, Shop (No Motion Detection) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WZZ21CQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-0PeEb6VCAT3V

What do you think? Anyone have one?

I think it will fit in the fixture. I'm not concerned about its "style".

[WPOZZZ]

I like LEDs, but the light is pretty hard on the eyes.

[rusnak]

I would suggest ceiling LED lights. They can be added to any ceiling, and have a gimble that allows you to aim the light where you need them. They are fill lights, meaning they do not detract from your accent lights, and they are dimmable. I would suggest them, but being an internet chat board, you'll say something like you're dead set on some weird ass funky thought and want to do that instead.

[911boost]

I have those style lights in my garage. Used two of them to replace a bunch of older lights. They are bright as hell and you can aim them sort of. You do not want to look into them....

I got the ones on Amazon that had the highest ratings.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by rusnak

I would suggest ceiling LED lights. They can be added to any ceiling, and have a gimble that allows you to aim the light where you need them. They are fill lights, meaning they do not detract from your accent lights, and they are dimmable. I would suggest them, but being an internet chat board, you'll say something like you're dead set on some weird ass funky thought and want to do that instead.

Do you have a link to one you like?

[Baz]

I bought this one for my garage and it really helped. The lumen rating is not as high as yours, John. But wanted to let you know it was a big help with very little effort on my part.

The $14.50 cost was a huge value in my opinion.

LED Garage Lights 4500LM Deformable Led Garage Ceiling Lighting 45W E26 / E27 Daylight LED Light Bulbs Adjustable Led Shop Lights for Garage, Workshop, Workbench, Barn, Warehouse, Full Area, Basement

[john70t]

I'm not keen on any central light which could blinding when walking through the main areas.
I'd prefer a central overhead with warm light to make the room cozy, and use individual cool white floor lamps at stations.
There are some on a counter-balance extension which should be plenty customizable.
The only drawback is that these would require turning off and on, but a touch-light or floor-step switches might help. ymmv

[jyl]

For $25 I'll try one - I can always put in in my garage . . .

Rented space so constraint on installing additional ceiling fixtures. I could do it if needed.

[jyl]

Didn't think about the shadow issue!

[MysticLlama]

Agreed on the mixed spectrum, 6000K seems real rough for indoor lighting, especially in the evening.

Also watch for the CRI on the bulbs, better color rendering helps in one of those 'just feels better' ways that's hard to tell immediately.

[RWebb]

I'd shoot for task lighting - with multiple lights. Yellow LEDs NOT white.

Is that you in the photo?

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by jyl

Do you have a link to one you like?

Sometimes they're called "wall washers". They can be aimed either downward, or at an angle.

The exact type you pick depends on the area that you're installing the light in. You can find them for either built in ceilings, drop ceilings, or stand alone, such as in a warehouse (no ceiling). All of the new leds are controlled with motion sensing, and are dimmable.

Try to find an American made light, from a lighting specialty store. The big box stores, and Amazon etc sell cheap made in China lights that will die on you.

[jyl]

That's my son.

I should explain about the local lighting situation.

In Portland, it is common to have 30 days straight of rain and grey cloudy skies. It can be broad daytime, your room can have big south-facing windows like shown, and it will still be gloomy and dark from sunup to sundown. After a few years living here, I realized that I need large amounts of artificial "daylight" to avoid falling into a dull slump for the winter. At my previous job, I put a 100 w equivalent daylight CFL bulb over each of my six monitors so I could have 600 w of "daylight" for 10 hours a day.

Also, my eyesight is getting poor, and I find I need really bright light to read fine print. I'm actually going to be setting up eight 27" monitors so that each application can have a large font for the easiest possible viewing. But printed material can't be zoomed in . . .

That is why I want what seem like ridiculous amounts of "daylight" light, even in a room that I expect to occupy only during the daytime.

The existing ceiling fixture will indeed cast bad shadows. So I will try to figure out how to install some "wall washers" to warm the 6000 K main lights and soften the shadows, despite this being a low-budget rental space.

The space is a conference room and an office room, separated by a wall and doorway. I think the conference room will have normal human-level lighting, and the office will have the operating room level of 6000 K light that I like.

[rusnak]

IMO, you need to figure out where you'll be doing 90% of your working and reading. That is the area that you want to have light. I would recommend that you look at the large curved screen computers, such as the HP Envy. Also task lighting. Ugly, but very very good to have on your desk. Dimmable, direct light.

LED Task Lamp | Nationwide Shipping | Arbe Machine



And do not overlook a magnifying lamp. Again, ugly but dang useful if you need one. I have two, and want to apply a hammered paint finish to one.

https://www.lssproducts.com/product/Dazor-5D-circline-magnifying-desk-lamp/magnifying-lamps

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by rusnak

Sometimes they're called "wall washers". They can be aimed either downward, or at an angle.

Okay , LOVE that light!!!

[RWebb]

what are you going to be looking at or reading in the office part?

anything besides huge computer screens?

[jyl]

Originally Posted by RWebb

what are you going to be looking at or reading in the office part?

anything besides huge computer screens?

Nothing special:
8 x 27" monitors
printed documents and reports

Searching "LED wall washer light" on Amazon turns up a lot of LED lightbar thingys, typically 2-4' long, anywhere from 12 w to 150 w. E.g. https://www.amazon.com/RSN-LED-PC-WW24W-CW-Waterproof-Warranty/dp/B06XCPMCFN?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1

I could hang/mount these pretty easily. It is an old industrial building, the ceiling is a bunch of ducts, conduit and pipes, painted black - like you'd see in a restaurant. I can put light socket plug extenders https://www.amazon.com/GE-Adapter-Polarized-Workshop-54178/dp/B000TU1W9Y?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2 in the existing fixtures and run cords from those. Not very clean looking but just a test, if it works great then I can look into doing it properly.

[stomachmonkey]

I'm sensitive to light.

No overhead lighting for me if I can avoid it.

Diffused up lights are the way to go.

You can get all the light you need, it's not as harsh and does not induce tension / stress.

[john70t]

Warm light for the entire room.
Cool(full spec) spotlights for work stations.

[RWebb]

The printed documents and reports will need higher light levels than the monitors (which merely need enough light to reduce contrast of the LEDs with the rest of the room).

There are specs. on office lighting somewhere, but I don't know where...

The ID of your son answers why "you" looked so young... (and had a bun).