Garage/Workshop Lighting Help

[Gordo2]

Folks,

I'm building a 24' wide by 28' deep garage/workshop. Looking for recommendations on what kind of general purpose overhead lighting I should go with and how to space the lights. The ceiling is 10' 6".

I'm primarily interested in workspace lighting quality as opposed to decor...

I'm currently considering using 4 X 8' high output, 2 bulb (T12 - 110W) fluorescent strips. Not sure how I should orient them (parallel to the the cars or perpendicular). I also don't know if four will be sufficient. I need cold start ballasts as well.

I appreciate your recommendations/input.

Gordo

[Hugh R]

No expert here, but I find the 4 footers to be way cheaper than the 8's. I'd think that better spaced 2 bulbs would be better than less spaced 4 bulbs.

[RoninLB]

I have to install high voltage 0deg winter sets.

relatively expensive to standard 4'ers.

[89911]

I just built a 24 by 25' garage and used 4 units each that use 4 T8 bulbs. They finished off the ceiling and painted it white which help with the reflection. Needless to say, but the lighting is fantastic. I could do brain surgery on the side if I run out of car items to do.

[makaio]

I have 8-48" with 4 bulb fixtures in my 24' x 36' shop with 9.5' cielings and it's pretty bright. The only thing I wish I would have done different, and I can always do it later is mount an additional unit over each of my 2 work benches. I wired them staggered with 4 switches, so if I don't need all the lighting on, or I'm only working in one area of the shop, I don't have to have them all on.

[cab83_750]

I have a 3-car garage with 4 flourescent units (8 footers 2 each). I love them.

The only issue that I have is when to throw a broken bulbs. Too long for the trash cans.

[Dantilla]

I have 8' tubes, but what really makes the difference is having the ceiling and walls painted bright white.

[Tim Walsh]

I just put in new lights in my new to me garage. 1100sqft of space and I put in 6 of the 4ft twin tube t8 lights. I would have prefered 8-10 total, but I wasn't sure if the electrical circuits would handle it, so I didn't exceed the previous 4x100w incandescents. They were cheap from lowes and are 0 degree start/instant on ballasts. I didn't really need either, but they just happen to have them.

For your space(sounds like an oversized 2 car) I would put in 3 rows of 2 lights each, one on the outer side of the cars, and one in the middle followed by 2-3 lights over the workbench/shop area in the back. That way the lights shine into your work area(wheel wells, engine bay, etc), and not on top of the cars where it doesn't really do much. It's tough to have too much light.

+1 on the white walls, the first thing I did when I moved in was paint the cinder block walls white, which made a huge difference.

[javadog]

One of my garages is close to yours in size. I used 9 surface mounted fixtures with 4 48' bulbs, spaced in three rows of three. The walls and ceiling are white. It's bright compared to most garages but I still have to augment the lighting with drop lights when working on a car.

In my warehouse, I have a mixture of 48" and 96" lights and the longer ones are a pain in the butt to change. Something I did there was to distribute the lighting unevenly, with the longer lights used for general illumination and an area designated for wrenching on a car set up with 6 fixtures with 3 48" bulbs, directly over the car. It's quite bright, but occasionally drop lights are used there as well. It's a better setup than the one in the garage, as I am usually working on one car at a time, so the light elsewhere doesn't have to be as bright. Additional lights are placed above the workbench.

You'll never have enough light. If you want to eliminate the need for drop lights, you should consider wall mounted lights on all four sides of where you plan to work on the cars. I'd distribute the lights unequally, with a lot more used where the most work will be done and fewer used where you will park the daily drivers and store things.

JR

[VINMAN]

My garage in my last house was 24x24. I installed continuous single 4ft fixtures all around the perimeter of the wall /ceiling joint. Had six 4x2 fixtures on the ceiling. Was like daylight in there.

Im in the process of doing the same with my current 32x28 Im putting in nine 4x2s over the bays with eight footer strips between them. Same single 4 footers aroung the perimeter at the wall/ceiling.
Can never have enough light.

[JeremyD]

I have 8''s in mine - but check out widebody and his light in his workshop - he's got two sets of 4' off two switches - he can go to normal light - or surface of the sun with one switch.

I also painted my garage with shiny white epoxy based paint - makes it easy to clean AND reflects alot of light!

[Tim Hancock]

I don't have any pics right now, but in the main room of my hangar, I have 4 rows of multiple 2 bulb x 4' fixtures running nearly full width. Each bank is on a seperate switch allowing me to only use some of them if desired (approximately 50' x 50 x 13' ceiling).

In my paintbooth/auto repair shop (20' x 30' x 13' ceiling) I have two rows running length wise on the ceiling along with (4) sets mounted vertically on the walls on seperate switches. This gives me pretty decent lighting for working in the wheel wells when the car is up on the lift. I also have 4' tall (1 - 2 bulb 4' fixture) and 8' tall (2 -2 bulb 4' fixtures) light fixture stands made from 2x4's that I can position where needed. These work great when laid horizontally on the floor under my lift when working under the car. I also have some 2 bulb x 4' fixtures hanging on chains above some of my workbenches. ALL use standard 4' bulbs.

[widebody911]

My shop is 24x24x10

I have 9 4-tube 4' fixtures on 2 circuits. I just wish I'd placed the 'outboard' fixtures about 1' closer to the wall, at least on the lift-side of the shop - there's a shadow on that side.

[JeremyD]