Garage / shop lighting

tworley

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I have a single, 75 watt LED bulb in my garage (10'x27'). I need better lighting. I've made the decision to go full LED strips. I'd like 5000 lumens or greater with daylight color. My garage is set at 15 amps, 120V with only two electrical outlets (one on the ceiling for the garage door opener). Can I use my one single bulb wiring and wire 4-8' LED strips "Daisy chained" to each other? Home Depot has a 45W 8' LED strip. 8k lumens and 4000k color. Which would be exactly what I am looking for. I wouldn't even be close to over loading the circuit with these either. Thoughts? These would be two side x side in the front and rear of the garage on a single light switch.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Metalux...76-Lumens-4000K-UNV-Voltage-8SL8040/305053569


75970
 
I have a single, 75 watt LED bulb in my garage (10'x27'). I need better lighting. I've made the decision to go full LED strips. I'd like 5000 lumens or greater with daylight color. My garage is set at 15 amps, 120V with only two electrical outlets (one on the ceiling for the garage door opener). Can I use my one single bulb wiring and wire 4-8' LED strips "Daisy chained" to each other? Home Depot has a 45W 8' LED strip. 8k lumens and 4000k color. Which would be exactly what I am looking for. I wouldn't even be close to over loading the circuit with these either. Thoughts? These would be two side x side in the front and rear of the garage on a single light switch.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Metalux...76-Lumens-4000K-UNV-Voltage-8SL8040/305053569


View attachment 75970
Those lights are an excellent choice for garage lighting, ensure you space them out evenly to limit shadows.
 
Those lights are an excellent choice for garage lighting, ensure you space them out evenly to limit shadows.

I was hoping you'd chime in. The more research I do the more confident I am in that is will work just fine. The amount of light in your garage is what I am after.

This is what I was thinking for placement (bear in my mind I don't draft plans). 2 lights 2' away from the wall over my bench, two more over the parking area

75991


I think it will be more than enough. I've also tossed around the idea of a couple 4' lights to start, but I've never heard anyone say "I wish there was less lighting in here"

I'll need light under my overhead shelf but I'm thinking some mobile lights that use a magnet and just stick them on the overhead shelving
 
Paint will really brighten it up.
A white ceiling is like doubling the lumens.

I plan to paint everything white this summer. Maybe some diamond plate from the floor to the first 3' up the wall. I find my self putting my feet on the wall when working underneath the jeep because it's such a narrow garage
 
I put 12 of the 4' LED strip fixtures in my shop and I love the LED vs the old fluorescents. I was spending more on the bulbs then the cost of a new LED unit.

Most of the LED's come prewired with a plug but it's easy to convert them to hard wired.
 
Most of the LED's come prewired with a plug but it's easy to convert them to hard wired.

I need to do hardwiring, so that's good know. I have two outlets in the entire garage so I need access to them all
 
I'd try to spread them out a little farther side to side getting them at least as far apart as the TJ, or any car is wide. The farther apart, a thinner the shadow on the floor beside the vehicle.

Space is limited as the garage is only 10'. Should they be 1' away from either wall vs 2'?
 
I was hoping you'd chime in. The more research I do the more confident I am in that is will work just fine. The amount of light in your garage is what I am after.

This is what I was thinking for placement (bear in my mind I don't draft plans). 2 lights 2' away from the wall over my bench, two more over the parking area

View attachment 75991

I think it will be more than enough. I've also tossed around the idea of a couple 4' lights to start, but I've never heard anyone say "I wish there was less lighting in here"

I'll need light under my overhead shelf but I'm thinking some mobile lights that use a magnet and just stick them on the overhead shelving
The ultimate goal is to reduce shadows. You can hook up the lights temporarily, and play around with the placement. If you move them closer to the wall the light will wash down the walls, but you may get shadows along your workbench. Another option would be the 4 lights along the walls. Add a 5th down the middle and than a smaller light 4' maybe above your workbench. If you want some with layout and install I would be more than happy to give you a hand.
 
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This picture is of my 11x19 work space in my garage.

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I replaced the original twin 40w fluorescent ceiling fixture with these two hardwired LED fixtures.

https://www.primelights.com/shop/items/the-bolt-2-lamp-led-shop-light-5700lumens-pl-blt44wcl

I couldn’t be happier with the results.
I tried replacement led bulbs. Not satisfied with the improvement.
A fixture from Home Depot that worked for a week! It was replaced with a fixture that never did work!
And a pair of lights I bought from Rockler that said they weren’t designed to be flush mounted ?!!

I paid $52 apiece with a cyber Monday deal, no tax, free shipping.
Did I mention I LOVE the improvement?
 
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T12 replacement bulbs, 6000K, 3200 luminens each, got them from Amazon. Just remove the ballasts, rewire the tombstones and you are in daylight at midnight...Tim
76003
 
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I used T8 32 Watt Daylight bulbs when I redid my garage lights. I don't know if LED's were available then. I sure would have considered them. I definitely agree with the comments above about having a white ceiling. I did NOT want to drywall mine. I drywalled the walls (not complete in the pic below) and painted them white but because I couldn't empty the garage when I did the work, lifting drywall to the ceiling would have been tough.

I used aluminum soffit panels (16"x10' each). They are light, white and easy for one person to install. There was no taping, seam filling/sanding or painting. It makes for a nice industrial/commercial look and the cost was about the same as it would have been for drywall.

76066
 
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I used T8 32 Watt Daylight bulbs when I redid my garage lights. I don't know if LED's were available then. I sure would have considered them. I definitely agree with the comments above about having a white ceiling. I did NOT want to drywall mine. I drywalled the walls (not complete in the pic below) and painted them white but because I couldn't empty the garage when I did the work, lifting drywall to the ceiling would have been tough.

I used aluminum soffit panels (16"x10' each). They are light, white and easy for one person to install. There was no taping, seam filling/sanding or painting. It makes for a nice industrial/commercial look and the cost was about the same as it would have been for drywall.

View attachment 76066
This is a great Idea...I was going to use polebarn steel, but I like the look of your soffit better.

@tworley When I built my barn...I went a bit crazy on lighting. Its all about the amount of light that hits the floor. Ceiling height is important. You want a minimum 100 Foot-candles average (that is considered "good" lighting for fine tasks). I don't remember all the formulas to calculate but a quick google search should get you what you need.

I used 30,000 Lumen T8 fixtures. I have 8 of them in my shop with 10 foot ceilings and 720 sq feet of space. Its amazing! Very minimal shadows. I considered LED's but when I built, Florescent lighting was still considerably cheaper for the amount of light I wanted. I needed double the fixtures to get the same light. I also wired them to two independent circuits, so I can have half the lights on at once...saves on power when I'm not out there "working."
 
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Reactions: tworley
This picture is of my 11x19 work space in my garage.

View attachment 76001

I replaced the original twin 40w fluorescent ceiling fixture with these two hardwired LED fixtures.

https://www.primelights.com/shop/items/the-bolt-2-lamp-led-shop-light-5700lumens-pl-blt44wcl

I couldn’t be happier with the results.
I tried replacement led bulbs. Not satisfied with the improvement.
A fixture from Home Depot that worked for a week! It was replaced with a fixture that never did work!
And a pair of lights I bought from Rockler that said they weren’t designed to be flush mounted ?!!

I paid $52 apiece with a cyber Monday deal, no tax, free shipping.
Did I mention I LOVE the improvement?

I like the price of those a lot. I hadn't come across these in my search, thanks for the link! We're not to far off from the same footprint, your photo looks like it provides plenty of light. 6 of these (2 on either end, 4 in the middle should provide what I am after).

This is a great Idea...I was going to use polebarn steel, but I like the look of your soffit better.

@tworley When I built my barn...I went a bit crazy on lighting. Its all about the amount of light that hits the floor. Ceiling height is important. You want a minimum 100 Foot-candles average (that is considered "good" lighting for fine tasks). I don't remember all the formulas to calculate but a quick google search should get you what you need.

I used 30,000 Lumen T8 fixtures. I have 8 of them in my shop with 10 foot ceilings and 720 sq feet of space. Its amazing! Very minimal shadows. I considered LED's but when I built, Florescent lighting was still considerably cheaper for the amount of light I wanted. I needed double the fixtures to get the same light. I also wired them to two independent circuits, so I can have half the lights on at once...saves on power when I'm not out there "working."

I thought florescent for a bit, as they are cheap. The humming sound wouldnt bother me one bit, but I do like the "instant on" that LEDs provide.