Need Help lighting for new garage

[scrivy69]

I know this probably has been asked many times before. But I need some help deciding the best and cheapest route on lights for a 30'x30' garage with a 10' ceiling. I have an electrician coming saturday to wire the garage. He asked me yesterday what i was going to use for ceiling lights? well I dont know so I thought i would ask members their experience and ask for suggestions. We are going to either Lowes or Menards to check out what they offer. Also how many would you all use. My initial thought was to use 4 foot 2 bulb flouresants with electronic ballast. 3 each on the 7 trusses (21 total). Just a thought, Just like everybody on a budget i thought I would chime in to see what the members have in their particular shops. Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[beppington]

4' double-bulb fluorescent fixtures spaced no more than 5 or 6 feet apart.

Use at least 2 switches. One controls every other fixture, & the other controls the remaining every-other-fixtures. This way, if you don't need full lighting, you can turn on just half of them & still light the place pretty well.

 

[CharlieS]

Shop and do you're math. instead of that many 4 foot, you will do well with 8 or 9-8 foot flourescents. Not only are 4 footers notorious for burning tubes quicker, the light output from 2-4 foot fixtures will not equal 1-8 foot with a high output ballast. HO's (high output, with zero degree ballasts) are a little more expensive but in the long run, less maintence. For example i light my shop with 6 of them, (24 x 32) and its more than enough light for most things and in 15 years i have not replaced a ballast, and have only replaced 2 tubes.
Location of tools, work bench's etc, will determine lighting layout, though a good rule of thumb would be a row of 3 about 6 feet from each side wall, this lights benches well without lights glaring in you're face, and a row of two or three down the middle. Switch them according to you're bench layout\work habits.

As a retired master electrician, i've laid out and installed literally hundreds of buildings of all shapes and sizes, so balanced lighting is not a new thing to me. If you wish, contact me via pm and i'll have you email me a proposed layout, i'll work up a lighting diagram that should work for you.

 

[beppington]

This is based on the well-lit office I'm sitting in right now, but sized up for your 30' x 30' garage:

(Edit: It's actually 640W on the green circuit, & 560W on the red circuit)

 

[skipmarcy]

I agree with the 8' High Output lights - that's what I used in my garage. Living in Mo. you'll be getting as cold in winter as I do and you'll appreciate the HO fixtures & bulbs. My attached garage is 16x32 w/10' ceiling and I have 4 of the 8' and they light up the whole place just fine. I have 2 fixtures on 1 switch and the other 2 fixtures each have their own switch - this is what worked well for my setup. Personally, I prefered the lights a little closer to the wall where my workbench & reloading bench are - eliminates your shadow when standing at the bench. The other fixtures are further out from the walls for more even lighting.

 

[beppington]

I'm familiar with the 4' fluorescent bulbs/ fixtures & know the 40W "shop blubs" are really cheap. My 24' x 22' garage is lighted with them & I haven't had to change one since '03.

Are the 8 footer bulbs & fixtures comparable in price? (As in not more than double a 4 footer)

 

[srs]

But I need some help deciding the best and cheapest route on lights for a 30'x30' garage with a 10' ceiling.

scrivy69, I have a 30 X 40 with a 10'+ ceiling. As far as the the cheapest you could go with the keyhole type sockets and just put in light bulbs. What I did (on the cheap side) and quite pleased is I went to Lowes or HD and bought the 4 foot 2 bulb shop lights with electronic ballast. I think they are T-8 bulbs. I place outlets in the ceiling controlled by wall switches to turn the lights on. I have a total of 4 rows of lights. 3 in the front, due to the garage door opener, 4 in the second row, 4 in the third row, and 3 in the back, due to a small room there. Haven't had any problems with humming due to the cold winters and if one should fail I'll just buy a new shop light. The lights have been in 3 years now and I'm very pleased. I'm sure the 8 foot bulbs as suggested may be better but like I said I went cheap. Let us know.

 

[beppington]

What I did (on the cheap side) and quite pleased is I went to Lowes or HD and bought the 4 foot 2 bulb shop lights with electronic ballast. I think they are T-8 bulbs. I place outlets in the ceiling controlled by wall switches to turn the lights on.

Same here: I installed a duplex outlet in the ceiling at every light location, & then just hung & plugged in an el-cheap-o 4' fluorescent shop light at each location. Works great. Very cheap.

 

[rus_geek]

Is this a "garage" or a "shop" garage? I have a 28x32 with 10' ceiling and just used six keyless sockets (about $1 each) with screw-in compact fluorescent bulbs. This is plenty of light for normal work like checking/changing oil, lawnmower blades, etc. I'll use dedicated work lighting if I'm doing close fit-n-finish with a router or something small on the drill press. And no matter how well you light the ceiling, you still can't see the underside of the truck to work there

-rus-

 

[CharlieS]

Are the 8 footer bulbs & fixtures comparable in price? (As in not more than double a 4 footer)

8' HO's are a bit more expensive than the cheap 4 foot fixtures, however, lamps last much longer, light output from a pair of 8' lamps is more than double that of 4-4' lamps. Ballasts are longer lived. When maintence/replacement is calculated out over a period of years cost is the same or slightly less.