George2615
Super Member
Yes, the cold start ones I bought work great. Temps in my garage these past few weeks have been 30-40 degrees and the lights start up right away. The regular ballast T12 fixtures did not. I also use a CFL for my grinder lamp.
Best Garage Lighting
- Thread starter OrangeAgain
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Yes, the cold start ones I bought work great. Temps in my garage these past few weeks have been 30-40 degrees and the lights start up right away. The regular ballast T12 fixtures did not. I also use a CFL for my grinder lamp.
patrick_g
Elite Member
This new installation may be an opportunity to run the numbers on LED lamps.
Don't try to illuminate the whole place bright enough for a hospital operating theater. Go with a lower level of illumination for general lighting to support safe navigation and use task lighting to brighten areas where you actually do work requiring sharp vision.
For visual comfort try to not have more than a 3 to 1 ratio of brightness in your field of view. If you wanted 100 foot candles at bench top height for "run of the mill" task lighting you'd want at least 30 or more for general ambient lighting. For detail work requiring high visual acuity you would want extra light on the subject of interest beyond 100.
In my 24 x 36 wood shop (10 ft ceilings) I have 3 strings of monopole high output fluorescent which exceeds my ambient lighting needs. They are separately switched. In addition I have 3 each twin tube shop lights ( 4 footers) for task lighting over my cabinet saw, lathe, and workbench. I have other clamp-on lights, tripod mounted halogen work lights in single and double fixtures, and magnetically attachable LED lamps.
Sharing much of an interior wall with my wood shop is my metal shop (21 x 51.) It has 4 each 8 ft monopole fluorescents (high output suitable for cold locations) and a dual tube shop light on a swing arm to service my 10 inch grinder and a 14 inch abrasive cutoff saw. I frequently use tripod mounted work lights as task lights.
As time passes I will probably add more shop lights to both shops and a few fairly narrow beam spot lights aimed at specific machines from a distance away.
I like a lot of light on anything intricate but don't want to pay to light everything to the same level, just the areas that need it when tley need it.
Oh, by the way... my first engineering job for the Government (1984) was as energy conservation officer for SUBASE San Diego where lighting design was an important part of my work, mostly retrofit but some new design including ball fields, dining facilities, O-club, torpedo maint facilities and so forth.
Pat
Don't try to illuminate the whole place bright enough for a hospital operating theater. Go with a lower level of illumination for general lighting to support safe navigation and use task lighting to brighten areas where you actually do work requiring sharp vision.
For visual comfort try to not have more than a 3 to 1 ratio of brightness in your field of view. If you wanted 100 foot candles at bench top height for "run of the mill" task lighting you'd want at least 30 or more for general ambient lighting. For detail work requiring high visual acuity you would want extra light on the subject of interest beyond 100.
In my 24 x 36 wood shop (10 ft ceilings) I have 3 strings of monopole high output fluorescent which exceeds my ambient lighting needs. They are separately switched. In addition I have 3 each twin tube shop lights ( 4 footers) for task lighting over my cabinet saw, lathe, and workbench. I have other clamp-on lights, tripod mounted halogen work lights in single and double fixtures, and magnetically attachable LED lamps.
Sharing much of an interior wall with my wood shop is my metal shop (21 x 51.) It has 4 each 8 ft monopole fluorescents (high output suitable for cold locations) and a dual tube shop light on a swing arm to service my 10 inch grinder and a 14 inch abrasive cutoff saw. I frequently use tripod mounted work lights as task lights.
As time passes I will probably add more shop lights to both shops and a few fairly narrow beam spot lights aimed at specific machines from a distance away.
I like a lot of light on anything intricate but don't want to pay to light everything to the same level, just the areas that need it when tley need it.
Oh, by the way... my first engineering job for the Government (1984) was as energy conservation officer for SUBASE San Diego where lighting design was an important part of my work, mostly retrofit but some new design including ball fields, dining facilities, O-club, torpedo maint facilities and so forth.
Pat
DTCOOPER
Bronze Member
Ecoslik,
The fixtures you're using are not 54 total watts - they're 6 Lamp T5 Fbays.. Each lamp is a 54w T5 HO lamp... Your total energy usage per fixture (depending on brand) is about 350 watts... Including lamp wattage and ballast loss factor.
The T5 fixtures will operate great in anything from 20-90 degree heat. If you get outside those ranges, the quality of light goes down.. If you get above 100 degrees, then light output drops substantially. As does lamp and ballast life.. I sell about 200 of these fixtures per month right now.. They're the neatest thing going.
I sell this stuff for a living.. By far, the best bet (cost and useability) is 2 lamp 8' HO strips.. They use T12 F96T12CWHO lamps.. start wonderfully down to about -15 degrees, and the hotter it gets, the brighter they are.
LED is still not cost effective.. Give it a couple more years and the LED drivers will be affordable, to allow for widespread lighting..
As someone said, Color temperature has a lot of effect on ones eyes, and PERCEIVED lumen output.. It's measured in Kelvin.. a 5000k lamp will APPEAR miuch brighter than a 3500k... But it's not so..
Please PM or email me if you have any questions.. I'd be glad to do a layout for you using a few different fixtures, and let you know your options !!
Daniel Cooper
dcooper @ cedtyler dot com.
9973720wb19
Platinum Member
I know nothing about lights but man your barn is nice!! great design...I wish I would have built something with an upgraded trim design...
I have mentioned these giant CFL's before on TBN, and no one showed any interest.
A 300 watt equivalent uses only 65 watts. They are rated to start at -20F, (many tube fixtures can't come close to that). They never hum, they don't flicker, they can be had in several different color temperatures, they're made to be used base up, and their cheap. One bulb, and one porcelain socket are under $20 at HD.
They take a few minutes to reach full brightness, (like any florescent). But, they start at about the same amount of light as a 100 watt bulb. So, your not in the dark waiting.
There are now 400 watt equivalent units available at electrical supply stores.
I HATE ordinary CFL bulbs, and do not have any in my house. However, after seeing these giant CFL's tested at the airport in hangars for 2 years, I tried them.
I have 10 of the TCP brand, HD, 300 watt bulbs in my shop, and for only $200, it's so bright I don't ever run all of them at once.
The only draw back I can see is they are about 10" long. So, if you have a low ceiling, you may end up bumping into them.
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wetstuff
Silver Member
.... this is kind of a silly picture, but it shows the difference between this 'High Bay' fixture vs. an old fashioned 8', twin tube floro just above it.
I am seduced by light, so even tho' this fancy fixture was like $180 a couple of years ago, it is a helluva improvement when doing things like detailing where you want daylight-at-night in the garage. This is mounted in the upper corner so I can bounce the light off the side of the car.
DTCooper would know more than my technical judgement: "I jes' like'm."
Jim
I am seduced by light, so even tho' this fancy fixture was like $180 a couple of years ago, it is a helluva improvement when doing things like detailing where you want daylight-at-night in the garage. This is mounted in the upper corner so I can bounce the light off the side of the car.
DTCooper would know more than my technical judgement: "I jes' like'm."
Jim
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Haoleguy
Platinum Member
Per what ray66v said i would look in the direction he mentioned. I have seen plant growers move in this direction because they can get great illumination at a lower watt usage. What growers do is: (a) mount them horizontally with dual opposing bulbs and (b) use high reflective metal surfaces as the backing. In many ways this is what you want to do....Gary
Late add - Maybe something like these would be a good solution ... http://www.buylightfixtures.com/canopy-fluorescent-12x12-surface-mount-fixture.aspx .
Late add - Maybe something like these would be a good solution ... http://www.buylightfixtures.com/canopy-fluorescent-12x12-surface-mount-fixture.aspx .
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JJT
Veteran Member
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- Kubota L3710 HST and a Kubota ZD21 60Pro
I agree, T5's are the way to go. I had my shop estimated at a light store for t8's and t5's, only needed 4 t5's for a 28x42 footprint. I would have needed 18 or more t8's. Add in my time to wire and the pain of swapping out burned bulbs made this a no brainer. I was a skeptic until I threw the light switch. It's very nice to have all the light you need.
WM75Guy
Elite Member
Don't know if you made a choice yet so here is my Morton barn. We used 8 8' fixtures, 4 T8 32W 6500K bulbs per fixture. Each side is on a separate switch, 3 way switches at each end of the barn. There is also a 13W flourescent nightlight on a photocell at one end. The 6500K bulbs are listed as daylight bulbs and are commercial grade. Residential bulbs are 2000K - 3000K and are a softer light.
