shop lighting

[mike cook]

I want to put lights in my new 24x36 shop 12' ceiling would like led if not to $$$$$ will put on 3 switches so I can lightup certain areas at at time brand names and model#s a big help thanks

 

[Xfaxman]

My shop is about the same size, had skylights put in the south wall so don't need lights during the day.

All of my power tools are on casters so they can be pushed together out of the way when not being used.

I started with two LED flood lights on separate switches, in the center, pointed away from each other. That worked well until I found a brighter, whiter all direction LED. It is a 14w, 1200 lumens, Ecosmart brand

I removed the flood for the front half of the shop, aimed the holder straight down and screwed it in.

It lights the whole shop. If I need more light for a project, I use a portable LED work light.

Here is a daylight shot of the south wall.

With the LED on, notice how it lights up the wall 15 feet away.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

led shoplights is what I have, just haven't installed them in the barn yet. do have them in the garage and basement and really like them.

 

[boggen]

not a fan of "florescent tubes/lights" more so in cold weather. the lights will begin to flicker and takes some time for lights to become full brightness.

use cheap "incandescent lights" other words screw in type. instant on and full brightness.
--you can pickup metal boxes cheap, and then screw in holders that fight directly to the metal boxes for 1 to 2 bucks last time i looked. (cheap) only thing that really costs is the wire itself.
--multi small bulbs spread clear around the perimeter of shed. = reduction of shadows a big amount. and generally places light between me and any shelving along the walls of shed.
--i have a couple "strings per say" of lights. each on a different switch.
--i already have power feeding to the light switch area. so easy to put a switch and run an outside light above garage door.
i edited one of Xfaxman images. to show approx location of lights i have in one of my sheds.


i would caution use of LED in an unheated / uncooled building. the circuit boards and like of LED's may not last / be rated for outdoor use.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

I agree with Ryan and did the same in my barn. Here is a fixture from HD for $1.49. Add in a round box and a bulb and you are at $3~$4 per fixture.
Leviton Porcelain Keyless Lamp Holder-R50-09875-000 - The Home Depot

 

[Wnc3]

High output flourescent lights. I used 3 fixtures with 6 tubes each in a 40x60 with 14' ceiling
I really like them. Do a google search.

 

[Coyote machine]

Since 2009 I've been using this brand of light, which is a high output/ low cost, 65W=500W output Flourex bulb technology. I have three bays with ten foot ceilings and I use 3 of these lamps, one in each bay, all on a 3 way switch. They throw very bright white light.:thumbsup: I heat my bays to 50*F in winter. I also use a 100W=1000W output Flourex lamp in my unheated adjacent boat bay with 14' high ceiling, 40' deep x 12'W insulated bay. It's mounted at the back of the bay, high up on the back wall pointing downward at a 45* angle.

BTW, I taped over the photocell, and just use the lights on a switch, indoors. They won't hold up outside- too flimsy construction for outdoor use.

Lights of America: 9265 65W Fluorex Flood Light, White.

 

[stan33]

Depends on what you are going to do in there. If you are just going to park a car in there you probably dont need much lighting.
If you are going to use it as a workshop then I can recommend the newer type of fluroescents. They come on straight away without a starter. No flickering. They are more energy efficient than the old ones and aren't expensive to install or replace the tubes.
I think they are also supposed to be less affected by temperature although it never gets below about 45 here so I cant vouch for lower temps.
Had them installed a few months ago and very happy with them....a lot more so than the old style fluro's they replaced.

 

[Mace Canute]

When we installed lighting in my 40' x 60' shop we used eight fixtures with six four foot long T-5 HO tubes per fixture. Ceiling is about 15 feet 4 inches high and the interior is white. It's quite well lit!

 

[old gray]

New LED fluorescent from Home Depot. 3200 Lumes. Has a pull switch, they can be connected together with plug in cord provided or directly connected together with connector provided. 4ft lamp, $25 on sale now. Just plug it in. Afaxman sounds like a great solution also.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have not really needed light in my new drive shed so I just put in six cheapie 4 foot double florescents. I am going to wait a few years for the LED stuff to get cheaper and better.

 

[Coyote machine]

New LED fluorescent from Home Depot. 3200 Lumes. Has a pull switch, they can be connected together with plug in cord provided or directly connected together with connector provided. 4ft lamp, $25 on sale now. Just plug it in. Afaxman sounds like a great solution also.

What SKU?/brand/model? Thanks.

If the link below is what you're referring to it's $40/each....
Commercial ElectricModel # 54103161(171)
4 ft. LED Linkable White Shop Light $39.97 /each

 

[grsthegreat]

i install shop lighting ...among other crap for a living.

i have found that standard T8 florescent 8 foot fixtures that use (4) 32 watt 5,000 K lamps work best. The newer electronic ballast work to -20F without much warmup needed.

in most 30x40 shops i install 2 rows of 3 each. sometimes i install a 3rd row for the guys that want LOTS of light.

these fixtures cost aprox $55.00 each plus the cost of lamps (about $2 each)

so far i have not seen any LED fixtures worth the $$$ to use. Ive actually stopped installing ANY led in commercial buildings due to their high driver fail rates ive been experiencing.

sure, the manufacturers give me a free driver to replace the defective one, but they dont pay for my labor. ive been eating too much $$$ lately. I regret ever installing them.

we have one local big time contractor that replaced all the towns street lights with LED a few years back. now all over town you look up at night and see major sections of these lights burnt out. 50,000 my aunts fanny.

the old style HID fixtures would last longer.

but enough of that ranting. as for the 3 separate switches..sure, good idea as long as your not like 80% of my clients and always flip on all 3 switches hehe .. all the time.

I have mine set as each row on its own switch, and i actually use it many times with only turning on 1 row of lights.

the T8 32 watt fixtures say they require 140 watts per fixture. One 15 amp circuit can easily handle 9 of these fixtures.

 

[MFWD]

Hello,
The best thing you said in your post was that you were going to use (3) separate circuits. For the difference in time, materials and effort, that will save you much money in the long run. I did the same thing in my new barn/workshop. In the lower floor of the barn I have (12) 4' (4) 32 watt bulb fixtures.......1536 watts if all are on a once. I put (4) fixtures in each bay at a total of 512 watts....each row is on a separate circuit and switch. If I'm working in one bay, why have the lights on in the other bays......makes great sense to me. Good luck !!!!

MFWD

 

[countrybumpkin]

I should be ready to start wiring and hanging lights in my new building, still not sure what I'm going to use yet, I do have 4 400 watt low bay lights I'll hang in part of my shop area, but will need some "instant on" and lighting under the mezzanine. Then something in the "cold storage " area. I built a 40 x 80 of which a 40 x 30 is completely enclosed and insulated, the the remainder 40 x 50 is open on one end.

 

[Xfaxman]

For the "cold storage " area, consider these, 50W LED Flood light, cool white.

I have one at each end of the center aisle in the horse barn. Got them on eBay, $23.17 each.

 

[countrybumpkin]

I'll have to look into those.

 

[Xfaxman]

I'll have to look into those.

This is where it is mounted. I will take some pictures tonight to show the light output.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Ok thanks I think a few of those would work out fine for the storage area

 

[Industrial Toys]

I bought a bunch of LED X-MAs lights a few years back thinking that was for LIFE. They all went dim and died! Not impressed! I have about twelve 2X4 florescent lights in a 24 foot square shop. I use low voltage control relays GE RR7 to control them. You just run a live feed to them all. No need to run 3 or 4 way switches. If you are patient, you can find nice cheap RR7 relays on E-Bay.