Garage Lighting

[new to this]

The attached basic drawing shows the layout of he garage and where the current lights are and also where there are areas that could do with more light. I would like to know 1 ) How much light a garage of this size/shape should have for the purpose of a garage or workshop 2) The type of light ie cool white etc and 3) any suggestions to the best fittings. Thanks

I take it the dash lines are where you already have lights, are they singles or doubles,it all depends on how much you want to spend,on the x marks by the bench i would put LED flourescents 5ft singles,the other flourescents change them to LED doubles, go for a weather proof fitting IP65

they do sell 600 x 600 Led Panel lights they are good but when they go wrong you have to replace the whole fitting wear going with LED replacement tubes its only the tubes that need replacement,go for cool white or day light tubes they give the brightest out put,

they also sell a chip LED fitting but again when they go wrong its the whole fitting that needs to be changed

Dave

[new to this]

Dazza, have you thought of mounting a couple of led "tubes" half way up the wall where you need more light? That might complement the improvement in roof mounted light when you change them to LED?

Going for lights mounted half way up the wall are great if your spraying a car as they high light areas,but if you want them over a bench i think its better abover your head less shaddows

[Dazza the Stag]

I take it the dash lines are where you already have lights, are they singles or doubles,it all depends on how much you want to spend,on the x marks by the bench i would put LED flourescents 5ft singles,the other flourescents change them to LED doubles, go for a weather proof fitting IP65

they do sell 600 x 600 Led Panel lights they are good but when they go wrong you have to replace the whole fitting wear going with LED replacement tubes its only the tubes that need replacement,go for cool white or day light tubes they give the brightest out put,

they also sell a chip LED fitting but again when they go wrong its the whole fitting that needs to be changed

Dave

Thanks Dave

Yes I put a little key next to the drawing, each line is a double 70w 6ft tube. I will be changing the existing fittings anyway just so they all match , but I suppose I can still go for the same style as it will still be cheaper to change a tube going forward than a whole fitting. I will have a look at the panels you mention though and the chip led. Ive tried reading up on the principles of lighting it and like anything you can soon become bogged down in the science right down to working out how reflective the walls and ceilings are and that's when it started to get a little complicated.

Its an internal garage - would you still suggest going for the IP65 ?

Thanks

Darren

[Dazza the Stag]

Dazza, have you thought of mounting a couple of led "tubes" half way up the wall where you need more light? That might complement the improvement in roof mounted light when you change them to LED?

Great call, in fact i went to a detailing shop recently and they had led panels around the walls which worked great. I have too many things on or near my walls to be able to do that though unfortunately - thanks for the thought

[RNF]

Stuck at home you start to think about things that are totally unnecessary and this is one of those I think !

Have we any lighting engineers that are willing to help me decide what type of lights and the amount of lighting I need for my garage. At the moment i have Fluorescent strips so I’m thinking about going LED but I don’t know how many I need.

Before I post any more details - does anyone have that knowledge that would be prepared to assist and share ?

I added 6 of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to my shop (22'x25') in 2017 with another over the workbench and I'm pretty happy with their performance. My wife says it's an operating room, but if all I did was detail cars, I'd add two more on movable stands.

[Robin Searle]

filedata/fetch?id=794711&d=1586879344&type=thumb Last fall I decided to change all fluorescent bulbs in both my garage and workshop over to LEDs. I researched all and came across bulbs from Hyperikon, since replacing just the LED bulbs themselves, the difference is literally night vs day. The reason for selecting these bulbs is that you do not have to use a starter, just remove them, when the light switch is operated they light up immediately, also you can utilize the existing fixtures, by fitting the new ends supplied with the bulbs. Rewiring is easy just replace both ends holding the LED bulb.

I fitted 4X 8ft Led bulbs in my 27X 22-foot garage in the ceiling and makes it much easier to work on my Stag. In my workshop downstairs I have 4 existing double tube 4 ft fixtures now fitted with the LED bulbs.. Hyperikon - LED Bulbs / Light Bulbs: Lighting - Amazon.co.uk


www.amazon.co.uk › LED-Bulbs-Hyperikon-Light › rh=n:248

I hope that this may encourage people to make the switch, in the long run you will save money on hydro.

Robin [At Zero degrees C today]

[ramjam2005]

I recalled a similar thread on the same subject but was a few years back ...and LED's have progressed and improved since then but may help your decision.
Not sure how to include a link to a forum thread so hope it works ... https://www.socforum.com/forum/forum...escent-battens

[new to this]

Thanks Dave

Yes I put a little key next to the drawing, each line is a double 70w 6ft tube. I will be changing the existing fittings anyway just so they all match , but I suppose I can still go for the same style as it will still be cheaper to change a tube going forward than a whole fitting. I will have a look at the panels you mention though and the chip led. Ive tried reading up on the principles of lighting it and like anything you can soon become bogged down in the science right down to working out how reflective the walls and ceilings are and that's when it started to get a little complicated.

Its an internal garage - would you still suggest going for the IP65 ?

Thanks

Darren

Darren

yes i would still go for the IP65 lights

have a look at these all from toolstation
84854 single
34106 double
Both fluorescents are electronic choke, so will need rewiring to take LED tubes but its easy enough to modifiy 96462 LED tube

Dave

[4x4]

Just today I bought some of the 5m reels of LED striplights from Screwfix. I will chop them in half, and run 6 lots of 2.5m across, spaced every couple of feet down the length of garage.
Got to be way better than the two 20 year old fluorescents in there!

[Goldstar]

Just today I bought some of the 5m reels of LED striplights from Screwfix. I will chop them in half, and run 6 lots of 2.5m across, spaced every couple of feet down the length of garage.
Got to be way better than the two 20 year old fluorescents in there!

Before and after pics of the light levels needed

[Goldstar]

Before and after pics of the light levels needed

Which one did you get Adrian?

[4x4]

Which one did you get Adrian?

These:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-fc2w5c-led-striplight-cool-white-5000mm-16-3w/411fh

Chosen as they are plain and simple white, no remote, no colour changing - just simple, basic cool white at a sensible price.

[StagJonno]

Think these are intended to be fitted underneath kitchen cupboards. Suggest you try plugging them in before fitting to see if they'll meet your needs - spec says 400lm light output, which is only a tenth of one of my 6ft tubes (4,000lm) - I've also got a 6ft fluorescent and I find them just adequate, but could be improved .

[4x4]

Think these are intended to be fitted underneath kitchen cupboards. Suggest you try plugging them in before fitting to see if they'll meet your needs - spec says 400lm light output, which is only a tenth of one of my 6ft tubes (4,000lm) - I've also got a 6ft fluorescent and I find them just adequate, but could be improved .

I've got two 3 or 4 ft fluorescents that are 20+ years old - probably about 5 candlepower each.
Anything would be an improvement.
For working on the car, I tend to use separate lead lights anyway - but maybe I won't have to after this anyway.
Big upside for me of lots of strip LED's is a broad spread of illumination - all pointing in the right direction. The percentage of light actually shining in a useful direction from a fluorescent (unless you have a reflector behind it) is pretty low.