Garage Lighting, Garage Demo - Looking for direction Options

[tmc914]

LEDs are no doubt superior. Think perimeter for placement. Running lights down the center of a bay is a waste of lumens. If you have appropriate space, you can also install a light at ground level to aid illumination under the car. Another great convenience is a motion sensor light with the sensor aimed at the garage entry. That way you’ll always have light when you enter and leave the room and if your hands are full you won’t have to flip the switch.

Pay close attention to outlets also. Can’t have too many. Consider putting some at ground level. Also, many electricians will run multiple circuits with outlets alternated so you don’t overload when using multiple, large draw tools in the same area.

Please be careful mounting anything electrical below 18" in a commercial garage. National Electrical codes requires them to be explosion proof at such a low height. Residential homeowners get a break from that but I would not mount outlets or lights low in my garage at home. It is one thing to use a portable light down low or even a vacuum cleaner without much concern but permanently mounted electrical is just asking for trouble. Also don't forget the outlets need to be GFCI protected at any height in a garage.

[aggiezig]

I bought some cheap LED fixtures off of amazon for around $8 per unit. Very happy with the purchase and impressed by how much light they put out. If I owned vs. rented my place would probably consider something more permanently mounted / wired.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNPL2VC/

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-19557-1549605795.1.jpg)

[914forme]

T8 bulbs gave me 959 LUX at bench height, 12 foot ceiling. I like the number but need more light. Been replacing them today with T8 LED replacement tubes. Way my fixtures are built you have to rotate the tombstones 90 degree, and rewire the fixtures. Not hard just lots of up and downs on the scaffold. I have it down to 20-30 minutes per fixture. I am 3/5s of the way done.

Result much better lighting, I went with 5000K and I have 1270 Lux in the same spot now with the LED. I will need to remeasure because that was with one bank on for the LEDs and since 1 LUX = 1 Lumen / 1 square meter additional banks of lights could factor into the measurement.

Only problem is now I see how dirty the shop is. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

[mepstein]

I bought some cheap LED fixtures off of amazon for around $8 per unit. Very happy with the purchase and impressed by how much light they put out. If I owned vs. rented my place would probably consider something more permanently mounted / wired.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNPL2VC/

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-19557-1549605795.1.jpg)

Thanks for that. I plan to order them for my home workshop. I have found working at the big shop, I don't need tons of light. Just decent light and a wired led that I can direct to the area I'm working on.

[eric914]

If you already have fluorescent fixtures in your shop Sylvania 48" 32W Equivalent Linear Cool White T8 LED Light Bulb are a drop in replacement. A 10 pack at Menards sells for $49.97. If you wait for one of their 11% off sales they are even cheaper. I have 6 8' 4 bulb each fixtures in my 3 car garage and just recently replaced all of the bulbs. Although the equivalent lums are slightly lower, 2200 vs 2450, the new bulbs appear brighter.