Replies

1. 
   DanH | Feb 21, 2015 06:21pm | #1

   Depends entirely on what you want.  Two 100 watt bulbs would be all some folks want, while others would want wall-to-wall fluorescent lights.

   (Re fluorescents, though, keep in mind that they don't work too well below maybe 10F.)

2. 
   renosteinke | Feb 21, 2015 06:29pm | #2

   Why Light at All?

   I'm not being silly - but how you light depends on what you want the light for.

   Let's imagine what approaches might work, for different reasons.

   Let's look at the first use of the garage- aplace to park your car. You need just enough light to get from the door to the car. By day, a window or skylight is enough. At night, the tiny light in the door opener is enough.

   What if you want toload / unload / pack your car? Well, a light mounted over the car just won't do- the roof of the carputs it all in shadow. No, you need an indirect light to come in from the sides. A row of single-bulb fluorescents along either side wall will handle that.

   A work bench or laundry area? A 2-bulb fluorescent 'shop light' mounted over the bench will be fantastic.

   Serious car work? A swing-arm mounted "dock light" and a mounted cord reel with a 'drop light' will do the job.

3. 
   gfretwell | Feb 21, 2015 11:50pm | #3

   I have a motion controlled light in my garage (actually two lights one detector). It is enough light to walk around. You probably want some other switch controlled work lights and that will depend on what work you will be doing. If you are in a cold place, regular shop lights may be an iffy thing when it is cold in there.

4. 
   harryv | Feb 22, 2015 01:22pm | #4

   Garage lighting

   Ted, you will probably want different lighting in different areas. My three car garage has two four tube flourescent fixtures in each bay, plus separate flourescents over a workbench and general work area at the front. There's no right or wrong, it's about your needs. I would not suggest recessed except for general lighting. Hope this, "sheds some light"!!

   HV  

5. 
   AndyEngel | Feb 25, 2015 03:39pm | #5

   I just faced this same question, although my ceiling is only 10 feet high. I was considering flourescents until the light bulb went on, so to speak. In Connecticut, the power company subsidizes LED bulbs. A 60 watt equivalent buld costs aoubt $6 at Home Depot. Keyless fixture bases cost about a buck and a half. So, each unit is less than $10. I put 20 of them in my 28 x 32 garage. Whap, done. Plenty of light. Light that works in the cold. Light that doesn't create a toxic spill if you break a bulb. Light that doesn't flicker and that is a comfortable color temperature. Light that's cheap to run and cheap to install.

   Of course, if you can't buy cheap LEDs, you're out of luck.

1. 
   Norman | Feb 25, 2015 03:58pm | #6

   BAL?

   The manufacturers of 'Big Adze Fans' are advertising some sort of LED based lighting suitable for garages. I see the ads in car oriented magazines.  Perhaps they call it 'Big Adze Light?'.

   They are very bright over large areas. No prices are quoted in the ads, so you know they are not cheap.

   Home Despot sourced track lighting is also inexpensive and versatile.

   Good luck.

1. 
   AndyEngel | Feb 25, 2015 04:21pm | #7

   If a product requires a marketing campaign, I think twice before buying it.

1. 
   renosteinke | Feb 25, 2015 06:58pm | #8

   Ad Campaign?

   I will be sure to consider that when my next issue of FHB arrives, stuffed with ad inserts 

1. 
   AndyEngel | Feb 26, 2015 11:19am | #10

   You want to pay more?

   Don't get me wrong - I'm happy to have part of my salary paid by advertisers. And in fact, if we didn't have advertisers, the magazine would cost even more. But I also generally ignore them in the mag, and on TV. Online, I use Chrome for my browser and enable their AdBlocker add in. Even on FaceBook, I don't see ads.

2. 
   DanH | Feb 25, 2015 07:49pm | #9

   Yeah, $400 for a single 2-foot-long lighting ficture is kind of steep:  https://store.bigasssolutions.com/lights/shop-led.html

   (It does, however, have about the same light output as a 4-tube 4-foot fluorescent fixture.  And it looks kinda neat.)

   View Image

1. 
   spclark | Feb 27, 2015 09:05am | #11

   $400 huh?

   for 1/10th the price you can buy one of these things:

   http://m.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-4-ft-LED-White-Shop-Light-54103161/205331022

   3200 lumens & 50,000 hours ain't bad for $40 & they work fine at 0F too (-7 outside while I'm keying this in... been a LONG winter) so for half the money you could buy 5 of these & get more even lighting in a 2-bay garage I think.

   Looks like these may be 'daisy-chain'-able too which'd make wiring pretty simple.

1. 
   DanH | Feb 27, 2015 12:48pm | #12

   Yeah, I might have to look at those.  One problem I've discovered with LEDs, though, is that they muck up our GDO.  Apparently the RFI from the LED SNAFUs the RF receiver.  Don't know if this is SOP or unique to our GDO, though.

2. 
   spclark | Feb 27, 2015 01:42pm | #13

   Interesting....

   After getting past problems caused by magnetic ballasts in fluorescent light fixtures with computer monitors and electronic scales once the newer electronic ballasts became commonplace I'da thought LED'S would present fewer issues besides the elimination of mercury.

   How old's your Opener? Mine's likely 6 years (or older) & seems not to mind having a screw-in LED lamp (sorry, my theater background keeps me from calling them bulbs; those you either plant or eat...) less than 12' away. They don't share a 125V circuit though, maybe that helps.

   That $400 LED d<€g well better not mess up a GDO for what they cost! I may just pick up a couple of the $40 flavor nex trip to a Big Box Town.

3. 
   DanH | Feb 27, 2015 04:38pm | #14

   Actually, the opener in about 38 years old, but the the radio stuff is a new (as of about 2012) separate unit (since the old transmitters died and could not be replaced).  But I suspect it's a bit more susceptable to interference than most units -- it's always been finicky from the start, even before we got the LEDs.

   LEDs elsewhere in the house don't seem to be a problem, just two in the garage -- one in the opener itself and the other in an overhead.