Have built a new shop, dual use of automotive restoration and woodworking, appx 23×24 feet. one side has one 8′ and one 10′ garage door. 10′ ceilings, concrete floor, walls painted white plywood.
I need ideas/recommendations on quantity, size, and placement of florescant light fixtures. I am planning on the cheaper 2-bulb fixtures, but might have the opportunity soon of some 4 bulb 4′ troffer take-out fixtures.
Looking at the lighting in my office, 12×14′ with 4 4 bulb fixtures, I would need 27 2 bulb fixtures, or 14 4 bulb fixtures to achieve the same light levels. Does this sound right? And what options might I have as far as summertime work, when the doors are up, blocking almost half of the ceiling-mounted lights.
Thanks, gopher
Replies
I just completed my workshop which is 25' X 32' with 10' ceilings. I painted the walls and ceiling white with some of the bottom sections of the walls a green. I illuminated the workshop with three two light 96" high output fixtures down the center of the 32' lenghth. The fixtures are spaced so that ther is about 2 feet at both ends and three feet between fixtures. The light output is good for general workshop lighting. I plan to use two- two light 48" fluorescent lighting fixtures over my workbench for good close up lighting. The HO fluorescent lamps are energized by cold weather ballasts as I do not keep this area heated untill I use the shop. High output fluorescent is almost twice as bright as slimline (800ma as apposed to 450ma). If this area is unheated and cold in the winter be awere that standard fluorescent lighting will not light properly without the use of cold weather ballasts. Good luck
Don't know enough to answer all your questions, but some suggestions.
If you're in a cold climate it helps to have 1 circuit with some incandescent bulbs on them. Then when it's cold you'll have some light while you wait for the shop to warm up. Flourescents take a while to get up to full light when it's cold. You can put in special cold weather ballasts that help this.
Make sure you put lights over workbenches.
If you can, tack the lights up where you think you want them, before you permanently mount them. Then go out at night and check out if you have any annoying shadows in areas you'll be working. Pretty easy to temp wire these and screw them to exposed wood before the sheetrock's hung. Also easy to move them around to make sure they're where you want them. Once you locate them, nail the boxes on, sheetrock, and wire.
I have seen some people mount lights to their walls near the garage doors to get better lighting when the door is up. Even saw one with a couple lights hung on the backside of the garage door. He'd turn these on if the doors were open and he needed more light. Wiring was a bit tricky though. Think he had some retractable extension cord reels mounted to the ceiling. The length of the cord changed depending on where the door was. Or, you could just put a short cord on them and plug them in when needed, but that could be dangerous if you accidentally close the door before unplugging.
Frankly, if I work at night with the lights on, I close the doors. Attracts too many bugs.
Other then that, good luck, I envy you the workshop space.
I built a new 20' x 30' shop from scratch. It only has one small window and a window in the door. The shop is lit with six fluorescent fixtures, each with two 4' tubes of T8 diameter. Even in my middle age the light is more than sufficient -- it's quite nice. I only need a little extra light at the drill press, because the head casts a shadow. I would put an extra light to the side of my main work bench because when I'm measuring with a ruler the blade casts a shadow on the work since the light is only on one side now.
I chose electronic balasts because they eliminate flicker, and SPX-35 color lamps because they have much better color rendering than the cheap Cool White shop lamps, which I felt would be important for wood finishing. I'm satisfied with both decisions. If color matching is critical for your automotive work you'll want to open both doors and view it in daylight, because that's the light cars are seen in. Flicker, by the way, can be dangerous around engines, because, if the engine is running at just the right speed there is a strobe effect and the fan can appear to be stopped.
As far as blocking the fixtures with doors, I'd say that if the doors are up you'll get so much outside light that blocking the fixtures won't matter. However, you could place them so they are not right over the doors. It's more important to have the light over your benches and tools rather than right in the center of the room where all that you do is walk.
Edited 2/6/2003 6:30:00 PM ET by WAYNEL5
no comments on lighting, but, you have a partion between these, right? I mean, Ive seen cars and woodworking together, and sawdust gets everywhere. Some kind of dust sucking/ filtering/ blowing thing might help, but still,the greasy car parts attract dust like a magnet.
Yep, dual use automotive and wood, but typically not heavy duty of either. I play with Jeeps, so paint doesn't have to be that great -- I typically wait for a nice, calm, bug-free day, and spray outside. Most auto work is routine maintenance, or doing add-ons or metal fabrication. I don't like doing motors anymore -- I get the Summitt catalog, and blow the budget everytime. :)
Wood working is more along the lines of a quick shop project, i.e. prefabing something for the job site, etc. Definately not high end furniture or the like.
PB
Oh, if you plan on hanging anything from the ceiling, you may consider hanging your lights down a couple feet so they're below things. This will also help you get by with fewer lights.
I've seen some manufacturer websites that show diagrams of how to space lights based on type of light, how high the lights are mounted, room color, etc.. Your white walls will help tons. Sorry, can't give you any websites.
I agree with waynel5 about the t-8 bulbs and a good quality lamp such as the spx-35 or higher temp K. The CRI index is important to look into. Also, it's a little late, but every Oct., Grainger has great prices on their lamps and fixtures.
Ken
Use 3 watts per sq.ft (I use this in commercial kitchens). This will provide an overall light level. You still need task lighting (drafting lamps work well) at critical places (bench grinder, sharping area, etc.). The layout of the fixtures also affects how well the space is illuminated. A fixture behind you when you are standing at the work bench creates shadows, while a fixture located over the bench puts the light on the work. The cheap florusent fixtures make a lot of noise and you may want to upgrade the fixtures. With flourescent lamps you should also check the CRI number (higher is better) or mix a cold and warm lamp in each fixture.
Some suggestions from someone who designs lighting, except not the real fancy stuff. Three watts per square foot as previously mentioned is a good. Less is ok except for close work or small tasks. If you use 32 watt T8 lamps (recommended) then you should get about 100 footcandles (pretty bright) when the fixtures are mounted at no more than 10 feet ceilings. If you use 40 watt T12 lamps you'll get slightly more light but at higher wattage. So, the 52 lamps should do the trick. Ideal layouts are somewhat subjective, just make sure to spread the fixtures out regardless of type.
Color rendering and color temperature are two factors that you should consider. Color temperature (identified in degrees Kelvin) is more noticable and range from lows of 2700 to highs of 5000 degrees Kelvin. Lower is closer to incandescent for warmer feel (redder wave lengths). Higher is closer to daylight for cooler feel (bluer wavelenghts). Standard offices use 3000 or 3500, mostly 3500 and either should be readily available.
Color rendering index is more difficult to discern. Typical values are 70 to 82 or slightly higher. Most common are the 70s. Experts say higher CRIs yield truer color. But, in my opinion, they are only required where color matching is critical. This may be true for a paint shop.
If you want low end, stick with 40W, T12, 3500 color and CRI is not a factor.
If you want mid-grade, go with 32W, T8, 3000 or 3500 color and disregard the CRI.
If you want the higher end commercial industry standard, go with 32 W, T8, 3500 color with 80 or higher CRI.
One final note: Consider electronic ballasts for reducing lamp flicker. And if low temperatures are involved, consider either lamp sleeves, these are the clear tubes that slip over the lamps since low bulb wall temperature decreases light output.
Thanks, Whitman, and to all others that replied. I think I'm going the "more is more" route. I went ahead this weekend and wired my drops so I can insulate and panel the ceiling. I put in 3 switchlegs, so don't have to fire them all up just to go to the toolbox to retrieve something.
PB
Make sure the fluorescents will work well in cold weather. It's too cold in the winter here for anything other than HO fixtures in unheated spaces. I have 900 watts of incandescents that I use in the winter.
My shop is a garage, approx. 16' x 30'. I have a couple of 8' fluorescent lights ( 2 bulbs each ) mounted on the 12' ceiling for general lighting.
Then I bought 2 - 4' LED fluorescent from Harbor Freight for $30 each, and suspended them with chains to 7' from the floor. They really brighten up my work table at 5000 lumens each.
I'm going to get a few more for dedicated task areas. They are awesome!
2019: IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOTCANDLES NOW.
Times have changed since 2003. rockinroger shows us that in 15+ years LEDs have replaced fluorescents.
CRI is being replaced in 2020.
Download a free app to your phone that works as a light meter. You don't have to calibrate your app. Find a work surface in your house that has the lighting you like. Using your phone/app take a reading there. Then see if it is the same in your new shop. Remember to check it with and without you standing between the light source and the work surface.
Wattage usage is no longer a valuable number. It's all about footcandles at the work surface. Of course, lighting designers will say it always was, but the 'rules of thumb' helped us non-lighting designers avoid them.
Yep, a lot has changed since 2003, especially the use of LED's. I wouldn't even consider fluorescents if I was installing a new lighting system.
I agree, especially since as I get older I try to avoid getting on a ladder to change bulbs