Getting ready to put lighting up in the shop I built last summer; hoping I can get some final work done on the inside after work now that days are getting shorter….
I have a bunch of 8′ flourescents that were given to me some time ago. Have made sure they all work, and wired replacement tool cords to each so that when my sparky wires, he can just put a switched plug for each two lights.
I’m wondering if there are any “rules of thumb” for lighting a shop area such as this. Ceiling is 14′ from floor, footprint is 36×26, all open, no interior partitions. I have the hope of putting a portable lift out there down the road, so I’m thinking of hanging the lights down 2 or 3 ft from the ceiling now, and with the cords that are on them, coiling it up at a later date. The lights each have 2-75watt x 8′ bulbs….
Just spitballing, I’m thinking that since the ceiling is divided in thirds by two steel beams that run the 26′ direction, I’d put two in each bay, split around 8-6 on center, giving me 6 all together, switched 2,2, and 2
Thoughts? Didn’t know if there was a way to calculate the “need” for light…. Thanks for any input….
Bing
Replies
I think you're on the right path to success with 2 and 2 and 2. Part of the reasoning might be what sort of activities in this "shop" ? Sounds like mechanic work, with the plan for a lift, so you'll have good overhead lighting but you will also be providing for drop lights and specialty areas.
I hung two "free" two-tube 8 foot fixtures in a 10 x 10 storage room in my shop. They're about 6 feet apart, right up against the ceiling. If they hadn't been free, I probably would have used less light. Anyway, one surprise with this arrangement - NO SHADOWS in the room AT ALL ! Pretty cool - it would be a good room for working with small models, etc.
Flourescents are sneered at by wood turners, seems that sometimes the strobe effect can actually make a spinning item mounted in the woodlathe appear to completely STOP. A dangerous illusion.
If you're still wiring and mounting boxes, think about double boxes for two duplex outlets at bench height. I ran a dedicated circuit to my high draw power tools, a couple of GFCI's to the outside for battery chargers, etc. and #10 wire for a welder or 220v. planer, sometime in the future. Duplex outlets in my 8 foot ceiling are great for work lights, but with your high ceilings, probably not a good idea. But if you have an overhead door, you might wire one ceiling outlet just in case you want to install a power opener sometime in the future.
Greg
Thx for your advice. Actually, most of the work for now will be carpentry, primarily exterior trim stuff, some pre-fab stuff for houses I work on, etc. Mech stuff will come later, after little league and dance classes have gone by and I have more time for a toy :)
I am planning on having my elec. put outlets every 8' or so at about a 2' height, with the exception of some specific stuff, ie a semi permanent bench w/ miter box set up for jigs etc. I also have a 220v ts that will need its own setup, obviously.
I guess my biggest concern is the height of the ceiling and same with lights; I know what a pain shadows can be when trying to do fine cabinet layout and the like. Trying to find the right combo of tall enough to keep from whacking them with long lengths of stock v. to high=not enough light. Your setup allays some of that fear though, so thanks.
Bing
Remember that standard fluorescent fixtures need to be grounded.
Thx for your reply.
I was going to go over this with my elec before install, but since you posted :)
The "replacement cords" that I picked up are 3 wire, 14g. I figured that since the gauge wire is slightly larger than the wiring in the light, it would be ok. Does the 3rd (green) wire need to be screwed to the metal part of the light? The "black box" inside the light has 1 green wire that is attached w/ ground screw to the metal light. Or is there something else that needs to be done to ground it? I profess to no electrical knowledge at all, and as I said prev, I do plan on checking all of this out with my sparky before proceeding. Thanks for any input.
Bing
Yes, the green wire needs to be somehow connected to the metal frame of the fixture. This is necessary both for safety and to assure that the lamps will "ignite" reliably.
There is no absurdity that human beings will not resort to in order to defend another absurdity. -- Cicero
About 2-3 years ago FWW had an issued that was just about shops, layout, heating, lighting, etc.
And the light one has suggestings for location and spacing and IIRC adjustment for height.
Try going to the FWW website and put Lighting in the search box.
don't know if it is a free article or not. But the cost are nominal and after you get the issue number you can go to your library.
If that does not find it then ask in the Knots forum. Someone their will know about the article.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Maybe keep them at or below the beams to ensure better light and fewer shadow issues. I'm guessing you've got T-12 lamps and magnetic ballasts. Better would be T-8 lamps and electronic ballasts ... but its free, right? If the strobe affect is an issue, the electronic ballasts would be right. You could retro w/ 2 - 4 ft T-8 in the 8 ft fixtures later on. Never heard of the strobe affect, but I suppose it is possible.
I are now a lighting-related engineer, but I set my shop up several years ago. The figure I shot for was 200 lumens per square foot - appropriate for "dental surgery" according to my CRC handbook.
That entailed (9) 4-tube 4' fluorescent troffer fixtures in a 22x23' shop - around 110,000 total lumens on two circuits
It's been freakin' PERFECT.
Forrest
Here's a little application you can download free from Lithonia.
http://www.lithonia.com/Software/Lightware7/Visual/Default.asp
One can play around with different lighting options by loading the fixture "profiles" that they provide. By putting in parameters it will even give you a layout and projected lumens per foot. I layed out a 29 x 57 space for 16 8' strips (4x4') which should get about 60 lumens per sq. ft. Time will tell how that works...couple weeks to install.
To Forrest....WOW, that is some killer lighting! The sun should be envious...
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.
In my 720 sq ft shop I have 8-8' T-12's and no shadows. Buzzing, but no shadows. Gonna replace'em ASAP. HD has the tandem 4' T-8 fixtures for $39.87, less tax & tubes.
I wouldn't put T-12's in anything any more.
If you're gonna mix paint or stain, be sure and have a 5000K source so you won't get metamerism. Florescent changes colors on things.
"If you're gonna mix paint or stain, be sure and have a 5000K source so you won't get metamerism."As important or even more important is the CRI. Color rendition index.A CRI of 100 matches a perfect black body radiator.The basic Warm white or cool white have CRI's in the 70's or less. And they give that poor flourscent look.But the better ones have CRI's in the 80's and above.And the eye responds much better the wide sprectrun lights and the appear bright although the lumens might be lower..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
I just use incandescent bulbs as I am functually illiterate as to all the different tube colors...except "grow-lites....."
Just to clarify, when your looking for replacement lamps (the tubes), you can find how well they show colors, and how blue / yellow they will look by the following code on the glass by the logo:
F32T8-835
This means:
F = Fluorescent
32 = Wattage
T8 = Diameter of lamp
8 = 80+ CRI (look for an 8 or 9 if you need colors to be accurate)
35 = 3500K color temperature (look for a 35 or 41 for a shop environment)
Some manufacturers use slightly digfferant codes, but stick with a good quality like Phillips, GE, or Sylvania and you'll be happy with the result.
Hope that helps
Some use SP for better and SPX for the best "standard" CRI.Then there are specialty bulbs like the Chroma 50's which is 90+The last that I saw Sylvania used names and you need to look that up.But most T-12 and -8 bulbs now have the CRI and color on the package or on the bulb themself.
.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Other posts have done better on total lighting, but an idea for down the road when you're working on cars.
I had an old 500W halogen worklight with a broken stand. I bolted the light head to the garage wall about 8' up and pointing down at an angle so it would illuminate under a car hood. It was high enough I didn't blind myself when I turned around, but the light wasn't blocked by the car hood.
-Nate
Thanks to all for some sound advice. At work tonight, but will check out that link tommorrow. I had planned on dropping the lights below the beam to eliminate shadows, so should be good there. I should be able to hook up the green ground wire on the replacement cord to a screw to ground the lights, so square there.
Funny, the advice on the old lights vs. the new lights debate. Talked to a few random people on the lighting subject today, and they all said stick with the old ones! One in particular, owns a liquor store, and said the electric company convinced him through some incentive program a year ago to replace the old ballasts in his lights with electronic ones. Hates em. Says he replaces them average every 3 or 4 months! $20 bucks a shot. I might think that there was some underlying problem with the lights or the service to the building, but he's an electrical engineer! Bought the store when his dad wanted out. Anyhow, his advice was to stick with the old ones for as long as they last.....Guess he's heard of others with electronic ballasts and same complaint....
I can also say that, from my own experience, My electrician put two of these lights up in my cellar when they were first given to me 10 years ago. I've NEVER replaced a ballast, or even a bulb! No buzzing, either. Hoping for the same success rate in the new building, although I'd be happy with half!:)
Good advice as to the lighting for paint work, and color issues also, as that's one of the uses I'm hoping to get out of the place down the road.... Thanks to all for advice. Anyone wanting to chime in...it'll still be a few more days before I put anything up the way my schedule looks this week.
Thx again
Bing
In 18 years I've replaced every ballast in the 8-8' T-12 fixtures in the shop. Tubes last about three months. That's being on about eight hours a day, six days a week.
Every one of them buzz. I put up two T-8's in another building, and they don't.
Goin' for the T-8's next month...
Oh, yeah, Bing - one more thing. In a cold climate, and in an unheated shop, the flourescents will likely be slow to come up to full brightness and a little tempermental on start-up.Greg
Not with electronic ballasts. I've got some T-8's out in an outdoor structure, and on my front porch and they come on instantly even below freezing. The shop T-12's come on slow when it gets below fifty...