We are planning a new garage-workshop combination and would like to know if anyone has some experience in doing this.
This will be new construction and there will be ample sun (sometimes too much, IMHO) where this will be built: Southern New Mexico. We are only interested in the lighting being DC at the moment. We would prefer to use solar panels on the roof, but a wind turbine (or two) may be necessary as this could possibly generate enough current to charge the batteries in the winter months when sunlight is not at its peak and lighting demand would be at its max. There is no shortage of wind either, which would work in our favor.
In addition, we plan on using solar tubes to light up both the shop and the garage which should help reduce lighting demand during all seasons. The shop will be surrounded by windows on three sides, north, east and south. Shop dimensions are approximately 28 ft x 30 ft. This construction will not take place for a year or two, so there is plenty of time for all of this.
I would appreciate anyones comments or suggestions
Replies
What kind of work will you be doing in this shop?
Where will the windows be placed>
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
The majority of my work will be wood working. And, as I noted, the windows will be on the north, east and south sides only. The garage will be to the west with a wall between the shop and the garage.
What I ment was, where on the wall will the windows be placed? Are you going to put them in the middle, so you can see out and enjoy the view, or are you going to put them just below the top plate, where they will let in the most light?
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
If I can get my way, I will have 6 ft windows about two foot from the floor, along each wall, corner to corner. I have been working in a basement for a few years and I the lack of light is really getting to me, especially when I'm doing dovetails.The heat is really terrible in that area (my wife would argue otherwise), but the sun light will be very welcome in the shop, so long as we can keep the heat out, which is why the garage will be to the west.
The higher those windows are, the more usefull they will be for solar light. You will likely have an eave of some sort - paint the underside gloss white, and put a light colored area under it, like white gravel or concrete. This will help reflect light up and in.
Some software programs will show you what the solar light will be like inside a room at different parts of the year too, that might be helpful.
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
You are making a green house
Cooling will cost more than energy efficient lights.
That thought has occurred to me, but only because there will be plants in this space as well as my woodworking tools. Actually, most of my 'hobby' gear will be in this space which includes tying flies and other light intensive interests of mine.Going back to your comment let me say this. The eastern sunlight will be welcomed in every morning as it comes over the mountains. After that, the sun will be overhead save for the winter months where it will enter the space through the southern windows. But again, this will be welcome during those colder months. I plan on having 12 inches of insulation in the roof (R-38, I believe) so this should help to keep the summer heat out and the winter heat in. We want to have awning windows in the lower half to allow for the summer breeze to help cool the place down during the warmer months.So, I suppose I would agree with you save for the fact that we will be able to control just how much DIRECT sunlight actually enters this workspace. I am also planning on a louvered overhang over the south side windows just as a precaution against the summer sun entering that side of the space during the summer months. And, as noted earlier, the west side will be buffered by the garage. The western side of any structure in that area is non-inhabitable in the summer months due to the intense heat, so the garage will work nicely in that regard.I appreciate your comments.
I'd take care that you don't overdo the windows and overcompensate for your past dungeon like environment. It can be easy to do. I would take special care on the east side windows ... in the summer, they can let in MUCH more heat than you care to have. Don't underestimate the impact of this. I would recommend mirrored and/or tinted glass on that exposure to help out.
On the south make sure you use an overhang to shade 90% of the window during the 4 mid day hours.
Remember that generally, your north and east glass are net energy losers. Choose your square footage carefully. Also ... glass on any orientation can be a source of glare in your situation. The good news is that you have glass on multiple sides. The south glass in winter MAY be a significant glare problem when working in your shop.
Food for thought. As for solar PV or wind and your lighting. Go for it. You aren't talking many panels or a very large turbine ... but you will have to have battery backup. I suspect the turbine expense might be significant relative to your energy generation, but not sure there. A tall structure can be expensive even for a small turbine.
You make some very valid points. First of all, you're spot on about my mushroom existence versus my sunlight desires. Just this morning I thought I would trim some dovetails in our living room by the eastern window as a test. It did not take long to realize that the glare was really working against me. So, yes, I am now aware of this danger. Your suggestion about tinting or mirroring those windows is an excellent idea. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I plan to have a louvered overhand on the south side just as a precaution during the summer months.Since we are in the rudimentary stages of this, nothing is lost at this point, but much can be gained. I really would like to have glass on all three exposures, but figuring out with any degree of preciseness what will or will not work without spending a fortune is out of the question. However, your suggestion of shading the glass is something that can be easily done, to some degree, after the fact. Heat, I think is what really must be controlled, but you cannot control the heat without affecting the light. Somehow, adjustments made through the day will have to be made to create the optimum balance of heat and light. I think the light tubes will help greatly in this regard.As far as the direct lighting is concerned, we are really looking forward to how all of this will play out. I do understand that we will have to have heavy duty 12V storage batteries for the sunless days, but PV costs have come down drastically over the years so this should not be too much of a financial burden. There may even be a state rebate for going this route. I am not aware of any at the moment, but that is not why we are doing this anyway. The turbine is another matter though. I have seen some that are shaped like a vertical cage, they have no 'wings' like a propeller. Our home there is on four acres, so buildings blocking the wind will not be a factor which may eliminate the necessity of a tall structure for the turbine. But, there well may be some safety constraint that may apply. However, with regard to this, I am in unchartered waters, but knowledge will come in time.I sincerely appreciate your astute comments and suggestions.
" ... but you cannot control the heat without affecting the light."