Upgrading New Home Garage lighting.

[RdlyLite]

Its been a looooong time since I last posted regularly on CPF. But, I am now back with a wife, a baby, and a new home. Lol. Also, this is my first time in this particular area of CPF. I do plan on coming around more often to CPF since life is 'slowing' down enough for me to come and read about cool lighting stuff. Afterall, I am a flashaholic. lovecpf

I would like to know if anyone can point me in the right direction so that I can 'upgrade' the lighing in my garage? ASAP. We will be having my child's baptismal lunch at our house in two weeks and we plan on having the folks eating in the garage. Amongs other non-related things, one problem is that I find the lighing is inadequate. It looks like i have a 2 T8 light fixture in the garage. That is the little I know. Is it as simple as changing out to higher output T8's? Or will I likely need the electrician to come in add or replace a fixture?

The little knowledge I have regarding lighting is mostly centered around handheld/sized devices such as flashlights, headlamps, and rechargeables. I have very little knowledge regarding others kinds of lighting. So please bear with me.

I am glad to be back and look forward to some responses! :twothumbs

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I am still using T12 4 foot fixtures in my garage, they put out enough light were free and I don't spend a lot of time in the garage

 

[LED_Thrift]

The T8 and T12 lamps and fixtures are about the best as far as $/lumen total cost. There are no great LED options yet AFAIK. The available ones are still pricey for initial installation costs and are not a lot better lumens/watt than the T8s or T12s.

In your case I would get more T8 fixtures. You can get fixtures that plug in if you have outlets near where you want to put the fixtures, if you want to avoid the cost of an electrician. They would be turned on by a pull chain, unless the outlets are already controlled by a switch.

 

[T0RN4D0]

If the tubes are old, try replacing them. They dont die like incandescents (eg- works perfectly or doesn't work at all), but are dieing slowly like leds, and should be replaced every now and theneven tho they still emit light. Also cool whites should be a bit brigher than the warm ones.

If there is still not enough light (i don't know how big your garage is), try upgrading with either double or longer (or both) fixtures. If you have the slightest clue about electricity you should be able to hook them up to your current switch without much hassle and for pocket change.

 

[jtr1962]

You really need more than 2 tubes in a garage. I have 4 32W tubes lighting my 10'x11' bedroom. For a typical garage, I'd suggest going with 2 or 3 4x32W fixtures.

 

[lonesouth]

4 2 bulb 4' T8s evenly spaced. Put one more over your workbench and you should have ample light

edit: Corrected T8s are used, NO T12s

 

[Random Guy]

4 2 bulb 4' T12s evenly spaced. Put one more over your workbench and you should have ample light

Good recommendation, but go with T8s instead. T12s are becoming obsolete, and T8 is much more efficient and does much better in the cold than T12 lamps.

 

[LED_Thrift]

Good recommendation, but go with T8s instead. T12s are becoming obsolete, and T8 is much more efficient and does much better in the cold than T12 lamps.

A big +1. I have both types of fixtures in my garage, and handling/storing/disposing of the T12s is hard. The cold weather [it's minus 10C right now] brings out the worst in the T12s, although if the OP is planning to have a party in his garage soon, I guess this would not be a problem.

 

[Random Guy]

A big +1. I have both types of fixtures in my garage, and handling/storing/disposing of the T12s is hard. The cold weather [it's minus 10C right now] brings out the worst in the T12s, although if the OP is planning to have a party in his garage soon, I guess this would not be a problem.

T8s are subject to the same disposal laws as T12s are.

The cold weather problem with T12s is magnified now that standard 40W tubes with a CRI of less than 70 or 80, I forget which, are illegal. All 34W Watt-Miser type tubes are still legal though (regardless of CRI), and most, if not all Watt-Miser type tubes from the Big Three (GE, Sylvania, and Philips) state that they will not perform well in temperatures below 65 degrees F.

 

[blasterman]

We will be having my child's baptismal lunch at our house in two weeks and we plan on having the folks eating in the garage.

So, I'm confused. Are you looking to upgrade the lighting in your garage, or have it look decent for a dinner occasion? Or, hope to kill two birds with one stone? You won't accomplish the later.

If you want it to look decent for the dinner, then go to any big box store and buy 4 of the cheapest torche' style lamps they have for around $15-20. Put 150watt halogen floods in the top of them, and stuff them in the corners and tuck the extension cords. You'll be shocked at how good this actually looks for a casual dinner - even in a garage. Sell them in the spring in a yard sale for $10.

Because of cold temperature problems I'm not a fan of intermittent fluorescent in external garages or workshops (given I also live in michigan). However, Reedley CA might not get as cold as it does here, and fluorescent wamr up shouldn't be a huge issue.

If it's a two stall garage then two T8 fixtures over each car side should be more than adequate for driving in and out and parking the lawn mower.

 

[RdlyLite]

Thanks guys for the ideas. Reading this stuff always helps to clear things up.

So, I'm confused. Are you looking to upgrade the lighting in your garage, or have it look decent for a dinner occasion? Or, hope to kill two birds with one stone? You won't accomplish the later.

If you want it to look decent for the dinner, then go to any big box store and buy 4 of the cheapest torche' style lamps they have for around $15-20. Put 150watt halogen floods in the top of them, and stuff them in the corners and tuck the extension cords. You'll be shocked at how good this actually looks for a casual dinner - even in a garage. Sell them in the spring in a yard sale for $10.

Because of cold temperature problems I'm not a fan of intermittent fluorescent in external garages or workshops (given I also live in michigan). However, Reedley CA might not get as cold as it does here, and fluorescent wamr up shouldn't be a huge issue.

If it's a two stall garage then two T8 fixtures over each car side should be more than adequate for driving in and out and parking the lawn mower.

LOL. I was trying to kill two birds with one stone. You do make a good point with your suggestion though. Thanks. This is why I like this place. :thumbsup:

 

[Random Guy]

...Because of cold temperature problems I'm not a fan of intermittent fluorescent in external garages or workshops (given I also live in michigan). However, Reedley CA might not get as cold as it does here, and fluorescent wamr up shouldn't be a huge issue....

Just curious, but what do you prefer to light a garage with?

 

[blasterman]

Halogen floods on a motion detector switch for just driving in / out.

My garage isn't attached, so if the weather-dude on TV sez it's '10F outside' it's 10F in my garage. Not the best place for fluorescents.

 

[Random Guy]

Halogen floods on a motion detector switch for just driving in / out.

My garage isn't attached, so if the weather-dude on TV sez it's '10F outside' it's 10F in my garage. Not the best place for fluorescents.

Wow. It's things like that that make me glad that I live in GA. We are having a cold snap right now, and at this moment Google tells me that the low is 16 degrees F, and the high is 29.

 

[RdlyLite]

Yeah, it does not get particularly cold hear. Our lowest low this year was in the high twenties. And even that doesn't last for more than a few days. Our normal low is probably in the high thirties to low forties for our coldest time of the year. Come summer, we sizzle at a balmy 100 plus degrees.

Close to topic, I have arranged to add 2 new fixtures to my garage. Each fixture will have 2 T8's. They will be placed at the front half of my garage and run perpendicular to my current fixture that is in the front and center half of my garage. In the future, I will likely change out the latter and either replace it with a four t8 fixture or just make a nice even number of four 2t8 fixtures. One in each quadrant. Gosh, I hope I made sense.

 

[David C]

Absolutley mandatory to have at least 1 t5 fixture per 32 sq ft

 

[purduephotog]

Well, I can't help you much on the color, but I do have a nice Home Depot 8' light.

I know many folks will say to get the 4' lights because they're cheaper / easier to obtain bulbs, but my 8' guy has been working since 2001, on the same set of bulbs, through 8 Rochester NY winters. It's got a pulse start as well- doesn't really flicker in the hard cold but after about 30 seconds to warm up it looks darn bright and does a very good job.

I have a 4' fixture over my work bench- which takes almost 5 minutes to get up to temperature and stop flickering in the extreme cold.

If you want more light, I'd put 2x 8' lights... and spend some money on one with a good ballast (although what that might be now I have no idea)

 

[JohnR66]

The electrician can make quick work of this, but it will set you back a few hundred $$ if you want more fixtures. It is really not too difficult change out a fixture. It is a matter of a few screws and wirenuts (and, of course, cutting the power oo. Here are my ideas for a low cost single fixture upgrade:

First is to upgrade to an high output version of the T8. This will require new bulbs and ballast or a new fixture.

Second, is to go to a 6 or 8 foot fixture. An 8' HO fixture will make a lot of light.

You are limited to color temps in these arrangements, but after all this is for a garage.

 

[blasterman]

I have a 4' fixture over my work bench- which takes almost 5 minutes to get up to temperature and stop flickering in the extreme cold.

I know we're trying to keep things simple, but for shoplights I've got a pile of 18.5 volt laptop bricks, and these work dandy with 440 lumen bridgelux (2 per series). Bolt them to a heatsink, hang it, and you have an instant start shoplight that will last pretty much forever (or until the bricks give out) and fires down without a reflector.

This is really the area you'd think you'd see more LED lights. They don't have to be pretty, nor terribly efficient, and color doesn't have to be accurate.

 

[RdlyLite]

I did it, guys!

We went ahead and added three more 2t8 fixtures. That brings us to a total of 8 T8 lamps for about 400sq feet! I basically got each quadrant in my 2 car garage lit up with 2T8's. It turned out great. It only set me back 180 bucks. That includes all materials and labor. I paid an electictrician to do it for me. Lol.

I appreciate all the feedback guys.