Need help with shop lights.

[ronnielyons]

Here's one for the electricians amongst use...the lovers of light...and the mostly blind like me. My shop is 20 x 24 with 9 foot ceilings. The walls and ceiling are painted a bright white and at the moment I have three 200 watt bulbs on the ceiling for light. I want to add some additional light, and I'm not talking just another incandescent bulb or two. I want it so bright in there I have to wear my plasma glasses from the pain !

I found two 175 watt metal halide fixtures, the kind that get mounted on the outside walls of buildings for parking lot light. I thought I was on to something, but let me tell ya, don't waste your time. I've seen lighted exit signs perform better than these things, and yes I put in new bulbs.

So, here's my plea. I need two KICK *** shop lights. First and foremost they have to be efficient so I'm thinking the step up transformer types of lights. They have to be white light and they have to run on 120 volt power. High pressure sodium is not an option because of the orange light, the 500 watt "pencil bulb" halogens aren't efficient, and my ceiling isn't tall enough to mount any hang down "suspended" type of light, so they have to be wall mounts.

What's a guy to do...? Am I stuck with 8 foot high output flourescents?

[sparkymalarky]

I'd say your best bet is fluorescents - they are efficient and bright. You can mount them all over the ceiling or if you dont want them hanging down cause of low ceiling, you can mount them at the top of the walls a few inches from the ceiling and hide them behind boards - then you don't get the bare bulbs shining in your eyes - or reflecting off the inside of your welding helmet. They'll shine onto the ceiling and light up the place, but not for a very big room - then you'll need to put them on the ceiling.

[tanky321]

See of you can get some T5 fluorescents. The bulbs are about a 1/2in in diameter. They throw out some serious light, but they might be a little pricey.

http://www.prolighting.com/t5t8flhiba.html?OVRAW=t5%20light&OVKEY=t5%20light&OVMTC=standard

[12,000 Doors]

My shop is about your size. I just hung six of those flouresent bulbs that screw in like light bulbs on three of those bottom of the line $3.00 fixtures landlords use (I left out the square pieces of glass). They do the job cheaply.

[BigEd36]

I originally used 8 - 4 foot "shop lights" with fluorescent. They were dim when it was cold in the garage, and wanted to cut off to cool in the summer when it was hot. I got 8 of the little sockets that plug into an outlet that use incandescent bulbs and put 100 watt bulbs in 'em, used one in each plug where I had originally plugged in the fluorescents. When I decided that wasn't enough, I added 16 of the plain bulb holders from Home Depot. Now I have 24 100 watt bulbs in the garage (never have
em all on), and a couple of the 500 watt quartz halogen portable lights, plus a couple of "trouble lights" (so named 'cause of all the trouble they give ya:D ).

[Visorblue]

I need two KICK *** shop lights. First and foremost they have to be efficient so I'm thinking the step up transformer types of lights. They have to be white light and they have to run on 120 volt power. High pressure sodium is not an option because of the orange light, the 500 watt "pencil bulb" halogens aren't efficient, and my ceiling isn't tall enough to mount any hang down "suspended" type of light, so they have to be wall mounts.

Not really my area but I have some darn bright florescent Lights of America worklights at Costco a while back for $35 each. You could remove the stands and mount them wherever you want. I have the white one in the middle.

http://www.lightsofamerica.com/wl.htm

Home Depot sells a variation of them in the security light section.

[Aceman]

I agree with sparky above. I think your best bet is going to probably be a few T8 fixtures, seems like everything is moving towards T5 and T8 nowadays. I don't care for incandescents in a shop.

[Rick Moran]

In my last garage/shop I had 4-8' dual florescent fixtures set up in a square pattern on the ceiling wide enough to shed light all to all corners. It was plenty bright enough and there were no shadows anywhere. Over my bench, I have one of those articulating/swivel base jewelers type flor/incandescent combo fixtures for real close work.

[Teddco]

In my garage/workshop (10 ft ceilings) I replaced the two-bulb incandescent ceiling fixture with an outdoor floodlamp mount with two 300-watt quartz halide (QH) bulbs and then welded an piece of bar stock to the end of a garage door track support angle iron and mounted another pair of 300 watt QH work lights so they can swivel and tilt. I plan to hang a similar unit on the garage door supports on the other side. I have two old gooseneck reading lamps, designed to clamp onto a bed headboard, that replaced my standard hang-from-a-hook trouble light.

[MicroZone]

In my 24x24 shop area, mostly used for fabrication, I had an electrician buddy install 2 - 8 footer flourescents (2 bulb) in an L-shape which is the work area. It is really bright but I may have him install another to make a U shape...or even 2 more to make a E. Either way, they are the best bang for the buck.

Oh - I have 2 - 4 foot 4 bulb unit flourescents, those also throw off some light but the 8 footers cover more area in my opinion. HTH...

[ronnielyons]

Thanks for the helpful advice. I'll look into the high output flourescents.

[Rick Moran]

Regarding the above posts:

Flourescent lighting produces the least amount of shadows and is most cost effective in intial cost, and energy efficiency in a lower ceiling type environment. For example, kitchens that use the trendy recessed or track lighting usually have to also have undercabinet lighting to eliminate shadows when working at a counter.

In a high ceiling environment like a warehouse, the best lighting is the large metal halide type lighting. Additional flourescent fixtures could supplement for close work around machines and individual workspaces.

[tanky321]

Regarding the above posts:

In a high ceiling environment like a warehouse, the best lighting is the large metal halide type lighting. Additional flourescent fixtures could supplement for close work around machines and individual workspaces.

I tend to disagree. The new thing in large warehouses now is HO Flourescents, T5's. Metal Halide fixtures take forever to come on, so if theres a short power outage or brown out, your screwed for a while. The company I work for replaced a ton of Metal Halide fixtures for that reason exactly. We replaced about 500+metal halide lights in a large printing factory with 4 bulb T5 fixtures.

[MoonRise]

The big warehouses often use metal halide lights because they want/need the light to project down from a 20+ foot high ceiling.

You have 9 ft ceilings and an area of 20x24 ft, let's call it 500 ft2. You want to blanket the area with light, not have a few bright spots here and there. Based on the lighting guidelines for medium-difficulty bench task work of 100 lumens/ft2, you need at least 50,000 lumens of distributed light. If you have more detailed work needs, the lighting recommendations rise to 150+ lumens/ft2.

Use a bunch of fluorescent fixtures evenly space across the ceiling but no more than 2-4 ft from the walls. Use fixtures with electronic ballasts (faster start, better efficiency, longer life, much less flicker and hum than old style magnetic ballasts) and use bulbs with a good color temperature and a good CRI (color rendering index) of 80-85+ so that colors look good/right.

Using a few cheap 'shop light' is not the way to go. Put up at least 20 4-foot T-8 high CRI bulbs, or the equivalent in 8-footers if you can find/get some with high CRI and good color temperature.

Me? I'd go for at least 24 90+ CRI 4-ft T-8 bulbs and electronic ballasts. You are looking at $200+ just in the bulbs though. Why so many tubes? Because the high CRI tubes don't put out quite as much light (lumens) as the lower CRI tubes (1800 lumens for a 95CRI 4-ft tube versus 2700 lumens for a 75CRI 4-ft tube, both T-8 units).

[tanky321]

The big warehouses often use metal halide lights because they want/need the light to project down from a 20+ foot high ceiling.



T5's actually need to be mounted at 16' for maximum output. There a killer light, there so bright when I go up to one I feel like I should have my welding helmet on!

[ronnielyons]

Well, the "500" watt flourescent work lights on the stand, the ones from Costco in the above link, don't bother. Promptly took that back. Also tried a 100 mercury vapor flood light, bout as bad as the metal halide. It's looking more like T5's all the time.

[Mr_Fixit]

I'd go with t8 4 ' lights, and lots of them. Good light output, they're inexpensive fixtures & bulbs, and bulbs are easy to handle. And they'll light at zero degrees. But I wouldn't buy the $7 home depot ones.plastic ones cause they're garbage.

[tanky321]

So what did you do?

[migman]

flourescent lighting is the best i have found, my shop is 30' by 50' and 10' ceiling and i use flourescents.

[MJDamiani]

I do not what the dimensions of my barn are, it's an old horse stall and chicken coup/ tack shop. it was built in 1797 just like my home. I have installed 8- 8' flouresent 2 tube lights in the structure. When all of the lights are on, it looks like a night game at a major league baseball field in there. In fact, I have a highway light (32 foot pole and 10 foot arm) in my driveway with a 250W pressure sodium light and the entire yard is well lighted. Crooks hate light and my home (complex) has more security lighting than the local prison. I tell everybody that you can read the newspaper in every corner of my property. I've been for 30 Years and no intruders.

[Clay Walters]

Ronnie,

I've done this in two garages now with great success. Just remove the existing fixtures and bolt an 8ft twin-bulb flourescent fixture right up and use the existing wires to power it. In both instances the fixures blocked over the existing junction box perfectly. Three of those in your shop should provide brilliant lighting.

Yes, they flicker when cold but a few minutes with a heater solves that and its a non-issue when its warm. Tried 4ft fixtures at first but the 8ft are worth the difference.

My 2 cents,

Clay

[Tailshaft56]

Many of the 4 footers can be connected together to make an 8 footer. These wil use 4 four foot bulbs.

[Patriot Performance]

It is so cold here this week Only one light turns on in my shop. I gave up trying to work out there at all.

So i'm staying warm inside doing powder coating in my basement shop.

[MicroZone]

It's been really cold here as well. Lots of snow to say the least. My shop is decently insulated so it stays 20 - 25 above ambient. Still at -15 below, I'm happy to say my lights turn on. My buddy hooked me up with those good 8 footers, not sure what bulbs are in them but I can ask. With the right bulbs, yours might turn on. :)