I am slowly finishing the inside of my garage and was looking for input on lights. The garage is 26 x 48 with 10 ft ceilings. The walls will be white painted OSB with white steel on the ceiling.I will have heat but it won't be on unless I plan to be out there so cold starts can be an issue. I am thinking florescent but am not sure what would work best.I want it to be well lit.Any input, ideas, or experiences good or bad would be appreciated.
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Garage/shop lighting
- Thread starter cf700
- Start date
WHITEWATER
New member
They are called high output Fluorescents
It depends how you use the shed. I have a similar size out building (30' x 50') where I have a combination of (2) 200 watt incandescent for instant light, (2) 250 watt metal halide and a painting area with (4) 4-lamp 4' H.O. fluorescents. The building is only heated while working on a project and only while occupied.
yamahauler
Active member
if you haven't done the heat yet, look into radiant heat like what you see in a car wash or a lot of car dealer shops. My dad over the years always had the heater in the corner with a blower and it never worked well. Went to the radiant heat and within a few minutes it is warm.
I would go with the 4 ft lights, just easier to store the bulbs and the bulbs may be cheaper.
just my two cents.
I would go with the 4 ft lights, just easier to store the bulbs and the bulbs may be cheaper.
just my two cents.
Low bay metal halide HID type light work ok but are slow to start. Your best bet is the flourescent strip light. H.O ones are good but more $$$, anything that uses the 4' T-8 bulb will work ok to great in low temps. unlike the older less- efficient T - 12 older style. A 8' long, 4' bulb strip (twin-uses 4 tubes) runs around $50 bucks at the large home centers. They do make them with 1,2,3 and 4 bulb configurations with and w/out shades but may need to be ordered. You may wish to install a few incandesent type lights on a seperate switch if you need to run in and out in sub-zero temps or while shop is heating up. Stay away from the 8' T -12 bulbs/ fixtures even if cheaper as the take too long to warm up in cooler temps.
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purproadking
New member
i have the highoutput florcents in my garage, and they work great. 2 4ft lamps centered between each garage door. garage is 40x30 with 3 drs across the front. they put out a ton of light.
I have six 8' high output fluorescent fixtures in a 22' x 32' x 12' work bay. The walls and ceiling are lined with white steel so there are no shadows. Even when working under vehicles there is enough light that I seldom need a trouble light. Definitely worth the extra money over regular flourescents IMO.
It would be worth checking with your local power company. They might have programs and rebates available for purchasing energy efficient fixtures.
It would be worth checking with your local power company. They might have programs and rebates available for purchasing energy efficient fixtures.
mjkaliszak
New member
Some good info here, I have all T12 HO's ( 8 ft ) except a couple of newly added fixtures with T8's & 1 T5 , I think. I picked up on some friends of mine this past week saying that the FED is going to do away with the T12's and you won't be able to buy them anymore. He had 160+ bulbs and was not happy , since he had several buildings that use these. There was the added cost of changing fixtures of course and or stock piling bulbs... but you might want to consider that. Just go to the energy efficient T8's , there are just as bright as my T12HO's. Don't know when this was going to happen, but just mentioning it.