What type of lights should i use?The garage is 30x25x12 feet tall.It's a steel garage.TIA
Tim

 

I'd probably use fluorescent lights....then again 12 ft. tall...I'm not sure if they'd be bright enough that high up. I know they may warehouse lights...mercury vapor??? I think that would be probably be good. Sorry, that's the best I can come up with.

Good Luck!

Tracy

 

I originally installed two mercury-vapor street-style lights on the ceilling of my 46X14X16 high garage bay. The lights were from HD. They put out good light, once they warm up. The only scary part is they burn REAL HOT and if they explode will rain down some pretty hot glass ! This could easily lead to a fire if left unchecked. I have also installed two similar looking fluorescent lights on the ceiling (also from HD). They burn "whiter", start faster and use much less power. I'm planning on replacing the 2 M-V lights with 2 more Fl for a total of 4 lights. BTW, my walls & ceiling are painted white, which helps reflect the light.

I would recommend at least 6 of the fluorescent street-style lights on your ceilling, maybe 8 if the area is not painted white. You could switch them on/off in banks of 2 or 3 to controll different use areas.

Fran

 

Is your ceiling flat or open? My first shop was flat white tin. Flourescents were bright, but made the meter spin plenty fast. Second shop has open ceiling with HID lights from Lithonia lighting. They are a bit less bright but operate much cheaper. They are approx 2' tall , so i hung them with bottoms just below the trusses. 12' ceilings in both shops. Very long bulb life. I would not go back to flourescents unless necessary (low ceiling).

 

Back when I had a real job I built a 60' X 60' for shop with a 60' X 100' machinery storage area attached. The const. supt. spec'd four metal halide fixtures hung from the 16' celiing over the shop floor area (12' wide along one wall was two levels with the upstairs open to the shop). The whole thing was lined in white steel, walls and ceiling. The HID lighting was a joke, more like four spotlights than anything else. After a little convincing I took them out and replaced them with 30 double bulb 8' fluorescents. You could lay under a piece of equipment and read a newspaper if you liked.

I've got four of those fixtures in my 22 X 24 garage with two 4's over the bench. You can never have too much light in a shop!

Roger

 

4 HIDs in a 60x60 x 16 high, way under lighted. I have 7 in a 42x60. Strip lighting for task (benches). Pricey up front; payback in appearance, easy to clean, long bulb life, 45-50% less power use

 

my shop is 30' x 48' with 13' ceilings flat white tin on the ceilings. i used 8' 2 bulb flourecents. 6 rows with 5 fixtures end to end and i have more light than i know what to do with. i usually only use 2 rows at a time. i would use high output t12 flourecents they are also cold start or if it's a heated shop i would use t8 flourecents with electronic balist.

 

first question, what how many watts are these mercury vapor bulbs your talking about? Ive seen one 1000 watt m/v that very nicely lite up a 30x40x18 tall wraped in galvinized sheet metal shop no shortage of light, a 400 watt puts out 35,000 lumens as apposed to a 1000 watt wich puts out 140,000 lumens, big difference. as for the bulbs blowing up I have only ever seen that if they are dropped or hit by water when hot. As for your 30x25' shop I would probably put in 4 250 m/v's or 4 400 watt m/v's if you want it very bright and can afford the $30 bucks a month for power, allthough I would probably look for a low profile one so you can keep the lights high and have good coverage. hope this helps.Also when you work out the lumens per watt the hid m/v is brighter for the buck, expensive to set up

 

I just checked the output of my MV lights. They are 175W/7000 Lumens each. The equivalent fluorescent style are 65W/4500 Lumens each. They also make a fluorescent flood light, using the same type & wattage bulb.

For the original poster's 30X25 garage, I would use 12 of the fluorescent street style lights from HomeD. http://www.lightsofamerica.com/yardlights.htm

I would arrange them in a 3 X 4 grid pattern. The total power usage would be 780 watts. Unless you need "sunlight" in your garage, these 12 lights will be more than enough and about 1/2 the wattage of the same Lumen MV lights.

Fran

 

good lighting...what a subject....I put in 110 wat / high output for the low[below 60*F ] end to end. every four feet. started two feet from wall....and the effect changed everything...even in the winter it just made me think upbeat...Got the idea from a review in a woodworking magazine written by a lighting specialist engineer...my old eyes seemed to work better on the benchs and on the floor...I agree with avoiding the spot light effect..go with general illuninacion...and I found that the t-12 ho fixtures do not put out the same lumens with the energy efficient tubes..I ended up at a lighting supply house , paying less per bulb, for more light[lumes] per watt....good luck

 

I've got a dinky little garage with one flourescent fixture. Old style bulbs didn't do too much in this place, so I put in a set of "natural daylight" bulbs. Major difference, it really is like real daylight. I think they were $8 for the pair, so not a big investment.

 

"Natural Daylight" type florecent bulbs give a warm glow that is so much better the the cool blue standards. My Dad worked at his bench for years under that lighting and still swears by it.

Has anyone thought of cutting holes in the ceiling for sky lights? It may help in the day time.

-1bigsteve (o:

 

!Big Steve...ok,your right again skylight , even the 12 inch bubble tube, will bring in a lot of light...while keeping stuff locked up....oh, when house shopping years ago, i found the perfect two car garage with 220 volts, finished drywall, and two large skylights framed into box like; light wells....I would not have had to have much extra light...wife didn't like the house/ I cann't remember anything but those skylights in thegarage

 

I know in my next shop/garage, I'm doing the roof out of corrugated fiberglass. The problem with skyligts is that over years, they leak. The ceiling is slowly caving in on my garage thanks to some skylights.

 

I guess it all depends on what you are going to use your garage for and how much you want to spend. These guys have given you about every option I can think of. I always thought I would like to add lighting to my walls for detailing my vehicles. Maybe some day. Good Luck!