Who knows garage lighting

[thastinger]

Have a clean slate in a new build, 45x55 with 10ft ceilings. Have 8 round boxes on different combinations of switches.
I have looked at the hex style lights but the light quality doesn't seem very good, color is too blue and they seem to cast shadows.
Guess I'm most interested in what the color should be (like 4-5K?) and what specs I would be looking for to determine quality, like higher Cre or whatever other specs I should pay attention to.

 

[Rand]

I like 4000k color, and higher cri is always nice but sometimes you give up efficiency for it.

normal "warm" bulb is 2700k for comparison. 5k always seemed blue and harsh to me.. even if they call it "daylight"

4000k has a nice whiteness without the blue IMO.

 

[thastinger]

I like 4000k color, and higher cri is always nice but sometimes you give up efficiency for it.

normal "warm" bulb is 2700k for comparison. 5k always seemed blue and harsh to me.. even if they call it "daylight"

4000k has a nice whiteness without the blue IMO.

Yeah, I don't like the blue colors in bright lights...so go with a 4K color, thanks.

 

[dlundblad]

I like 5k for garages personally.

I would look into hanging UFO high bay lights. I installed some in my dads 24x55 garage with a cathedral ceiling. He was worried about them being too dim and they weren’t so he then wanted dimmers. Lol.

I’m not familiar with the different styles, but some use 0-10v dimming. (His did.) Dimmers were $80 each even after I bought them through work’s account. You’ll also have to run an additional 18-2 wire.

 

[Pablo]

What do you lighting experts do for overhead lighting when bay doors are open and forward overhead lights are covered by open doors between light source and forward work area? Especially with hood up as well?

 

[2010Civic]

I like 4K color for the house but 5K for the garage. I installed a bunch of can lights in my garage. Not the absolute brightest option out there but looks very nice in my opinion and is still quite bright.

 

[walterjay]

I have 4K in my garage. Very nice color and easy on the eyes. I installed a lot of lighting. Looks like an NFL field at night. Don't cheap out on the number of lights. Do it in such a way as to avoid having any shadows.

 

[RyanY]

I am not expert but I have seen some pretty good and pretty bad setups. At the bad end, incandescent or fluorescent bulbs in the center of the room. At the good end, LED tube lights along the entire perimeter of the garage, and along each bay. And if you have cabinets above your workbench, definitely install under cabinet lights (like in a kitchen). And lots of outlets for tools, etc.

 

[dkryan]

I like 4K color for the house but 5K for the garage. I installed a bunch of can lights in my garage. Not the absolute brightest option out there but looks very nice in my opinion and is still quite bright.

View attachment 298840

Nice garage, 2010!!

 

[Sumboodie]

What do you lighting experts do for overhead lighting when bay doors are open and forward overhead lights are covered by open doors between light source and forward work area? Especially with hood up as well?

Mount lights to the door.

 

[Pablo]

Mount lights to the door.

Interesting!

 

[Sumboodie]

Interesting!

Just use a slinky coiled cord that follows the door movement.

Super easy these days with LED. With the old T8 wasn't so reliable... heavy and more fragile.

 

[JHZR2]

I like 3000-5000K for task lighting. For large expansive spaces, I’ve had good luck with the 5000K 8’ 15k lumen tube-style lights.

I might even ditch the cans, use a lightbulb to outlet adapter, and then just link the bulbs.

https://a.co/d/aanEi1Q

Just four of these across the ridge of my 1000 sf loft puts out more than enough light. And they link together. Adding more would make it super bright.

 

[doitmyself]

I just converted my workplace shop/office/breakroom building from flourescent to LED tube lights. There's a ton of internet information to guide you on lumen levels, light color, CRI, etc. (search "design workshop lighting). My old lighting was 4000k and I thought I liked it. Our contractor (energy company price match program) put in 5000K and I was fearful of the change. I can now say that I like the 5000k better and I "think" that I have better color rendition. I do wood working and staining wood is always a challenge with daylight windows vs. night time. It "seems" to be a little bit better now - the night time lighting resembles daytime lighting very slightly better. I don't think the new bulbs have better CRI vs. the old, but I'm just guessing. 4,000K vs. 5,000K is a personal and very difficult decision without being able to compare them. Pay attention to adequate lumen levels also, but you don't want to feel the need for sun glasses either, no matter the Kelvin level.

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

I know nothing about garage lighting but if I had a clean slate I would reach out to a garage lighting manufacture like one can do when installing speakers or in my case acoustic sound panels ( to treat a room ) as those pros can take your measurements and end result requirements and tell you exactly what to do...

However, I tend to overthink things but if I had a new garage I would perhaps use it to apply Ceramic Coatings and would go to the extra trouble to get a lighting supplier to run some numbers for me (FREE ) to at least get me pointed in the right direction...

Or just hit Home depot or Harbor Freight and hang some 5K LED's

Good Luck with your project!

 

[50yr Street Mech]

My garage is 2 bay under the house. Low ceilings. Sheetrocked/ insulated with a mini-split. Builder put in 4 lousy warm white cans in the ceilings. I just ordered a bunch of 3 bulb bathroom vanity fixtures and strung them along the sheetrock with 5K bulbs. About 12 of them. Nice and bright. Painted the fixtures white to match ceiling and that was that. Poor man's lighting job., but crazy bright.

 

[tmorris1]

I like 3000-5000K for task lighting. For large expansive spaces, I’ve had good luck with the 5000K 8’ 15k lumen tube-style lights.

I might even ditch the cans, use a lightbulb to outlet adapter, and then just link the bulbs.

https://a.co/d/aanEi1Q

View attachment 298864

Just four of these across the ridge of my 1000 sf loft puts out more than enough light. And they link together. Adding more would make it super bright.

Do you get shadows from the rafters?

 

[tmorris1]

Used multiple 4 foot double led T8 tubes linked together. Puts out great light and they are pretty cheap. If a bulb fails you can replace it instead of the whole fixture. That can be a problem years down the road when you can't get the same fixture. T8 leds will be available.

I hate 5k lights in the house but they are great in the garage and don't seem to have the blue tint.

 

[B6_Dolphin]

When I did my garage remodel in '22, I used Alcon Lighting LED Recessed Strips in 4k:

https://www.alconlighting.com/12100...less-linear-recessed-mount-light-fixture.html

It wasn't cheap, but it provides all the general task lighting I need. WIth the included step-down drivers, the LED strips are driven with 18V.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Geez...that's a nice garage !!!! I'd be really mad if I spilled oil, or got paint over spray, or undercoating, or anything on that floor !!!!! Too beautiful for me. I make some BIG messes sometimes. The grout would be black ! LOL Enjoy it. Great job !!!