Lighting?

[hbmcc]

My garage sorely needs light. Two bare-bulb incandescent lights help the mosquitoes but nothing else.  After 24 years I can see the floor and roof of my garage, mostly. The idea is to lose more of the hoard and use the garage for woodworking. The drywall is being painted white.

I have eight 2200 lumens (~150 watts) LED strips to install in the 22' x 24' space. These things are shy 48-inches long. My son got them for a bargain. The problem is, there really is no true design information on the web that we can use. The best we found was space lights equal to height from work surface and at a wall, about half that distance (from the wall). 


Has anyone found or have guidance for laying out lighting in a standard double garage? 

Thanks from the dark side.
Bruce

[DFJarvie]

I have a 20x20 shop with cathedral type ceilings,flat at the peak the slopes to the walls. I have 10 four ft T5s as follows. Two are spaced evenly at the peak and 4 on each sides for the slope evenly spaced.

If you add some task lighting for the bench’s, etc you should be ok.

[hbmcc]

Your estimate of 10, or so, fixtures seems about right. By wet-finger waving and guestimating from one strip it looks like 6 (13,200 Lumens, or13x75 watt bulbs) should work pretty well for the field; too well. And, like you say, add task points. 

The trouble with these LEDs is the 3/4 inch profile. Any projection from the ceiling, where these are attached, causes harsh shadows. The good thing is they sip so little energy. The above six fixtures draw about 9 amps.

Thanks for the assist!

[Chuck Nickerson]

Based on my experience, light fixtures should be placed based on your machinery locations, where you're standing when using the machine, and how much (if at all) you bend over when actually using the machine.

My 2-car garage shop has 11 fixtures, nine of which needed to be moved when I rearranged my machinery.
Some of those fixtures needed to be shifted a foot or so to accommodate my actual posture when using the machine (e.g. sharpening and carving stations).

[hbmcc]

Thanks, Chuck. I was wondering how to handle the proverbial body shadows.... [It seems strange to live with practically nothing, to go to being picky about nearly 7 times the light.] I wonder if it is too much light. I have few stationary pieces, and nearly all will be on casters.

[EricU]

going from not enough, but even lighting to bright light with sharp shadows in the wrong place is not an improvement.  I just had that problem today with my drill, which has an led light.  If it wasn't there, it wouldn't have been a problem, but with it there was a sharp shadow and I couldn't see what I was doing.  Had to use the drill upside-down so I could see.

the main lighting in my shop is going to be arranged along the edges.  Then I might take out the lights that are in the middle and not replace them. But it's not a very wide room and there are no obstructions at ceiling level