Shop lighting question

[nikki]

Hello! I went over and introduced myself in the newbie section, and now I have a question. We're building a new shop and I need lighting advice! I have never been good with picking out lights, our house, my current shop- both questionable. My current shop is tiny, probably only about 7'x12', maybe less. Lights there are a mix of a flood light, regular light, and lots of clip on lamps! My new shop will occupy a part of the entire 28x60, 12' tall, shop. Specifically my side is 14x28. Yea, I'm very excited! I pretty well have all the furniture pieces that will go in- it does have 4 small windows, 3x2 I believe. And a bathroom, double yea! So, with a 12 foot ceiling what type of lights are best? My husband is in construction (commercial) so he is familiar with most any big lights but they are usually going into places that are very big and not being used by a hobby person. We have figured on getting 2 large lights, 4 foot, either LED or T8 florescent. Then put some of the smaller 2 foot single bulb strips over my saw, wheels and jewelry desk.

So, what would you all recommend? I know some of the LED's don't look as bright and I know there are different types of light- daylight, warm, cool, etc. Since this is a new build I can probably accommodate anything (except some are way expensive!) and I hope to get this one right!

Thank you in advance for any advice you have on lights or any other tips you might have!

Nikki

[Deleted]

Lots oflights

Daylight color if you can.

Lots of lights.

Sorry I am not more helpful

[nikki]

No, thank you, that is helpful! I wondered if the daylight ones were the best, "clearest" light to use. Thanks!

[MrP]

I work for a power utility. No matter the cost of the bulbs LED will pay for themselves many times over. I would also go with Daylight, 5000K. In my opinion there is no such thing as too much light  in a shop. Also keep in mind lighting for shelves that you may store rough on. I have 4 sets of shelves, that are in my aviator, that I used LED rope lighting on. Used 150' per 2 sets of shelves and I think it does a great job. Good Luck....................................MrP

[Mark K]

A agree with the stuff Scott and MrP said. Also, if you want to, you can hang some of the fixtures on a system so they are right over the saw and tables, yet be able to pull them aside for cleaning. I think most would be high mount, but some low hanging may have value. Experiment with what works for you.

[Drummond Island Rocks]

Last month I seen 4 foot led light fixtures at SamsClub and the price looked good so I bought a couple just to test them out. After replacing two fluorescent fixtures with those I went back the next day and bought 14 more. Unbelievable difference in brightness. So now the whole garage and basement is all LED. I still clamp on swing arm task lighting at my cabbing station because I like direct light on my wheels. The LED shop lights are very white light. Not really good for a living area. I had to leave a few fluorescent fixtures in the finished basement area that the kids use as a TV room because the LED was too harsh.

www.samsclub.com/sams/4ft-led-shoplight-shoplight-led/prod16460030.ip

Chuck

[nikki]

Thank you all so much! And thanks for the link Chuck, I was needing to go to Sam's anyway.

[toiv0]

i replaced 6 four ft florescents with 4 four ft led. now i have twice the light. i bought mine at lowes for around 30 dollars on sale. they have a pull chain which is nice if i don't need all the light.

[jakesrocks]

With a 12 foot ceiling, have you thought about putting a dropped ceiling in your portion of the building ? You could have storage overhead for light items, and it would bring overhead lighting nearer to your work.

Also, think about painting the ceiling & walls matt white. You'll get much reflected light back onto your work areas.

The goose neck Moffatt lights like what comes standard on the Genie are a nice to have item. You can buy extra sockets for them to clip onto, and they can be moved easily around the shop as needed. They're a bit expensive, but just a couple would be a handy investment.

[nikki]

Thanks Don, the ceiling will be sort of dropped... My husband had this idea, and it took me days to picture what he was getting at, it will basically have a L shaped catwalk around two sides. Probably about 7' up. Above that is for storage, it will only be about 4' wide. Sounds kind of odd, but I do need storage and it will make it so that I can have light closer over my main work areas. For the rest I may look at some of the lights described above that have chains so they can hang lower. I don't know how much storage it will be though as my son thinks that will become his new play area! Ha!

[jakesrocks]

Have you considered a chain for your son ? LOL

[nikki]

Lol!! No kidding! He asked if we would have room for a spiral staircase??!! Um no!!

[jakesrocks]

LOL. at least he asked for a staircase. Most kids these days would expect an elevator.

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2016 17:19:52 GMT -5 jakesrocks said:

LOL. at least he asked for a staircase. Most kids these days would expect an elevator.

Only if they can control them from their I-phones

I agree with LED's instead of fluorescent wherever possible. Not only more light output at less cost, but in a shop, they come on very quickly instead of taking forever to warm up to full brightness after a cold night. Not a big problem in summer, but very irritating during cooler seasons.

[Mark K]

But she lives in Clintonville, I don't think it gets cold enough to freeze the ballast more than one or two times a year.

[Deleted]

Doesn't have to freeze the ballast, even the quick-start ballasts, for even mildly cool temps to increase the time it takes to get full brightness. Also unlike LED's, both tubes and ballasts in fluorescent fixtures fail far earlier than their rated lives if you subject them to more on/off cycles (or use of quick-start ballasts) than the typical 3-hours on per use. A bored kid playing with the switch can have you getting out the ladder frequently.

I agree that daylight color temp is best. Warm and cool color temps affect what you'll see in the stone (washing out blues or reds).

Whether fluorescent or LED, you'll also want to check the maximum rated operating temperature, as that can affect performance and cost, too. Standard fluorescent's lose lifespan when used in environments colder or warmer than around 75F. LED life isn't affected by cool temps, but their lifespan does decrease when operated at very hot (110-120F) temperatures. I'm not likely to be working in the garages or shop when temps are getting that warm, though it does get warmer at the ceiling level than down nearer the floors, so do always read the fine print on the boxes. In my case LED's have worked well. I've been using them since 2006, with only a few failures from trying out some non-UL Chinese imports back when they were first available (cheap AC-to-DC power converters on some of those burned out within days). No problems at all with the big brand names that are available now. I may not outlive some of the rest.

[Rockoonz]

Apr 6, 2016 15:24:44 GMT -5 nikki said:

Thanks Don, the ceiling will be sort of dropped... My husband had this idea, and it took me days to picture what he was getting at, it will basically have a L shaped catwalk around two sides. Probably about 7' up. Above that is for storage, it will only be about 4' wide. Sounds kind of odd, but I do need storage and it will make it so that I can have light closer over my main work areas. For the rest I may look at some of the lights described above that have chains so they can hang lower. I don't know how much storage it will be though as my son thinks that will become his new play area! Ha!

My shop has mezzanine shelves at 8' above the benches, right now I have track lighting with LED bulbs in the lamps so I can turn them to focus where I want the light. I need to add a daylight fixture or 3 in the center of the room and above the silver bench as well The shelves are nice, when it was all out in the garage it looked like this. This is the smaller of the two.

[Peruano]

Costco LED shop lights are around $24 per unit and so warm and bright compared to my old fluorescents. Hang from chains or attach to ceiling. I found an LED goose neck light (probably intended for reading) which floats from one cab machine to the other for highlighting that particular wheel on which I'm working. Another $14. Oh, the cost of a serious hobby. Enjoy the light. Tom

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2016 22:55:15 GMT -5 Rockoonz said:

Apr 6, 2016 15:24:44 GMT -5 nikki said:

Thanks Don, the ceiling will be sort of dropped... My husband had this idea, and it took me days to picture what he was getting at, it will basically have a L shaped catwalk around two sides. Probably about 7' up. Above that is for storage, it will only be about 4' wide. Sounds kind of odd, but I do need storage and it will make it so that I can have light closer over my main work areas. For the rest I may look at some of the lights described above that have chains so they can hang lower. I don't know how much storage it will be though as my son thinks that will become his new play area! Ha!

My shop has mezzanine shelves at 8' above the benches, right now I have track lighting with LED bulbs in the lamps so I can turn them to focus where I want the light. I need to add a daylight fixture or 3 in the center of the room and above the silver bench as well The shelves are nice, when it was all out in the garage it looked like this. This is the smaller of the two.

Nice Lee! I expect such from your capable hands. Appreciate the share.

[zarguy]

What timing! was going to mount an old fluorescent fixture above my jewelry bench this weekend & found these LED replacement bulbs - LEDs

$11 each for 5000k with free shipping.
Lynn