Looking for workshop/garage lighting.

[betacrash]

I have a two car garage workshop that is lit by 2 100watt bulbs. I NEED LIGHT!! I have installed some standard fluorescent lights in my other house and it looked pretty good but was just wondering if there is a good (possibly cheap) solution to get a really good natural looking light in my shop. If regular old fluorescents are it then that is ok. thanks

[dbhost]

That is the typical approach. Use the Sunstik bulbs in the fixtures to get more natural looking light.

[JR]

Most new fluorescent fixtures will be of the T8 standard. The ones you have seen for many years, the T12, are being phased out. The T8s are more efficient, so it's wise to make sure you get those.

The daylight white tubes (I think that's what they're called) are excellent for a shop application. I have a couple of those and a couple of older T12 fixtures and my 12'x20' shop is reasonably well lit. Another couple of fixtures would be the max that I would need.

It's also worth noting that your shop should have white walls and ceiling. It will make a big difference to the effectiveness of your lighting.

JR

[steve-norrell]

When we remodeled we added on to, and rewired, the garage (standard two-car) to make it usable as a shop (at least when the cars were not in). We used two rows of four fluorescent fixtures over the 30 ft length. Everyone thought that would be enough light but with these aged eyes, it proved not so.

I added a short segment of track lighting right over the main work area (table saw and router table), loaded them with LED lights and aimed the lights so there were minimum shadows over the TS and router table. The track came with a plug-in, switchable extension so they are not always on when the garage lights are on. The combination of fluorescents over most of the garage and the LEDs over the work area provide plenty of light where needed and good color elsewhere. As I recall, the track-light system cost about $25, the tracks coming from the Borg and the LEDs from Costco.

Regards, Steve

[Dickl12]

Light fixture

I don't know where you live, but if you live in a colder climate, check it out with an electrical supply or lighting store. There is a special light fixture with a different Transformer. Wrong light fixture and the lamps won't fully light up.

[tfischer]

Due to the "cold" issue mainly, I use the twin 150W halogen fixtures that are about 3' long. I have three of them, plus a few other lights in the garage (and worklights on most stationary tools). I still wish I had more light! I might consider adding more flourescents as backup...

[siliconbauhaus]

I just bought a bunch of twin fluorescent lights from wally world and rigged up some sockets to feed them. They were about 9$ a pop and I had a box full of tubes to fit them. Every light is about 3ft on centre and they do the job.

[RAV2]

I splurged and bought one of these "diamond plate" jobs from Sears:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...urescent+light

Not a bad deal when on sale.

Pretty sure most modern lights are cold weather compatible.