Workshop lighting - What works the best?

[Markus]

I am having a garage built for the 28 Skater.

Since I will work on the boat in there, I will need good lighting.

What are the things to think about when installing lights in a workshop?

E.g. "Put lights both in the ceiling and high and low on the walls so that you always have good lighting no matter what you do", or "Don't bother with anything fancy. You need portable lights anyway to see what you are doing"

All experience welcome!

 

[hallett21]

Ceiling height?

 

[Markus]

Low.

 

[Markus]

 

[ltbaney1]

i always preferred high bay lights for general light and having "task" lights where needed. wall, ceiling, floor color and finish will play into this as well. the way light reflects or absorbed can affect it.

 

[hallett21]

Personally I like 6” LED cans on dimmers for that scenario. 4 rows of lights with the inside lights on one dimmer and the outside on the other. Halo makes a trim that articulates so you can compensate for the ceiling slope.

Then 3-4 can lights over your work bench/tool box location. Put that on a separate switch.

Just remember it’s better to have more sources of light at a “lower” setting than 2-3 brighter than the sun fixtures. It’s no fun looking up to high and losing your vision for a few seconds after.

 

[~JM~]

Barrina LED Shop Light, 8FT 72W 9000LM 5000K, Daylight White, V Shape, Clear Cover, Hight Output, Linkable , T8 LED Tube Lights, for Garage 8 Foot with Plug (Pack of 10)​

Amazon.com

 

[yz450mm]

Run a separate switched 20 amp circuit halfway up the wall all the way around, with duplex outlets every 8 ft.

Install low profile flat panel strip lights at mid height to help with side lighting and seeing underneath the boat. I would also put it on a dimmer to use as ambient lighting if you want.

The circuit would also come in handy for hanging things like beer signs or decorative lights on the wall.

 

[Markus]

The circuit would also come in handy for hanging things like beer signs or decorative lights on the wall.

I hope this one is still available when the shop is finished:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364709394314

 

[TimeBandit]

LED tubes, 5000 or 6000 color temperature, 8 feet off the ground, 3 feet from the wall if you are working on stuff.

This from my old airplane mechanic mentor (not the LED part) it has worked well in my garage(s)

 

[scottchbrite]

Barrina LED Shop Light, 8FT 72W 9000LM 5000K, Daylight White, V Shape, Clear Cover, Hight Output, Linkable , T8 LED Tube Lights, for Garage 8 Foot with Plug (Pack of 10)​

Amazon.com

@Markus I just installed several of these Barrina lights under a mezzanine I built in my shop. Under the mezzanine is my mill, lathe, and welding tables. I like them, plenty if light, easy to install, and I like the ability to link them. My only complaint is that the kelvin (color) is different than the high bays in the rest of the shop.

 

[Sharky]

If you have a Costco near you, these have been really good for me-

Koda LED lighting. https://kodabuilt.com/collections/shop-lights

You can link them together. Comes with remote and motion sensing.
I have been replacing my old 4 lamp, florescent, 32W each, troffer lights with these. Extremely happy with them.

Don't need to run/have an outlet for each individual. One outlet and you can link several together on one outlet. Dimmable, time of day light sensing, motion detection.

Very happy.

You can get them direct from Koda if you don't have a Costco near by or they are out of stock.

 

[steamin rice]

I have 16 ft ceilings in my RV garage, and opted for LED hi-bay lights - Each fixture puts out about 16k lumens. 10 fixtures total on 2 circuits so that the center 4 can be turned on/off separately from the outside 6. This works great with the high ceilings, but for lower ceilings I don't know if that's the best option. I will say that I'm glad that I have plenty of light at certain times.

 

[PDQH2O]

LED High Bay shop lights?

Who is our local LED lighting guy? Thanks for any info.

www.riverdavesplace.com

I love the LED UFO lights in the thread link. But as said earlier, they work great on a high ceiling height, not sure how they’d work in a lower height.

 

[DLC]

I have 3 -4ft linkable light fixtures on each side of my boat and 2 at the stern they are about 10 ft off the ground due to racking positioned
its great for a wipe down ! Garage is very bright around the outside of the boat

I would go with
multi zones for different tasks, ceiling and walls make them all Dimmable

plan the space - toolbox, cabinet, storage, carts etc
where is the boat going to be located in the garage / What height is the boat on the trailer

something like this maybe 2 rows on the walls about 7- 8 ft and one down lower

8000 lumen - 96in long strip 4 per side - 32 ft of light

paint sheen and color makes a difference also

 

[Mcob25rg]

JM & Scotchbrite for the win - what they said. That’s what I have in my building. 4 8’ @ $100 on Amazon. Do the whole thing for $200

 

[Markus]

Thank you. Super helpful!

 

[Eliminator21vdrive]

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Your floor will reflect whatever light you chose

 

[Markus]

It is called snow. I think they make it from water.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Garage Lighting Solutions | Shop Lighting | Obsessed Garage

Buy shop lights from Obsessed Garage including power cord reels and extension cords. The products below are the current overhead lighting solutions used at OGHQ. Inclusive of LED garage lights, power cords and cord reels from companies like Cox. Shop Now >

www.obsessedgarage.com

 

[Yoshiro]

x2 on the Amazon Barrina 8' LED lights. I've got about 36 of them in my shop and it's fantastic. I went down the walls also like a paint booth does. Doing wheel bearings, engine assembly, buffing, etc is great, no shadows.

 

[~JM~]

24'x 24' garage with 9' ceiling height. I was able to use nine 8' lights. I like the 5000K light. Plenty of illumination without too much glare. I wired up a switch to select each bay, or both. Super easy install. Figure out your lay-out & dimensions, snap a line & install the mounting clips. I used course thread screw in dry-wall inserts, then ran the mounting screw into that. Snap the lightweight fixtures up into the clips & wire them up.

 

[hallett21]

Alright if you wanna get rowdy let’s go all the way.

Recessed tape light. Get something at 2-4 watts per foot.

Amazon.com

I did these a few years ago