Best lighting in garage?

[miked1]

Hi everyone

Planning out the lighting for my new garage and would appreciate your feedback Room is approx 5m x 6m x 3m (W x L x H)..

Right now I'm thinking 2 x 6' fluorescent lights, 70W each with diffuser. They'll be installed seperately to get the coverage. I'm getting quoted about £25 each locally.

Does this seem adequate in your folks experience or should I be planning on using something else (e.g. with reflectors?)

Many thanks
Mike

 

[Richard C]

Mike
It really depends of what you’re going to use the garage for, if it’s just somewhere to park the car then OK but if they are singles, it will be a bit gloomy. If it’s going to be a workshop as well then I would say you need more. I’ve got a one 6ft twin tube in a 3.5m x 7m garage & it’s rather gloomy & only suitable as background lighting. I’m building a new 6m x 6m garage/workshop next year & as I do a lot of car restoration work, I’m planning to install 4 x 6ft twins at high level, individually switched or switched in pairs &, if necessary, I am going to install another, separately switched 6ft twin at low level over my workbench. Metal Haylide (not sure if I’ve spelt that right!) lights are awesome in a workshop (& act as space heaters as well!) but are both expensive to buy & run. It also helps considerable if you paint the ceiling white & even the walls if you can.

 

[miked1]

Thanks Richard

In looking also came across this.. SON lowbay 250W for £44!
Seems like a lot of light - anyone used similar in a garage?

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=101674&ts=99471&id=93461#

Otherwise it'll be 2 x 58W twin fluorescents (~230W) for £68

http://www.fastlight.co.uk/shop/index.html?target=dept_12.html

also came across this place that was useful..
http://www.commercial-lamps.co.uk/acatalog/Fluorescent_tubes.html

Thanks
Mike

 

[ban-all-sheds]

SON lights take a long time to reach full brightness, and some cannot be re-struck after turning off, which might be a pain. And have you got a 3m ceiling in your garage?

If you use moving machinery in your garage, or work on car engines that are running, be very wary of ordinary fluorescent lights, as they can cause strobing, and make moving things appear stationary. This is a Bad Thing™. Use high-frequency ones.

 

[miked1]

Thanks, I think I'll stick with the flourescent. Any idea if 2 x twin 70W (280W total) would be excessive for for my size garage?

 

[securespark]

Put it this way:

I have a garage smaller than that, and I have 2 x 8' twins. It is not too bright, either. In fact, it is the same height as yours, but only about 20' long, and 12' wide.

If you're using it as a workshop, I'd use anti-corrosives simply because they are knock-proof. And if you do bash one hard enough to bust the tube, it is contained.

 

[Steve]

And if you do bash one hard enough to bust the tube, it is contained.

Surely if you've knocked it so hard as to pop a tube, the shield will be no more too? I have seen one of these fittings knocked at a school - it was in the sports hall lockup, someone knocked it with a set of goal posts, and it smashed the plastic cover and the 2 tubes inside. most of the plastic cover was still intact, but obviously not all the glass was contained.

 

[securespark]

No. I can say from experience that the anti-corrosive I bashed with a joist gave the tube such a shock it shattered.

The cover was polycarbonate, so was very forgiving.