Shop lights

[Andrew Hohnstein]

Hello everyone. I recently joined the Guild and am looking forward to being active in the community. I am putting together my shop slowly in an unfinished room in our basement. I have easy access to a subpanel for power. I need a lot of light. The space is approximately 10'x20'. I would like to put up flourescent shop lights. Any suggestions on output, bulb type, number of units?

[wilburpan]

My shop is exactly the same size as yours. Without going into all the gory details, I ran a calculation that told me that ideally I should have eight 4 foot fixtures that hold 2 bulb T-8 32 watt fluorescents each. (if that was confusing, that's a total of 16 flurorescent bulbs.) I could only put 5 fixtures in because of the way that the electrical and plumbing ran across my ceiling, and I wish I could put three more in. I've been adding in task lighting as I go along.

[bywc]

There was a massive discussion regarding lighting a while back with a ton of really good information it would be a good read for sure ,

mine on the other hand I seem to be different than most in that I just put enough lights to be able to see what im doing safely I am sure if I ran the magic lighting numbers it would say I need a load more lights but its never been an issue for me.

some like their shop to be so bright you can get a sun tan just standing in there and others have it to a comfortable range I think everyone's eyes are different so dont rely to much on the "Official" lighting ISO9000 lighting numbers just add lights or take away until you find that comfortable spot for you that doesn't hurt your eye but puts out enough light to safely work.

[mdbuilder]

I used the 2 bulb surface mount fixtures with the prismatic clip on plastic cover from Lowes, they were in the $20 per fixture range - maybe 18 or maybe 24 - I forget. The shop is roughly 20 * 30 and I have 8 of them installed spread around all but the last 12 feet or so. That last 12 feet already had one of those round florescent fixtures + a cheap 2 bulb hanging fixture. I'm very happy with the lighting in all of the shop except that end!

Anyway, they are the small diameter bulbs (T-8?) and I use the "daylight" bulbs. Highly recommend the daylight bulbs. Installing plenty of lights and using the daylight bulbs has really transformed the environment, much more pleasant to work in. I also painted the floor with a light tan epoxy garage coating by Rustoleum. Also highly recommended.

[nikbrown]

Yea I have 6x4bulb T8 fixtures in my shop. I just replaced all the bulbs in it with GE "daylight" bulbs. Wow all the difference in the world!!! It's not "pretty" light (aka: it's very white!) but it will show every flaw in a finish or workpiece and give you great work-light for the shop!!!

[Onboard]

Would someone please tell me what length T-8 tubes are being used? So far I see that everyone is using T-8 fluorescent tubes, but not how long. I see that they come in sizes from 1 foot to 8 feet and in single pin and bi-pin configurations. Whenever I read about a woodworker installing T-8 lights in their shops, can I assume they are all 4 foot tubes or not? Oh, and I also see they come in a “U” tube configuration.

[Vic]

Would someone please tell me what length T-8 tubes are being used? So far I see that everyone is using T-8 fluorescent tubes, but not how long. I see that they come in sizes from 1 foot to 8 feet and in single pin and bi-pin configurations. Whenever I read about a woodworker installing T-8 lights in their shops, can I assume they are all 4 foot tubes or not? Oh, and I also see they come in a “U” tube configuration.

Generally, you're looking for an F32T8, which is a four foot fixture.

[mdbuilder]

Yep, 4 footers.

[samhell]

Home Depot has some 2 x 48" fixtures for like 10 bucks.... go crazy.

[Vic]

Careful of "good" deals. Especially in electronics. $10 is not likely to buy a decent ballast. It could be a really good deal, but I'd pop the hood and check out the ballast online. If you have any questions on it, take a pic and I'll let you know if it's a decent one. You'll want to get the manufacture and model number. I have access to a lot of different catalogues.

[Andrew Hohnstein]

Thanks, Vic, and everyone. I have an electrician coming out today to quote running some power and adding outlets. Hopefully, by the end of the week I will have power so that I can install the lights and begin the arduous process of cleaning out my new workspace.

[Mike M]

Don't minimize the importance of the ballast. The cheap ones are magnetic and have two negative charactistics.

First of all, they hum, especially as they age. This won't bother you when your machines are running, but can be annoying when you are thinking or doing some hand work.

The second problem is that they are sensitive to temperature. When the shop is cold, they won't fire reliably and the tubes will just glow.

Stick with electronic ballasts and you should be OK.

Mike

[jHop]

What's everybody's opinion of the LED lighting? Should it be primarily used for task lighting, or can it be used for other purposes?

I ask, because I don't have the ceiling height to install fixtures, and I cannot put anything between the rafters because of the wiring and the piping that was run higgedly-piggedly throughout the past forty years...

I have one outlet installed on it's own 20 amp circuit, that I'm thinking of adding a second outlet on. There are only two items that will run at a time; basically the tool being used and the shop vac/ dust collector. (and maybe task lighting... hence the question.)

[samhell]

What's everybody's opinion of the LED lighting? Should it be primarily used for task lighting, or can it be used for other purposes?

I ask, because I don't have the ceiling height to install fixtures, and I cannot put anything between the rafters because of the wiring and the piping that was run higgedly-piggedly throughout the past forty years...

I have one outlet installed on it's own 20 amp circuit, that I'm thinking of adding a second outlet on. There are only two items that will run at a time; basically the tool being used and the shop vac/ dust collector. (and maybe task lighting... hence the question.)

My friend is using LEDs to light his 300 gallon aquarium, so apparently they are bright enough... but then he has 3 modules with a ton of individual LEDs on each one. Only cost about $500 to get started...

[Vic]

Don't minimize the importance of the ballast. The cheap ones are magnetic and have two negative charactistics.

First of all, they hum, especially as they age. This won't bother you when your machines are running, but can be annoying when you are thinking or doing some hand work.

The second problem is that they are sensitive to temperature. When the shop is cold, they won't fire reliably and the tubes will just glow.

Stick with electronic ballasts and you should be OK.

Mike

Actually, T8 lamps use solely electronic ballasts. The better ballast is a programmed start ballast. They make the bulbs last longer because they slightly warm before starting.

[Vic]

My friend is using LEDs to light his 300 gallon aquarium, so apparently they are bright enough... but then he has 3 modules with a ton of individual LEDs on each one. Only cost about $500 to get started...

Two things. LED technology is still not quite there. They are close. The cost of the fixtures have very long ROI. The second thing is make sure you never have your lights on the same circuit as a power tool. You don't want to have a short or overload kill a machine and the lights at the same time.