Shop Lighting Wiring - Is this possible?

[David B Thornton]

So i've got all of my fixtures installed in the shop and now I'm trying to figure out how I want them wired. I'm going to have either 2 or 3 circuits to run all the lights, and am trying to figure out ways that I can have certain banks on or off at the same time with the use of switches.

Basically what I have come up with as far as how I would like to break them up is to have the three rows of lights on separate circuits controlled by three switches as I walk into the shop door. I'd also like to have the left and right banks of lights be controlled by their own switch on that wall.

Here's an explanation of my diagram:
Yellow switch turns on the top row of lights.
Green turns on the center row of lights.
Blue turns on the bottom row of lights.
Red turns on only the left column of lights.
Teal turns on only the right column of lights.

This would mean that if the red and teal switches are off, and only the green switch is on, then only the three center green lights would turn on. The outer switches would override the outer green lights.

I'm hoping that I'm not just being confusing. This is more of an idea, so if this isn't possible, or is just not suggested, I can accept that Input and ideas are more than welcome!

[Randy Bonella]

Hi David,
Interesting concept. The simple answer is yes you can do what you suggest. However I don't think its possible using simple standard switches. You can do it using lighting control such as X10 or similar. Cost increment would be about $30 per control switch and $20 to allow mixed bank control for some of the specialty setups you proposed and then you would need the computer and software to setup the initial programming. You might be looking at $500 in hardware and software to make it work. There is probably other ways to get close to what you want as well but would involve using more switches and in some cases 3 way types. Cost adder would be more like $50 for switches and wire.

A couple of questions I have are: 1) how many light fixtures are you planning on putting in? what type? and what are the current ratings for each fixture?

The reason for the question is that you may not need multiple circuits. You can put a lot of Fluorescent lighting on single 15amp or 20amp circuit. I don't have a fixture spec in front of me but a 2 bulb 32W T-8 fixture would need about a total of 75W (which is a bit high), 32W per lamp x 2 lamps + some extra for the ballast. So each fixture would use lets say about 0.625 Amps. a 15 Amp circuit could then support up to 24 fixtures, however probably 20 fixtures would be the limit as you don't want it running quite to the full 15 amp circuit rating. A 20 amp circuit could support about 30 fixtures in this example.

www.smarthome.com can give you some ideas on controllers and what not to do what you propose.

Hope this helps.

Randy...

[Bob Wingard]

Here's how I handled mine .. take it FWIW .. ..

My shop is 28'X44' and is has 3 bays .. .. I evenly spaced 36 duplex receptacles in the ceiling .. .. they are on 2 circuits .. one front .. one back .. each circuit is broken into 3 groups of 6 receptacles .. so I have 6 switches .. each switch controls 6 receptacles. I then hung some tracks that I fabricated about 3/8" below the ceiling. Now, I can simply hang any type of lights I want/need, placed wherever I need them, plug them into the nearest outlet, and control them with the appropriate switch. I can turn on/off any combination of BAY #1-front .. BAY #1-rear .. BAY #2-front .. BAY #2-rear .. BAY #3-front .. BAY3#-rear.

It sounds complicated, but it's really not .. it was a bit more $$$ to do it this way, but it pays off in flexibility. If I can't be smart enough to lay out the shop initially, at least I can be smart enough to make it flexible enough to suit my needs. At first I didn't think I'd ever need to change the shop layout because it seemed so perfect .. so far, I've changed the lighting 3 times, and I'm considering doing it again. It is really nice to simply hang a light .. plug it in .. flip the switch. I can mix spot/flood/halogen/fluorescent any way I need/want.

[David B Thornton]

I've used X10 controllers before with some home automation, but I don't think that would be the approach I would like to go with. I wasn't sure if a 3-way or a 4-way switch would be able to accomplish what I'm looking for, or if there was anything else that isn't a "specialty" item.

When all said and done, there will be about 16-20 4' 2-32w T8 fixtures. I will probably go with just 2 circuits rather than 3, now that I think about it. I want it on 2 circuits incase one blows, I'm not sitting in the dark trying to find my way. With that said, the top and bottom rows would be on one circuit, and the center row would be on the 2nd circuit.

[Jim O'Dell]

I've got 2 circuits, west side and east side. Controlled by 2 switches. On the East side, often I don't need all of the lights...I just want the one above the bench. It's wired first, then the hot wire is interrupted with another switch so I can have the one on, or all of them on. I chose to put my switch in the ceiling (7'8" ceiling, I'm 6'2", so easy to reach) but you could run the wire back to another switch to control them from the same point of entry. Only problem is, I can't have the east bank of lights on with the one above the bench off. But I've never needed that scenario. Jim.

[Jason Roehl]

I'm not totally familiar with the hardware necessary, but I think you could do it by wiring each light or group of lights that needs to be controlled by multiple switches to a relay, along with the appropriate 3-way switches. I'd offer more advice, but I plowed snow all night, so the neurons aren't firing very well right now.

Or, just use more switches...