Shop Lighting - your input

[Andrew Thuswaldner]

I will be wiring up my 10' x 26' shop (with 10' ceiling) with fluorescent light fixtures. The walls will be drywall and some off-white colour. I'm planning on using the 4' fixtures with 2 T8 bulbs. The question is how many fixtures do I need for this size of shop? Thanks for your input, Andrew

[Don Abele]

Andrew, my shop is 24x24 with 10' ceilings and all white walls. I put in eight of the 4' double lamp T8 fixtures. It's really nice and bright in there, but I still find the need for specific area task lighting. Unless I run extension cords or put in more outlets, that's the most I could get in. I personally would put more in.

Be well,

Doc

[glenn bradley]

Lighting manufacturers have a formula. Workshops usually do more.

A = Height from work surface to fixture (usually about 6ft).
B = Distance between lamps (no more than 1.5 times "A").
C = Distance from fixture to wall (no more than 1/3 of "B").

I run T-8's. Three staggered over the TS/RT at about 3' apart. Two by the lumber rack, rolling tool storage area. Two near the BS, one by the doored cabinets, one over the DP, another 4' away, etc. Ten total plus task lighting in a 20 x 30 shop and need more.

Remember, if you finish in the same area you work; buy your lamp spectrum for finishing or you'll end up with really funny looking colors when your piece goes into someone's home.

[Tom Hamilton]

Hi Andrew: Fine Woodworking has an article on their web site about shop lighting. Basically, too much is not enough. The article is written by a lighting expert and includes the formulas for lamp placement from the walls and the repeat pattern.

At 10 feet wide I think the expert would recommend two rows of 75W T12s set in about 3 feet from the wall. And he would also say paint the walls pure white, semi or gloss for true color.

Shop building is great fun, enjoy the process, Tom

[Larry Nall]

My shop building is progressing slowly.
I've just finished installing the lights.
In a 34 x 26 shop I have 12, 4', 4 bulb, T8 fixtures with 6500K tubes.
Seems about right.

[Roger Bell]

I have a 24x24x10' with mostly white walls and a white ceiling.....with twelve double 48" T8's. Wish I had more. I wish I had twenty.

As a person ages, it takes quite a bit more light to see.

Put in more than plenty. You can always wire in pull switches to turn off those you don't want.

[mike wacker]

Using 2 lamp T8 Strips with light (Whiter the better) colored walls you can simplify the calculations to 50 square feet of shop floor per pair of lamps. Any one recomending 75W 8 foot Slimline lamps in this day and age of T8 technology should be shot or possibly burned at the stake for wasting Money and energy. Just my humble opinion.

Edit: A lower ceiling skews this some. The lower the ceiling the less oppourtunity for the fixtures to "share" their light, not to mention a low ceiling increases shadows. Don't be afraid to increase by 50% or more with very low (7.5ft) ceilings.

If you have a specific light level (Number of foot Candles) and a fixture picked out I can give you a pretty good feel for how many you need. This is my day job.

[John Scarpa]

I remember when I was discussing my lighting needs with a 24 yr old electrician. He thought I could get by with about 6 double bulb T8s. This senior citizen chose to go with 8 quad bulb T8's in a 20X23'. As mentioned above, older folks need more lighting. Wow is it ever birght in there with all of them on. ( I can switch on banks as I need them). Absolutely no regrets on that decsion.

[Jim O'Dell]

I have a 20 X 24 shop. I have places for six of the 4' 2 bulb units, and four of the 8' 4 bulb units. From north to south, I have 2 rows. Each row has a 4', 4', 8', 8', and 4' with the 8 footers in the middle part of the shop over the TS and BS. Then I have 4 pair of incandescent spots, 2 each over the DP, BS, TS, SCMS and the area that I will have the router table/jointer. Each pair of spots is on it's own switch close to that area. At 52, I'm definately feeling the need to have good lighting. And this seems to do very well for me. Since I have low ceilings (7' 7") I have my lights recessed between every other ceiling joists with arched reflectors that I had to build. It seems to work well. Jim.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Hi Andrew: Fine Woodworking has an article on their web site about shop lighting. Basically, too much is not enough. The article is written by a lighting expert and includes the formulas for lamp placement from the walls and the repeat pattern.

At 10 feet wide I think the expert would recommend two rows of 75W T12s set in about 3 feet from the wall. And he would also say paint the walls pure white, semi or gloss for true color.

Shop building is great fun, enjoy the process, Tom

Andrew,

I bought the article from FWW. Jack Lindsey, a fellow Creeker, wrote the article. He points out a lot of things that need to be taken into account. For example, IIRC ...if you are under age 40 ....50 lumens...over age 40...100 lumens....He takes into account ceiling height, work bench height, etc. In short, my shop is 24x30 with 10' ceilings. I used 11 8' 4bulb T-8 fixtures. My SIL a professional carpenter just saw my shop for the first time....he was impressed by the lighting...no shadows. Jack also spells out the diffence in bulbs, ballasts, fixtures, etc. The article was in Jan-Feb 2002 FWW. Excellent article....I downloaded it for about $7 IIRC. Worth every penny! Have fun with your new shop!

[John Hain]

Andrew,

I bought the article from FWW. Jack Lindsey, a fellow Creeker, wrote the article. He points out a lot of things that need to be taken into account. For example, IIRC ...if you are under age 40 ....50 lumens...over age 40...100 lumens....He takes into account ceiling height, work bench height, etc. In short, my shop is 24x30 with 10' ceilings. I used 11 8' 4bulb T-8 fixtures. My SIL a professional carpentar just saw my shop for the first time....he was impressed by the lighting...no shadows. Jack also spells out the diffence in bulbs, ballasts, fixtures, etc. The article was in Jan-Feb 2002 FWW. Excellent article....I downloaded it for about $7 IIRC. Worth every penny! Have fun with your new shop!

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki...F.aspx?id=2771


This is the article you've referred to. It's the article I'm using to plan the new lighting in my shop. Articles like these are why I'll keep renewing my internet subscription to FWW.

[Dewey Torres]

Open the thumbnail. This is how I lighted my shop in VA. It was a 1 car garage so I had to work around the doors but the lights were outstanding. It consists of (2) 8ft double fixture fluorescents and (1) 4 ft double florescent fixture. Also, please take the time (or spend the $$$) to hard-wire all of the lights in your shop to one double switch. Trust me this will pay off. You will not want to go and turn on each light individually...even though the shop lights at Lowe's/Home Depot with the pull chain switch are tempting money wise.. every time you enter the shop you will hate it. One exception may be the task lights. Get electronic ballasts (cuts down on humming sounds) and if your shop gets cold pay attention to the temp rating for cold start. Drop me a line if this is helpful.
Dewey

PS... yes my avatar is me and David J. Marks

[Ken Fitzgerald]

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki...F.aspx?id=2771


This is the article you've referred to. It's the article I'm using to plan the new lighting in my shop. Articles like these are why I'll keep renewing my internet subscription to FWW.

John,

That's the article.....very thorough....very well illustrated....very well written....Great article in my opinion. I used it to design the lighting in my shop and I"m more than satisfied with the results.

[Andrew Thuswaldner]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I downloaded the FWW article and it is very helpful as well as all your comments and suggestions. Andrew

[Brian Backner]

While the reference escapes me right now, I know that there are code limitations on the amount of lighting wattage for a given size of residential room - i.e., no more than 4,000 watts of lighting in a 200 sq ft bedroom (I just pulled the numbers out of thin air, so don't use them as a guideline). I believe this has to do with safety/fire considerations.

Does anyone know if there are similar restrictions for any of the following: 1) a home basement shop; 2) a shop in a garage attached to a home; 3) a free-standing residential garage converted to a shop; 4) an accessory building to a home built as a dedicated shop; or, 5) true commercial shop space?

Brian