Lighting my garage shop when garage doors are open

[dennis thompson]

I have 4 led lights in my garage shop and they work very well, but when I open the garage door two of them are covered, so the lighting in that area is less than ideal. Is there some kind of battery powered light I could put on the garage doors so they would light these blocked areas? Any other suggested solutions?
Thanks

[Pete Staehling]

Something on an arm or stand that is below the door maybe? Something a power cord that can be stuck to the door with a magnet?

[Jim Becker]

This is one of the challenges with a garage based workshop area unfortunately since most garages have doors that go up overhead when opened. In addition to Pete's suggestion for lighting on stands, if you have the headroom for when/if you put a vehicle in there, you could put a span of unistrut across the space under the level of the raised door and mount some lightweight LED fixtures to use when the doors are open. Battery operated types may not throw enough light, however, so plug-in probably still is best. Most of these types of lights have a small transformer. You can even make your own light strips with LED tape for this kind of application...they kind used for under cabinet use, but with the highest LED per inch/foot count for maximum output.

[Matthew Hills]

What tools or work areas do you have in the area underneath the raised garage doors?

Matt

[Jim Andrew]

I have a LED worklight, that could be plugged in, it is made to set on floor or on top of a cabinet. Higher light is better. A neighbor uses a ceiling shop LED light portable, he just leans it against the wall where he is working.

[Ron Selzer]

led lights are so light weight now days, just attach a couple of strips to the garage door. then when the door is up run an extension cord to them and plug them in.

[Frank Pratt]

You could mount the fixtures on the door & connect them with a curly cord to a wall mounted switch. It's sort of like a heavy duty old school telephone handset cord that is normally used to connect the door safety edge to the operator. A commercial overhead door supplier will be able to sell you one. Be sure it's rated for 150V though, but all the ones I've worked with have been.

[Matt Schrum]

led lights are so light weight now days, just attach a couple of strips to the garage door. then when the door is up run an extension cord to them and plug them in.

My thought exactly. Attach some LED tube lights to the door and plug them in while up. I bought some 8' long LED tube lights that probably weight a couple of pounds and are very low profile-- and there are plenty other similar ones ou tthere that would also likely work great.

I'd see if you could be creative in your extension cord routing so that if the garage is closed accidentally with the lights still plugged in you don't rip them off the door or damage your extension cord, etc.

[Jerome Stanek]

Why not put them on the wall

[Frank Pratt]

I'd see if you could be creative in your extension cord routing so that if the garage is closed accidentally with the lights still plugged in you don't rip them off the door or damage your extension cord, etc.

That's why I suggested the curly cord. It can be installed permanently so it never gets in the way & nothing has to plugged/unplugged.

[Jamie Buxton]

Put windows in the door.

[Bill Dufour]

I bet you can buy old movie projecter screens cheap these days. Attach those to the door and bounce lights off it from the floor. Or foil covered foam insualtion sheets. If your name was Hugh you could glue mirror tile on.
Bil lD

[John Goodin]

I have the same problem and bought a clamp light with aluminum reflector for about ten bucks. It is clamped to bottom of the garage door opener and plugged into the outlet above. With a high lumen bulb it makes a significant difference and since it is not attached to the door it never gets in the way. If you don’t have a GDO you can clamp it to the garage door track beyond where the rollers travel.

[Matthew Hills]

My thought exactly. Attach some LED tube lights to the door and plug them in while up. I bought some 8' long LED tube lights that probably weight a couple of pounds and are very low profile-- and there are plenty other similar ones ou tthere that would also likely work great.


Good suggestion.
I see a low-voltage LED kit (https://www.garagedoorlighting.com/product/double-track-garage-door-lighting-system/)
https://www.garagedoorlighting.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/IMG_7962-1-100x100.jpg

[Jack Frederick]

I like Jim's idea for quality light and the method of support. Unistrut is great stuff. I buy it at my local plumbing supply placer about $30 a 10' stick. Pin one side to a wall. When the door is open rotate the strut and lights off the wall to a carrier on the other side. When the door is closed rotate it back to a bracket on the wall where it is secure and out of the way. You will have better light and if you need to you can move that assembly for other spot uses.

[Bill Dufour]

I like Jim's idea for quality light and the method of support. Unistrut is great stuff. I buy it at my local plumbing supply placer about $30 a 10' stick. Pin one side to a wall. When the door is open rotate the strut and lights off the wall to a carrier on the other side. When the door is closed rotate it back to a bracket on the wall where it is secure and out of the way. You will have better light and if you need to you can move that assembly for other spot uses.


Making it a simple jib crane. Or put a track and rollers on both sides and make it a bridge crane. EMT conduit is easy to find in the stores.
Bil lD

[Ben Helmich]

Put windows in the door.
You made laugh out loud!

[Jack Frederick]

Making it a simple jib crane. Or put a track and rollers on both sides and make it a bridge crane. EMT conduit is easy to find in the stores.
Bil lD

See, Bill, now that is how these projects get away from us;)

[Bill Dufour]

Or put a big street light outside to shine through the windows in the door when it is up. How about those big hanger doors made of fabric that allow light in.
Fiber optics and mirrors come to mind. Maybe a disco ball or two?
Bill D.

[Bill Dufour]

Maybe a mobile light tower as used for picking crops at night when it is too hot in the day. You do not need the generator just use a cord. I understand it is not for the workers comfort. it is because the crop rots too fast when it is picked over 100 or so.
Bil lD.

https://www.generacmobileproducts.com/products/light-towers

[Paul Schaefer]

My door tracks are mounted to pieces of perforated angled pressed steel the run the length of the tracks.(seems to be a common product for mounting these things and probably has a more concise name). I screwed 2x4s to the steel, then hung 4' LED shop lights off them with chains and screw eyes. The 'inner' (towards the door) chains are one link shorter than the 'outer' ones, so the lights are slightly angled in towards the center of the shop. Works great, the shop is lit up beautifully.

This is for a shop in a single-car garage, not sure how well it would work in a two-car garage.

[George Yetka]

I had started looking into if a garage door can be converted to head up higher before turning horizontal. And have up on looking because most of my "needs good lighting areas" aren't effected by the open doors.

Maybe it's an option for you. I have 12' ceiling

[Jim Becker]

There's always the option of carriage doors, too, George.

[Jon Endres]

This is a dilemma that I have pondered and my solution has been this: mount the lights above the garage door as if the door wasn't there. I only open my doors during the day, as the bugs come out at dusk and storm the garage. Natural daylight from an open door is a lot more light than you could ever hope to get from a few haphazardly placed fixtures. At dusk, close the door and the regular lights take over. I supplement with a few portable worklights that I fabricated from RAB X34 6500lm floodlights.

[Bill Dufour]

I never heard anymore about it but there was a plan to put giant mirrors on top of the towers of the golden gate bridge. You would sign up online and the mirrors would tilt and shine sunlight onto your location for maybe ten minutes at a designated time in the future. No refunds for foggy days.
I know the Alaska railroad placed some strategic metal billboards at curves to bounce radio signals to the trains.
Bill D.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2012/06/21/book-it-schedule-a-flash-from-the-golden-gate-bridges-solar-beacon/

[Paul Wunder]

Have you thought of "corn lights?" Rockler has one that puts out 10K lumens by wrapping LEDs around a cylinder and thus the light is spread 360 degrees. It is screwed in like a light bulb and uses 80 watts. Amazon and Home Depot also have a selection. My son installed one in his 2 car garage and says it is like daylight.

If you install a porcelain light socket on the ceiling where the garage door ends in the open position and drop this down it may be a solution for you since it throws light outward.


https://www.rockler.com/10000-lumen-led-corn-bulb

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=corn+lights+led&crid=1X3VFMU4BWPM6&sprefix=corn+light%2Caps%2C152&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_10