Lighting

[Tom Godley]

Hello:

I am just starting to work on my new weekend shop - I am using the "studio" space built by the previous owner.

It is a large space (over 1500sf) with 18' cathedral ceilings.
I almost died when I first saw it :D

It has all types of lights hanging from wires -- they all over the place.

I was thinking about using a few high mounted lights for general lighting (like in a factory)

Can anyone give me any input?

1/2 of the building uses metel pipe for the cross brace -- so no rafters!

Thanks for any help

[Jim Becker]

Welcome to the 'Creek!

Wow...that sounds like an awesome space! Given all that openness, I like your idea of using more industrial style lighting and since you can have it up high, you'll get good spread from the fixtures. They are pricey to buy, but you'll only need a few of them to cover that space effectively. Based on what I've seen in the shop at a local community college, the "quality of the light" is also very nice, especially compared to typical florescent, even with the best daylight bulbs.

Talk to your local electrical supply about what is available and what is necessary to power them...that might be your only hitch...many industrial fixtures require power supply characteristics that may not be available in a more "residential" setting. (277v, etc.)

[Don Bullock]

Hello:

I am just starting to work on my new weekend shop - I am using the "studio" space built by the previous owner.

It is a large space (over 1500sf) with 18' cathedral ceilings.
I almost died when I first saw it :D

...

That's almost as big as my whole house!! I can understand your response when you first saw it. Wow!!!

[Greg Peterson]

Welcome to the Creek.

That's IS bigger than my house.

However, rule #1 here at the Creek, "No pictures, doesn't exist".

Sounds like an industrial lighting solution, as Jim suggested, will be the best route. Good luck and don't forget to post some pictures.

[Randy Denby]

Wow....double wow !
My buddy is in the process of building his 30 x 50 shop. He has the basic structure built and is in the process of finish out. My stepson is a master electrician and was telling him about a fairly new fixture out called " F-bay". He had planned to put in lo-bays until he saw the F-bay fixtures....evidently they are pretty hizoot. They dont hang as low, are more like flourescent in design, and put out a great light that doesnt degrade over time like the flourescents. From what I understand ,it doesnt take near as many fixtures as flourescents to put out the same intensity,are very energy efficient,bulbs last along time, and produce true color rendering. But they are fairly costly at around 120.00 ea.....this is what my son pays for them and is wholesale cost. This is what I plan to retrofit into my shop.
Here is a link and as you can see, retail is about 30% above what my son pays for them. I'd shop around as this was just a quick google for illustration. http://www.specialty-lights.com/t5-fbay.html
Good luck and show us pics!!

[Erik Christensen]

I got tired of not being able to see details in my shop (old eyes don’t see as well in low light ya know) and the existing 8’ fluorescent fixtures weren’t hacking it. So I did some research on desired light levels and found that it varied depending on intended use. Obviously the more precise the work the more light needed – an office requires more than a warehouse, a woodshop more than an office, etc,etc. I chose the high end of the scale for precision work – 90-100 ft-candles.

After spending some time on the web I found a place that had very good pricing and was willing to deal with a retail rookie vs lighting contractor. The folks at lightmart were most helpful (add a www. & .com and you have their site) - they even went so far as to draw up some lighting diagrams of my shop ceiling showing me options. I chose the 6 lamp T5 units as they were the most cost effective & energy efficient and totally quiet. For my 30’x24’ shop I used 4 units that cost me about $750 + shipping but included bulbs – to get the same light output from 4’ fluorescent fixtures would have required 24 - 2 bulb units and cost over $1,500. Even with just a 9’ ceiling the ‘high-bay’ units work fine – pretty good light dispersion and no noticeable shadows.

The most often comment when I show off my shop lights is “you have to wear sunglasses in here?”

Pictures attached so you know ‘it really happened’.:D