Can lights vs. florescent tubes in garage?

[Dave_Car_Guy]

Has anyone installed canned lighting in their garage? I am wondering about how well lit the garage would be with canned (inset) lights instead of tubular florescent bulbs. The tubes would seem to provide more light overall, more "diffused", while can lights could either be diffused or more "spotlight" like. Canned can also be put on dimmers, which is nice. I'm mainly worried that the cans will not provide enough good light for working on cars (detailing and minor mechanical). Anyone with experience on this? BTW, the garage has good amounts of natural (window) light during the day, so its mainly night I'm wondering about. Thanks!

[VeeeDoubleU]

I have industrial grade florecent tubes in my garage. Its as good as daylight at night

[poorman]

i got can lights in my garage (i am renter). Pretty sweet ... especially if the walls were painted!

[stascom]

2 x 100W-equivalent CFL bulbs
4 x florescent tubes
2 x 1000W flood lights

[Egz]

Garage only came with 2 60w bulbs. Added 4 2-bulb 48" florescent bulb lights, and then replaced the 2 incandescent bulbs with CFLs. So much better!

[Mr Euro]

Downlights could work (get lensed) but for detailing and wrenching I'd want something between 75 and 100 foot candles, which may require a good amount of cans (since not all are created equal, and it's easy to get that cave-like scalloping effect). Typical compact fluorescent lamps are 13, 26, 32, or 42 (57 and iirc 70 also available but less common) watts, and many manufacturers (Atlantic, Kirlin, Lithonia, Elite, etc) make two-lamp versions. So even though you should be able to find a 2x42w can for a decent price, it'll pump out about 6,400 lumens (assuming maximum efficiency, and mind you the lens will take some of that juice away) and depending on what height your ceiling is, what color your walls and floor are, you might end up needing 6 of these things to get at a comfortable level. Not to mention they'll be drawing about 90 input watts each.
I'd stick with the usual surface mounted fluorescent fixtures. A pair of 2-lamp strips with T5HO lamps mounted on either side of a car parked in the middle of the garage should work.
54w T5HO lamps pump out about 5,000 lumens and last 30,000 to 50,000 hours. You'd have around 20,000 lumens and you'd be drawing around 250 watts at the meter. If you're energy conscious, you could go with T5 or T8 lamps but you'd have under 12,000 lumens of output. 4" T5 lamps are 28w and T8 lamps are 32w.
Got cash to burn? Call up a local electrical distributor (Graybar, Rexel, etc) and ask if they stock Lithonia products. Pick up a pair of IBZ 454L WDS LP835 with two ballasts (so you can do step dimming) and get ready to shoot Meguiar's commercials in your garage.

Never thought I'd put that useless knowledge to work!

[12v Dub]

I have fluorescent lights and it looks like in a shop at nite

[a2a4raddo]

i have a combo of both. 2 tubes & 2 canned lights. Plenty of light to work on the car.

*this is in a single car garage.

[Dave_Car_Guy]

Downlights could work (get lensed) but for detailing and wrenching I'd want something between 75 and 100 foot candles, which may require a good amount of cans (since not all are created equal, and it's easy to get that cave-like scalloping effect). Typical compact fluorescent lamps are 13, 26, 32, or 42 (57 and iirc 70 also available but less common) watts, and many manufacturers (Atlantic, Kirlin, Lithonia, Elite, etc) make two-lamp versions. So even though you should be able to find a 2x42w can for a decent price, it'll pump out about 6,400 lumens (assuming maximum efficiency, and mind you the lens will take some of that juice away) and depending on what height your ceiling is, what color your walls and floor are, you might end up needing 6 of these things to get at a comfortable level. Not to mention they'll be drawing about 90 input watts each.
I'd stick with the usual surface mounted fluorescent fixtures. A pair of 2-lamp strips with T5HO lamps mounted on either side of a car parked in the middle of the garage should work.
54w T5HO lamps pump out about 5,000 lumens and last 30,000 to 50,000 hours. You'd have around 20,000 lumens and you'd be drawing around 250 watts at the meter. If you're energy conscious, you could go with T5 or T8 lamps but you'd have under 12,000 lumens of output. 4" T5 lamps are 28w and T8 lamps are 32w.
Got cash to burn? Call up a local electrical distributor (Graybar, Rexel, etc) and ask if they stock Lithonia products. Pick up a pair of IBZ 454L WDS LP835 with two ballasts (so you can do step dimming) and get ready to shoot Meguiar's commercials in your garage.

Never thought I'd put that useless knowledge to work!

WOW. WOW. I am constantly amazed at how helpful a good forum can be, as I can run into someone from anywhere in the world who has the exact knowledge and insight I am looking for. Everyone's responses above have been very helpful, thanks! And especially Mr. Euro for the great educational primer on lighting - the energy draw is an important consideration, as well as the ability to dim and also light up different sections of the garage, not all at once. I am installing solar PV on the house, so energy use is important to me, but when I light it up, I can't be in the dark! At the same time, I want more ability to make it feel softer than the constant glare of all-florescent. It sounds like having one area with a kick-butt Lithonia set-up will give me a place for really bringing out the "Meguiar's Shine".
But the number of lights will be key: the garage is 60x30 so cans would likely number around 15-20. I'll have to do some draw calcs on that.

[Dave_Car_Guy]

i got can lights in my garage (i am renter). Pretty sweet ... especially if the walls were painted!

Thanks...Looks great on your car! Have you ever considered "LED" lights in those cans? I tried them in my house and the light is very clear white and more "directional" - like more of a spotlight.
BTW, let's have a paint party in your garage!

[poorman]

Thanks...Looks great on your car! Have you ever considered "LED" lights in those cans? I tried them in my house and the light is very clear white and more "directional" - like more of a spotlight.
BTW, let's have a paint party in your garage!

[Mr Euro]

Sounds like you're ready for a serious setup (i.e., more than a $150 trip to Home Depot). LED would be great because, beside the energy savings, it usually has a CRI (color rendering index) in the upper 80s to mid 90s. This means you practically see the colors as they are. [High pressure sodium lights (the orangey ones on roadways) have a low CRI, hence why dark blue, brown, black, gray, burgundy etc etc cars will all look the same color.]
I'm not LC certified or anything, but this is good practice for me. If you want to PM me the height as well as ceiling/wall/floor colors, as well as your email address, I can whip something up for you in .dwg or .pdf.

[mk3aba20vt]

Mr. Euro is a sexy man beast... keep him away from your wives

[Dave928]

gray walls with 1 bulb:



white walls with fluorescent lights:

[dunhamjr]

i have a mix of fluorescent twin tubes (4) that i threw up in a hurry, just straight stick on the ceiling incandescent fixtures (2) and the garage opener bulbs (2).

once i get around to having a chance to work on the garage i am going to rewire and put in more tubes.

[definition56]

I recently replaced all of the pull-chain style fixtures in my basement shop with a 65w CFL which is the equivalent of a 300W incandescent. They're about $15 a bulb but they are super bright...almost hard to look at. The only downside is their size at almost 10" long and their warm-up time. I definitely recommend looking into them if your garage has standard incandescent fixtures.

I also have some 4' flourescent fixtures from Home Depot that ran about $9 a piece and work really well for the cost.

[quinntendopower1]

if anything try and get the T5's, much brighter, quieter and they seem to last longer.

[brad131a4]

Mr Euro is headed in the right direction. LED though starting to come out more is still cost prohibitive in low numbers verses energy saved.
You can still achieve a very natural sunlight color rendering with 850 kelvin florescent lamps. Just about full spectrum as you can get without paying the full spectrum prices.
I've installed Phillips Alta 32w 850 in the Bus garage in the school district that I work in. The mechanics love them as they can see better than with the Sylvania lamps that were in there. Quick figure is if you use 100w incandescent lamps on a 120v circuit you can get 16 canlights. Fluorescent lamps depend on the ballast draw. Which most 120v 32w ballasts are drawing .5 amps so that would mean you could put about 32 2tube fixtures up on one circuit.

[DustinM]

Barry knows an absolute ton about lighting, IIRC he does it for a living. I think he'd be able to really point you in the right direction.

[unimogken]

When I bought my house the 10 years ago the house inspector we used did house inspections on weekends and worked for the city codes dept during the week.

He told me that it'd be a good idea to do fluorescent tubes in attached garages because most can lights aren't up to code unless they're the expensive fire rated type. He also said the same is true about in-ceiling speakers impressa they have a fire baffle and all of that good stuff.

I went with 2 dual 8 foot T8 fixtures in my garage but when I finally put a subpanel in the garage i'll switch them out for a bunch of T5 fixtures.

[Uberhare]

Sounds like you're ready for a serious setup (i.e., more than a $150 trip to Home Depot). LED would be great because, beside the energy savings, it usually has a CRI (color rendering index) in the upper 80s to mid 90s. This means you practically see the colors as they are. [High pressure sodium lights (the orangey ones on roadways) have a low CRI, hence why dark blue, brown, black, gray, burgundy etc etc cars will all look the same color.]
I'm not LC certified or anything, but this is good practice for me. If you want to PM me the height as well as ceiling/wall/floor colors, as well as your email address, I can whip something up for you in .dwg or .pdf.

I'd stay away from LED fixtures right now, especially the "cheap" ones from Home Depot and the sort. Product life is dramatically shorter than advertised due to poor heat dissipation and components. I'm a professional lighting designer, controls engineer, and EE in general and deal with this stuff on a daily basis both on the commercial and residential side.

Bang for the buck, linear fluorescent is the way to go. Specifically, program start ballasts with T8 32W 3500K lamps. Dimming is always a consideration so if you go this route I highly suggest using some of the newer digital ballasts and wireless controls by Lutron.

What I've done on a few higher end projects (+500sq-ft garage) is recessed 2x4 3 or 4 lamp lensed troffers in the ceiling with surface mount wraps located on the walls at about +48"AFF. Keep the wall mount fixtures switched separately.

[Uberhare]

When I bought my house the 10 years ago the house inspector we used did house inspections on weekends and worked for the city codes dept during the week.

He told me that it'd be a good idea to do fluorescent tubes in attached garages because most can lights aren't up to code unless they're the expensive fire rated type. He also said the same is true about in-ceiling speakers impressa they have a fire baffle and all of that good stuff.

I went with 2 dual 8 foot T8 fixtures in my garage but when I finally put a subpanel in the garage i'll switch them out for a bunch of T5 fixtures.

Residential-wise, You're referring to "IC Rated" and "Non-IC Rated". IC rated fixtures are those which can be installed in direct contact with insulation. Non-IC rated can not be installed in this ceiling type. So, if you have insulation above your garage you'll have to use IC-rated or you can build a fixture "tent" or box using gyp board to maintain a separation between the fixture housing and the insulation.

[Uberhare]

Another option is induction lighting. It's even more expensive than LED but it has a proven track record of ultra long life and really good CRI and lumen output. Think of it as a fluorescent lamp but with 100,000 rated hours. I've used this in several garages where the ceiling height is above 15 feet and they have lifts everywhere, making lamp replacement very difficult.

When shopping for LED fixtures keep this in mind......they are rated for 50,000 hours but that is the LED diode itself. Once you add circuit boards, wiring, drivers, etc the actual life of the fixture (as a whole) is down to about 30,000 hours or less.

[Dave_Car_Guy]

Wow, this is very helpful. Thanks to everyone here for the details and insight. I am meeting with a local lighting company tomorrow so now I will see just how much they know (hearing all of you I know realize I know exactly zero - but I am well-armed with questions now). The lighting plan for my new garage (being constructed now) can be adjusted to fit whatever I need. It will have a sub-panel of 125 - 150 amps, be fully insulated above a 10-foot ceiling. 40 amps of that sub-panel will be dedicated to an electric car charger. It is 2100 sf overall, with 1800 square feet of garage space, 12 windows, a double-door entry, and three garage-doors. So, there is plenty of natural light in the day.

I have LED lights in my living room at home now (6-cans in a 14-foor ceiling lighting about 450 sf). I like the very bright, clean light they put out. For the garage, I'm thinking 18 cans, set in a pattern of 6 X 3 (the floor plan is 60' x 30'), or maybe tie in one set of 3 2-tube florescents near the garage doors, basically above the first set of parking spots. The point to this garage is to look less like a garage and more like a living room, as it will also have TV, couches, a poker table, etc in it. That is the only reason I have shied away from florescent tubes - even though they would be inset into the ceiling and covered with some sort of diffuser (for lack of a better word). Construction is ongoing, but here are a couple pics of the outside of the (detached) garage and the inside, looking toward the garage doors. On the inside pic, keep in mind you are seeing about 2/3 of the space. Both views are west-facing, to give you a frame of reference...

[phans784]

wow, I hope to have a house one day with the same square ft. as your garage...fml

[IridiumB6]

wow, I hope to have a house one day with the same square ft. as your garage...fml

This.

OP, wow man...what do you do and how do I become one?

[stascom]

the_1%_garage.jpeg

Alright, what's in your stable?

[poorman]

[Deserion]

Great thread.

Eventually when I remodel my garage (extremely far down on my list of what has to be done at the house ), I would like to go with can lights with CFLs. Or something.

[redwe-in-wi]

I have sixteen 6" cans in my garage. I love the clean look with no surface lighting. It is very clean with nothing on the ceiling. The openers are jackshaft as well eliminating clutter. I will look for some pics.

[GRN6IX]

Paging Barry, Barry to The Car Lounge please.

I'd go with florescent lighting if I had the option.

[clutchrider]

I have just one 72" fluorescent with 2 bulbs. Unfortunately it's in the back of the garage and doesn't shed light on the front portion very well. It's enough to get around but not to do work. I use my 1000W halogen flood for that stuff if need be. But again this is not my final stop, new home in 3 years so I'm not dumping money into this garage, it protects my cars and keeps my stuff organized and sheltered. Next garage will have workspace, epoxy floor, and hopefully enough room for a couple of those warehouse style lamps.

[DustinM]

If it's a garage to store the cars, and not much else, those recessed lights should be fine.

I've worked in shops that were essentially dungeons lit by candles, even in the day, and HATED it.
I'm planning on building an inexpensive garage, but have plans for TONS of fluorescent lights. I'm even thinking some mounted on the walls, just to shine some light on those hard to see areas. I hate working in the dark, and the brighter it is, the faster I can get stuff fixed.

[clutchrider]

If it's a garage to store the cars, and not much else, those recessed lights should be fine.

I've worked in shops that were essentially dungeons lit by candles, even in the day, and HATED it.
I'm planning on building an inexpensive garage, but have plans for TONS of fluorescent lights. I'm even thinking some mounted on the walls, just to shine some light on those hard to see areas. I hate working in the dark, and the brighter it is, the faster I can get stuff fixed.

[DustinM]

Actually, the paint booth lighting is what I was trying to source. Something that I can recess into the walls.
It's expensive though!