Garage lighting: T5 vs T8, fixtures and ballasts

So, I need more light in my garage. I took a look in the breaker panel, and apparently the basement lighting is all on one circuit. There are 6 light bulb sockets - 4 in the garage, 2 in the storage area. A 15 amp breaker. This means I should be ok with around 1500watts of lighting?

I understand I want T5 bulbs as they are about 10% more efficient (lumens per watt). Anyone done the math on this? Is it worth the cost over the T8 stuff? These seem to be mostly associated with indoor gardening - I don't seem them on typical sites where I'd look for garage/industrial stuff Any recommended fixture? (surface mount or hanging - not recessed)

What ballasts do I want? The 4 garage bulbs are controlled by the same switch - is there a way make them come on sequentially as opposed to all at once and risking tripping the breaker?

When I added all the lights in my garage it was not worth the price difference to go to T5 as much as I wanted the math to work.

I have 5 fixtures with 4 T8s each, its plenty for my 3 car garage (~650 sq ft). The T8s I used are HO, I believe.

Maybe prices changed by now, that was back in 2009

Hey GRM editors, this would be a good tech article. You could explain the type of ballasts, type of flourescent lights (what does T8 mean?), how much lumens per square foot of garage, how many fixtures you can run on one circuit...

David

DWNSHFT wrote: (what does T8 mean?) David

The "T" refers to how many eighths of an inch in diameter the bulb is.

T5 = 5/8"

T8 = 1"

T12 = 1-1/2"

I think T8 lamps are a better idea, T5 lamps are more expensive and less common when you need replacements. If you're buying new fixtures they come with the ballasts installed, you don't normally buy them separately. They are electronic these days instead of the magnetic ballasts used in the old days with T12 lamps. One good brand is Lithonia, you should be able to get them at most big box stores. I wouldn't worry about putting them on several circuits unless you have a really big garage.

There's an online lighting layout estimator here: http://www.gelighting.com/LightingWeb/na/resources/tools/lighting-assistant-toolkit/lighting-layout-estimator.jsp As for the numbers to plug into the calculator, 50 footcandles is a decent amount of light, some people go as high as 100 but that's approaching operating room levels. A typical 4 foot long two lamp fluorescent fixture has two 32W lamps, so 2x32 = 64. The lumens per lamp will vary, but a typical number is 2700. The estimator has an entry for number of hours the lights will be used per year, this doesn't affect how many lights are recommended but is for calculating energy costs at the bottom of the page.

I would also go with T8 for a couple of reasons. T5's tend to work well in high bay or indirect fixtures where the narrow light of the bulb can be offset by the distance or reflector design. In a low application like a garage the concentrated brightness of the exposed bulb can fatigue the eyes.

Expense and easier availability are the other main reasons.

Most T8 (and IIRC, all T5) ballasts are the low harmonic electronic variety. The main thing to look for is a 0 deg F rating if you live in a cold area, but most electronic ballasts are.

I've got 40 4' T8's in my garage-- 10' ceilings, 1200 sq. ft. Two sets of eight over the workbenches. They light it up like the sun. My research said the same thing-- T5's aren't worth the extra expense, etc.

Check out garagejournal.com in the Lighting section. Lots of good info there.

Some numbers I found elsewhere:

LPW Levels:

T12=78 LPW

T8=90 LPW

T5=99 LPW

No info on HO. I believe the HO ballast supplies more energy to the same bulb, so the LPW would be roughly the same (but total output would scale up with wattage)?

http://www.hoveyelectric.com/hovey-electric-power-blog/bid/84918/T12-vs-T8-vs-T5-T-12-As-Outdated-As-Your-Granparents-Bingo-Game

Are these reasonable? I'd like a quiet, energy efficient ballast.

http://www.amazon.com/Lithonia-Lighting-232-120-GESB/dp/B000JQWKIA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365520085&sr=8-1&keywords=C+2+32+120+GESB

I put in 5 banks with T8's in my place.

Works well but I want more. In my old garage I had put some in on 45 degree angles.

That was super handy for getting light into the engine bays.

But I suspect once I dry wall and paint the new garage white things will be brighter.

ProDarwin wrote: Are these reasonable? I'd like a quiet, energy efficient ballast. http://www.amazon.com/Lithonia-Lighting-232-120-GESB/dp/B000JQWKIA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365520085&sr=8-1&keywords=C+2+32+120+GESB

That's a decent fixture, they sell a zillion of them. I just checked the Home Depot website and they sell the exact same model for a few bucks less. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-2-Light-Electronic-Channel-Fluorescent-Strip-Light-C-2-32-120-GESB/100543144

Basil Exposition wrote: I've got 40 4' T8's in my garage-- 10' ceilings, 1200 sq. ft. Two sets of eight over the workbenches. They light it up like the sun. My research said the same thing-- T5's aren't worth the extra expense, etc. Check out garagejournal.com in the Lighting section. Lots of good info there.

Hmm. My garage is a bit over 800 sq. ft. I was thinking of doing about 24 bulbs - 8 over each bay and 4 over each workbench area.

24*32 = 768 watts. That leaves plenty of room left on the circuit for some lighting in my storage room/potential man-cave/office/whatever it ends up being.

AndreGT6 wrote: In my old garage I had put some in on 45 degree angles. That was super handy for getting light into the engine bays.

Good idea. I will consider this. Replacing my belt tensioner last night with just 2 directly overhead 60w incandescent bulbs mostly blocked by the hood suuuuuuccckeedd

Any input on a fixture that does not require hard-wiring in? I could just plug into a light socket -> a/c outlet adapter @ each socket, right? Or replace the light sockets with standard wall sockets? Hard-wiring the lights would require running wires inside the ceiling per NC code, which I'm afraid will be a huge pain in the ass.

Most 4' 2-lamp shop fixtures sold at lowesdepot will be fitted with a cord and plug.

When I hung lights in the garage, I ran them lengthwise between the doors and then cross-wise over the engine bay. These were hung as high as possible so as not to interfere with the lift. Lights over the work bench were hung lower and end-to-end to provide more light.

I swear when I do the floor in my garage, I'm going to recess LED strips in the floor for when I'm working under the car... drop lights are a PITA...

Sorry they were T8's and yeah never enough light.

I have some nice LED battery shop lights going but they just don't cut it.

I'm tempted to add a few more banks over the bench and towards the front of the garage just to balance out the light.

ProDarwin, You could run the connections through EMT and still clear code. That is how I added more fixtures to my garage. You will get a more serviceable fixture that way too.

T8s are the bee's knees. My old barn had T12s everywhere, they suck below about 50 degrees and seem to burn out with alarming regularity. I bought the $20 T8 fixtures from Walmart (Lights America or some such brand) and T8's in bulk from Home Depot. Man they work great. I like as cool a color light as possible- like 5500K I think. Cooler light is brighter and more "energizing" to the mind, or so they say.

That said, I've also had pretty good luck with the sub- $10 round reflector clamp lights (Home Depot, Walmart, others) and 23W screw-in pigtail lights. I mounted a half- dozen of them on the ceiling of another shop I work out of (24' x 24') and they do a pretty decent job of ambient lighting.

I have been saving the 1 gallon metal cans that olive oil comes in for an eventual work space lighting project...yes, we do go through that much olive oil. :-)

stafford1500 wrote: ProDarwin, You could run the connections through EMT and still clear code. That is how I added more fixtures to my garage. You will get a more serviceable fixture that way too.

This sounds like a good option. Just put a small junction box where the light bulb fixtures were and run EMT to the new flourescent locations?

Ooo, then I could put a switch at each box to turn on the lights connected to it? It would be nice to not need to light both bays if I'm only working in one.

That is what I did in the old garage.

Ceiling on the wall switch and the angled lights were on another switch.

New garage they are all on but I have other lights screwed under the cabinets to help.

Hmm... Hard to say. Under shelf lights in cubicles are usually connected by a cord and plug. Granted, the entire cubicle by nature is considered a temporary partition although they are usually hard-wired.

In another instance I've designed, articulated dock lights are attached to the wall and often wired via a cord and plug to a std receptacle.

And now that I think about it more, there are a few companies that make architectural lighting that is wired via a modular connector system. I'm pretty sure they are listed as CAN legal in the catalog, but I don't design stuff for Canada, so I've never paid too much attention.

I generally like to chain mount shop lighting so the fixture can move if accidentally whacked.

I've got the old fashioned two prong fluorescent tube in the shed and friends garage. Basically hate them. Slow to light, won't light in the cold, don't let you see very well.

Father in law has those new skinny bulbs. They light up instantly, work in the cold, and really light up a space.

Matters not a whit to me if they would save me a dollar on my electric bills. It's that they actually work, and work well.

I plan to switch to those skinny bulbs as a result.

After doing some reading over on the Garage Journal, I ripped out all my fluorescents in my 25 x 25 shop and replaced them with four (yes, four) 105 watt CFL's.

These things are supposedly the equivalent of 400 watts of incandescant light each.

They're great, check it out: http://www.amazon.com/LimoStudio-Studio-Photography-Fluorescent-Spectrum/dp/B005FRCUHY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_1

I've had them in for about 10 months now and no burn-outs yet.

They work well in the cold too, -10c was no problem this winter, they take about 30 seconds to warm up fully when it's that cold.

Shawn

Shawn. Would love to see photos of that.

Trans_Maro wrote: I ripped out all my fluorescents in my 25 x 25 shop and replaced them with four (yes, four) 105 watt CFL's.

So how are the shadows? That's always been a problem in my experience with running just a few strong lights, as opposed to many weaker lights.

I've worked in many shops that were dark, but very few that were really well lit.

Trans_Maro wrote: After doing some reading over on the Garage Journal, I ripped out all my fluorescents in my 25 x 25 shop and replaced them with four (yes, four) 105 watt CFL's. These things are supposedly the equivalent of 400 watts of incandescant light each. They're great, check it out: http://www.amazon.com/LimoStudio-Studio-Photography-Fluorescent-Spectrum/dp/B005FRCUHY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_1 I've had them in for about 10 months now and no burn-outs yet. They work well in the cold too, -10c was no problem this winter, they take about 30 seconds to warm up fully when it's that cold. Shawn

I've been looking at this as well since I'm bringing a new garage up to viable "workshop" spec. I had been planning on five 4-tube (8' tandems) T8 fixtures, but the CFL stuff is intriguing. The recipe seems to be this + this + this.

My concern is how far they would protrude downward from a 10' ceiling. I'm afraid I'd smash one by mistake at some point if I'm not extra careful.

My roof trusses are open (no ceiling) so I put my fixtures on the side of the beam so that the lamps run horizontal. My ceiling is 10' as well so they don't get bashed at all.

I don't find there are a lot of shadows, I divided the shop into quarters (roughly) and put a lamp at the center of each quarter.

I'll see what I can do to get some pics but it is an unholy mess in there right now.

Shawn

I checked the cost/availability of T5's vs T8's and went with T8's for availability more than anything. I bought 4 of those Lights of America chain hung fixtures to go along with the two 4 lamp T8's already in my garage, hung them on very short chains and hardwired them to the existing fixtures with 14/2 wire. Probably doesn't meet code but it works great. As a side benefit, I found the ballasts in the LOA fixtures are rated to work for 2-4 lamps meaning they work in my existing fixtures and I can buy 3 complete LOA fixtures for the price of one ballast, this makes it cheap to fix the original fixtures.

The ballasts have a warning that they won't work below 30 degrees but I have not found that to be the case, in the low 20's the lights pop right on. The ballasts buzz and the light output is reduced for maybe two minutes, then all is well.

If the walls in a shop can be painted white, damn does it ever make it brighter inside.