Please, Help me deciding LED lighting (Schemes Included)

[Tato]

Dear Friends,


Actually I have some fluorescent lighting at my work garage which I want to improve. I will stick with everything I have, I'm after additional lighting.

My area is 6m x 5m (30 square meter), we can assume height is 4m average.

I've schematized my lighting setup (PIC1) which is almost decent for working - but I really want MORE, much MORE... I'd like to fill 'blind spots' that reflects on car, not only (or exactly) increase ambient lighting which is actually reasonably.

All My lights now are COOL WHITE.

I'm deciding to choose add-ons in WARM WHITE because I feel it shows different nuances depending on car's color.

I'll also make a new wiring for the new light setup allowing it to be switched on / off altogether or separated from actual lighting I have.

Should I Stick with COOL white or is adding WARM light a good idea?

Which Wattage LED would you choose from my 3 schematics bellow? Quantity or Power?

(and sure, everything you'd like to add!).
*Just like you to keep in mind I have to stick with local options, and here there's nothing like you say 'go to home depot! or alike' hahaha

Here's what I have:
(PIC1)


I've named each wall a letter so we can talk about each separated if needed.

w and y are 6m each, x and z are 5m each.

A Lights = 50W Fluorescent Spotlights directed towards center
B Lights = 30W Fluorescent Spotlights
C Lights = 40W (2 x 20W per fixture) Fluorescent 'tube' lights

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I can put 2 cars side by side (red dotted rectangles), but generally I put only one car diagonally positioned (white 'rectangle'). This is the best way I've found I can go round the car and have ample space to work virtually anywhere.

**I Have a pillar where's located letters w and y, so I can't enter a car straight on the center of garage, just on each side then turn it diagonally. :/ heheh

PIC2 (Car Positioning Schematic)



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For the actual $$ I'm willing to spend now, I have basically 3 options.

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OPTION A:

- 28 x 20W LED Floodlights (Letter D)
- Total = 560W
- Price: $330



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OPTION B:

- 16 x 30W LED Floodlights (Letter E)
- Total = 480W total
- Price: $310



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OPTION C:

- 8 x 50W LEDs
- Total = 400W
- Price: $310



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Please notice, I'd like to do an upgrade now which doesn't necessarily means it'll be my 'ULTIMATE' lighting. I can update again if business continue growing in 2015 (it seems to be).

Example: If I stick with 50W lighting now, I will have some spare 'spots' to place more 50W or 30W in near future.

**Please, my schematics are just it, sketches, not correct ratio, etc, I ask you to 'abstract' it.

Now, it's your turn. Please, let me know your thoughts and help me deciding my next lighting upgrade. My budget fits all 3 setups, ~$300-$330 is just right.

I really appreciate in advance any thought you have in order to help me,

Thank you,

Kind Regards.

[Tato]

**in order to correct, height is actually 3m average, not 4m.

Please, I need some input on this subject, feel free to share any opinion.

Thanks in advance,

Kind Regards.

[Eandras]

I like option A as long as you have some on different circuits were you can turn on and off or make brighter when needed. If you are not working on that side of the vehicle you can turn them off to save power. Since you are in Brazil can you add solar panels to your shop. Could assist in operating cost and help by going green

Ed

[Tato]

Well, this is a very interesting opinion, for your knowledge I have full sun over my roof and haven't thought about that (for energy), albeit I have some panels on other roofs than garage which heats bathrooms water with maestri.

Solar panels will fit perfectly, thanks for opinion.

I also like setup A better than others (I want light from many angles as possible), but many people who opined locally are saying I'll be 'full of weak light' which in turn will not 'sum up' to a great lighting.

Their main argument is "...From distance more than 1 meter, smaller LEDs will look very small reflected in car"., something like that, but in portuguese ahhaha

I've measured here, Spots will stay about 2-2.5m away from car in average.

According to manufactory, the leds installed in spots I'm ordering does 100 lumen per Watt.

That said, 20W will do 2000 Lumens each, which in turn * 28 equals 56.000 lumens added to ambient. Let's say 45.000-50.000 lumens, that's 'a lot of lumens!'

On the other hand, 50W will do 5000 Lumens, * 8 are 40.000, with some variation like 33.000-37.000 lumens.

But they will look 'bigger' on car reflection. What's your thought?

Where's the main difference of 40.000 lumens from 50W lights to 40.000 lumens from 20W lights, in the designs I've sketched above (post 1)?


In advance, sorry for talking 'technical data' with no technical background, I'm speculating and really looking forward someone who knows better to help me deciding which one is better, and why!

Thanks in advance,

Kind Regards.

[highflier]

Option A if I had to pick. I agree with previous poster on the Solar also. Also I think it is important to be able to turn off and on varying sections. Honestly, hard to tell without actually seeing a car in the garage and walking around. I do know when inspecting paint in my job we have banks of lighting with varying degrees of warm to cool ratings. We can switch them on/off independently. You can pick up different things on different colors in different lights. ie surface imperfections vs scratches vs scuffs etc. I try to mimic this in my own garage with incandescent, flourescent, CFL and LED lighting. I don't have this everywhere so I have to move the car to line up with the lighting I want to use. This is assuming your goal is to be able to pick these things up during detailing. If just to provide a great atmosphere for the garage/car I would go with all led.

[cardaddy]

I think option "B" is plenty of placement, plenty of light.
Option "A" may actually be just as your friends/advisors have noted. Lot's of little lights, but no real strong light all the way to the floor. It's not so much about trying to spot each bulb reflection in the paint (like when you're using a swirl finder) but more about flooding the paint so you can see it from wherever you are. Working with stronger lighting you can overlap them and get plenty of light everywhere.

Speaking of 'everywhere', you might want to add some 4' ~ 8' fixtures on the side walls. Those need to have 5000°K bulbs in them.

I would try and have every other light on an alternate circuit. (For 2 added switches per wall.) I'd also have an equal amount of each (new type of light) on each wall, (not counting the corners and pre-existing middle of the wall lights). Whether that be 4 or 6, because if you are running different color temps you can switch them on or off. I suppose it could work with 5 on the short walls and 7 on the long, (but the long wall will have MUCH better lighting and lack of dark areas).

I'd also have each wall on a separate circuit.
So wall w, x, y, & z would have 2 switched circuits each.

After looking at it again, you might be better served to use Option C, but put TWO HEADS per fixture. One could be the lower (warmer) color, the other the higher (cooler) color.
You could still have them on separate circuits, but you'd have the same amount of light coming from each point in space when running on one of them (rather than having blind spots).

Either B or C could be adapted to 2-heads each. Well..... so could A but duuuhhhaaammmm that'd be a lot of little twin-head lights.

I do have a question about the wattage ratings though.
You're talking about 20, 30, 50 watt LED's. Here the most you can buy (without trying to find some ultra expensive commercial bulbs) are 23 watts. That bulb is the equivalent to a standard 120 watt flood. The ones I used are 23 watts, 1400 lumens, (only 60 lumens per watt). Although I'm sure running on 220V they probably put out a bit more.

On the color temps.
I'd stay FAR AWAY from "warm", or even "cool white". The lowest I'd recommend would be 4000°K (say for half) then you could go 5000°K~6000°K for the other half. If you can find them at (or around) 4500°K ~4700°K that'd be even better. Mix those with 5000°K and call it a day. It's not that 6000°K will not work, (as they are REALLY white, REALLY bright) it's just that they can tend to wash out the subtle differences.

Love the idea of adding solar panels!
That's not an option here as I have trees in the back (East), trees in the front (West). I'll get full sun on my roof from mid-late morning till mid afternoon and that's it.

The really neat part however about LED's is you are not pulling a ton of power.
With "Option B" you're talking about 480 watts, that wouldn't be but FOUR standard 120 watt floods! (Yet that means 16 LED's!)

Either way, either option, it'll look like a TV studio in there! Might call the local TV station and tell them to come do the news from there.

[Dr_Pain]

If I had more time to read Rafael I could read all the post and make sure I don't duplicate what is being said and give credit to the ones that made the reference before me.

Cost/benefit of lighting comes if you make sure not to put all your eggs in the same basket. One light system is not good. I am in the process to redo the lighting in my shop and I believe the the size you are talking about are about the same size as what I will have

Personally I would go with daylight 5000-5500K T5 fluorescent as your main lighting on separate switches so you can turn on and off as needed. I would also have single diode LEDs as secondary lighting. I would put lights above, angled and vertical on the walls.

above 5500K the light becomes blueish, at 4000k yellowish so stick to DAYLIGHT (not cool, not warm)