How do I improve my lighting??

[Kristopher1129]

Hey, guys. I'm not sure how many of you have a shop...but I'm sure a lot of you have a garage, or something of the sort.

I want to heavily improve the lighting in my shop. Right now, I've got fluorescents on the ceiling, as well as along the wall. Probably about 6 covering 3 bays on the ceiling, and another 6 on the walls. You can see them in my profile picture on the ceiling behind me.

I obviously know there are ways to improve the reflection of the light, which I feel is the problem. My floor is just plain cement, and my walls and ceiling are just beams, insulation, and plastic. The walls and ceiling look like an unfinished project.

So, here's the main issue. I was going to drywall, and paint the walls white. But, that's gonna be a TON of work with all the wiring, and other things on the wall and ceiling.

I'm thinking about using reflective metallic insulation foil. One side is white, and one side is metallic. Which side do you think would be better? White, or metallic? Bear in mind I have no air conditioning. I'm afraid the metallic side is gonna really heat the place up in the summer. What do you think?

I also would like to paint the floor with a bright textured paint.

P.S. Hey, Mike...I think an AG banner would really help brighten my place up. If ya know what I mean, ha.

[C. Charles Hahn]

I'd go for white over the metallic -- I would be afraid that the metallic side would bounce off strange reflections of the vehicles/people/etc. in the shop and make it harder to see defects as you're working, whereas a white surface is just going to reflect light and not pick up reflections from any other source.

What sort of fixtures do you currently run? T12s, or something else? I found that just retrofitting all my fixtures to T8HO electronic ballasts and good tubes with a decent CRI and good color temperature made a massive difference all by itself.

[Kristopher1129]

I'd go for white over the metallic -- I would be afraid that the metallic side would bounce off strange reflections of the vehicles/people/etc. in the shop and make it harder to see defects as you're working, whereas a white surface is just going to reflect light and not pick up reflections from any other source.

What sort of fixtures do you currently run? T12s, or something else? I found that just retrofitting all my fixtures to T8HO electronic ballasts and good tubes with a decent CRI and good color temperature made a massive difference all by itself.

I was thinking the same thing. The metallic side worries me. I feel like it would be disappointing once I got it up there. I think you're right...white would be much safer.

Honestly, I don't even know what's up there. They've been there for years though, I can tell you that, ha.

I definitely need to replace the fixtures cause they have no shields. It's just straight bulbs, which really sucks. I was thinking of buying these....

Shop Utilitech 48" 2-Light Utility Fluorescent Shoplight at Lowes.com (http://www.lowes.com/pd_245546-58659-NXU-6001-B_0__?productId=3168049&Ntt=flourescent+lights&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dflourescent%2Blight s%26page%3D2&facetInfo=)

They're cheap, and I think would improve my lighting like crazy.

What do you think about the textured floor paint??

[WRAPT C5Z06]

What sort of fixtures do you currently run? T12s, or something else? I found that just retrofitting all my fixtures to T8HO electronic ballasts and good tubes with a decent CRI and good color temperature made a massive difference all by itself.
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You're one smart cookie! :dblthumb2:

[Bunky]

What sort of fixtures do you currently run? T12s, or something else? I found that just retrofitting all my fixtures to T8HO electronic ballasts and good tubes with a decent CRI and good color temperature made a massive difference all by itself.

I had some lighting in my new garage and noticed they were all T12. I was irked that they would use them given T8. Can you convert T12's to T8's?

[Stittville Ed]

I had some lighting in my new garage and noticed they were all T12. I was irked that they would use them given T8. Can you convert T12's to T8's?

You need to replace the ballast with T8 ballast.
Easy job and I find ballast on line very cheap.

[Stittville Ed]

[QUOTE=Shiny Lil Detlr;520257

What sort of fixtures do you currently run? T12s, or something else? I found that just retrofitting all my fixtures to T8HO electronic ballasts and good tubes with a decent CRI and good color temperature made a massive difference all by itself.[/QUOTE]

The color or Kelvin number is key.
The higher the number the better the light or closer to Daylight it is.

[Stittville Ed]

I definitely need to replace the fixtures cause they have no shields. It's just straight bulbs, which really sucks. I was thinking of buying these....

Shop Utilitech 48" 2-Light Utility Fluorescent Shoplight at Lowes.com (http://www.lowes.com/pd_245546-58659-NXU-6001-B_0__?productId=3168049&Ntt=flourescent+lights&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dflourescent%2Blight s%26page%3D2&facetInfo=)

They're cheap, and I think would improve my lighting like crazy.

For a few dollars more you can get twice the fixture from a electrical supply house and pick up a better lamp than Lowes or Home Cheapo carry

[rwright]

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You're one smart cookie! :dblthumb2:

Charlie has helped me more than you could imagine. We bounced ideas off each other over lighting through several pm's. The only problem now is that I have 2 cars to fix instead of finishing my garage. :(

I was speaking to an electric supply company and the gentleman stated pretty much the same thing Charlie did, if you're looking for a brighter light you need to go for a higher CRI rating. The T8HO tubes I plan to go with have a CRI rating of 96 and run $16 each. This may not be the most budget friendly for you Kris but will give you tons of light. If this type of setup is not in your budget, then maybe go with the white walls and highly reflective light fixtures.

[cutter]

Charlie has helped me more than you could imagine. We bounced ideas off each other over lighting through several pm's. The only problem now is that I have 2 cars to fix instead of finishing my garage. :(

I was speaking to an electric supply company and the gentleman stated pretty much the same thing Charlie did, if you're looking for a brighter light you need to go for a higher CRI rating. The T8HO tubes I plan to go with have a CRI rating of 96 and run $16 each. This may not be the most budget friendly for you Kris but will give you tons of light. If this type of setup is not in your budget, then maybe go with the white walls and highly reflective light fixtures.


This post is most helpful...Thank you for the explanation of the higher CRI rating.

I'm subscribed!

[rwright]

This post is most helpful...Thank you for the explanation of the higher CRI rating.

I'm subscribed!

I can't take credit for this, Charlie - Shiny lil Dtlr helped out tremendously. I took a lot of his suggestions to my local electrical supply company for additional help. That's what is great about this place, lots of helpful people :dblthumb2:.

[Kristopher1129]

Charlie has helped me more than you could imagine. We bounced ideas off each other over lighting through several pm's. The only problem now is that I have 2 cars to fix instead of finishing my garage. :(

I was speaking to an electric supply company and the gentleman stated pretty much the same thing Charlie did, if you're looking for a brighter light you need to go for a higher CRI rating. The T8HO tubes I plan to go with have a CRI rating of 96 and run $16 each. This may not be the most budget friendly for you Kris but will give you tons of light. If this type of setup is not in your budget, then maybe go with the white walls and highly reflective light fixtures.

The budget isn't really an issue. I just want good lighting. $16 a bulb would be fine with me as long is it brightens my place up. It's like a cave in there sometimes, ha.

I wanna do the white walls, painted floor, and some good fixtures and bulbs. I don't know a whole lot about CRI ratings and such....but I got a decent idea now that you guys brought it up, ha. :dblthumb2:

[Kristopher1129]

I can't take credit for this, Charlie - Shiny lil Dtlr helped out tremendously. I took a lot of his suggestions to my local electrical supply company for additional help. That's what is great about this place, lots of helpful people :dblthumb2:.

Agreed! I get more help here than anywhere else.

[Hoytman]

Charlie,

These are the brightest 4' T8 bulbs I've found and I use them
Shop GE 2-Pack 32-Watt T8 48" Fluorescent Light Bulb at Lowes.com (http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=154515-371-29566&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3063707&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=rel&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1) to grow tomatoes and peppers in my garage each spring. I grow them to sell for spare cash. I usually grow about 2000 plants in a 4X4 area, until they reach 2 inches tall. Of course, as they get bigger they go to another section of the garage. These bulbs have been the absolute brightest of what I could find a Lowe's. Perhaps there are others that offer more light but I haven't been able to locate them.

The second brightest I've found at Lowe's are these Shop GE 2-Pack 32-Watt T8 48" Fluorescent Light Bulb at Lowes.com (http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=133047-371-89069&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3063317&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1).

That said, I tried each of them side-by-side with grow lights. All I can say is don't waste the money on the grow lights as they are a gimmick. They supposed to produce light of a different spectrum, but I can tell you after growing plants under the daylight bulbs above the plants much prefer the daylight over the sunshine or the grow bulbs. I've even bought high dollar grow bulbs from plant catalogs and they don't compare.

That said, the numbers of my daylight bulbs don't compare to the numbers of the bulb you mentioned. If I can find them I'd like to do a side-by-side comparison of the HO you mentioned to the daylight bulbs I'm using. The daylight is a much brighter and more white light than the sunshine bulb, and the plants seem to like it better by alot...becuase they're almost like real daylight. They burn cool as well. I love them.

[master detailer]

my frist shop was like yours is now. What i did was take shrink wrap and put it up on the walls.Was real easy to use and you can cut the holes out after its up to get to your out lets and lights. cost was like less then 100.00 and man did it help.