Best/cleanest lighting for garage

[Glorysends]

I'm new here and I'm sure I'll get "search" "it's been covered", but I've been doing tons of searching and still having mix reviews. I am in the process of building my own house and I detail my cars regularly and like to have a clean showroom look in my garage.

I was wanting to do recessed can lights inside my garage, but heard they aren't great for showing off paint and shine or good for detailing. I love the clean sleak look of recessed lighting and don't really want to do a bunch of fluorescent lights even though I've heard they are better. So my question is do they make recessed fluorescent lighting or what type of recessed can lights or bulbs can I use for detailing and showing off the cars? Thanks in advance. Also, little more about my garage is I live in Chicago suburbs and the size of it is 39'x31'

[hammargren]

I was in the same boat as you and didn't want to have flourecent lighting all over in my garage even though I know it was probably the best so I went with these and I'm very pleased.

Feit 38 Watt LED Non-Dimmable Light Bulb

http://www.menards.com/main/items/me...d_bulb_NEW.jpg

[Glorysends]

I was in the same boat as you and didn't want to have flourecent lighting all over in my garage even though I know it was probably the best so I went with these and I'm very pleased.

Feit 38 Watt LED Non-Dimmable Light Bulb

http://www.menards.com/main/items/me...d_bulb_NEW.jpg

Great thanks! So you went with recessed cans? have any pictures of your garage with these lights on? Thanks! I don't have to buy any special type of cans for those lights do I?

[Setec Astronomy]

Sure they make recessed fluorescent lighting...what do you think is in your typical office building? The same fixtures used in a dropped ceiling can be mounted in a hard ceiling.

It's called a troffer:

Fluorescent - Troffers - Commercial Lighting - The Home Depot

They also do LED, and these are usually dimmable, but at the present time the output doesn't seem comparable to fluorescent:

Integrated LED - Troffers - Commercial Lighting - The Home Depot

[Audios S6]

recessed fluorescent fixtures are very common in office and institutional settings. If you work in an office, just look up.

most will have baffles and other reflectors in them, so the style is typically a little different than your traditional can.

Those fixtures are often associate with a drop ceiling system, not sure how well they play with drywall for access to things like the ballast. You may have to be particular about the fixture you choose.

[Glorysends]

I guess I should of clarified. I know they make recessed fluorescent like in office buildings, but didn't know if they made nicer looking ones or different styles that aren't so big and ugly looking. I just want to do it right the first time and the cleanest brightest way possible.

[Setec Astronomy]

Well, I'm presuming the builder and his electrician, or if you are GC'ing your electrician, is installing the lighting, prolly worth a discussion about your options. Or a lighting guy, whoever is going to provide the fixtures--usually the electrician (or you) will be buying the fixtures from a place that has an outside salesman you can talk to about your application.

[jsgntulok]

Check out lighting available from Big Ass Fan company: https://www.haikuhome.com/haiku-garage-series-light

[RaskyR1]

I'm new here and I'm sure I'll get "search" "it's been covered", but I've been doing tons of searching and still having mix reviews. I am in the process of building my own house and I detail my cars regularly and like to have a clean showroom look in my garage.

I was wanting to do recessed can lights inside my garage, but heard they aren't great for showing off paint and shine or good for detailing. I love the clean sleak look of recessed lighting and don't really want to do a bunch of fluorescent lights even though I've heard they are better. So my question is do they make recessed fluorescent lighting or what type of recessed can lights or bulbs can I use for detailing and showing off the cars? Thanks in advance. Also, little more about my garage is I live in Chicago suburbs and the size of it is 39'x31'

I think you need to decide which is more important, form or function. I'm no lighting expert, but I don't believe recessed can lighting will distribute the light as evenly as a well laid out florescent or LED tube set up. There is a reason you see this type of lighting in so many industrial applications.

This is a thread I've been following for about a year now and it's full of excellent info. I'm putting 26 of the LED fixtures listed in the first post into my new shop for 100+ ft candle.

The Best Light Fixture Ever! - The Garage Journal Board

Some examples of professional garage lighting layouts
Light Fixture Layout Collections - The Garage Journal Board



My layout

[Setec Astronomy]

So that will be 52 4' bulbs, Rasky?