I am moving into a new Woodworking shop in the next few months and am looking for lighting suggestions. The space is about 20′ x 30′ and does have three largish windows that will let in a reasonable amount of light, but I am looking for specific suggestions of ceiling lights – brands, sizes, etc…
Thanks in advance for your input!
Replies
I strongly recommend 48" direct wire T-8 bulbs. I replaced 26 fluorescent bulbs in the shop two years ago and three days ago four in the storage area. I do not know exactly how to place them in your shop because your projects may be different than mine. No more buzz, failed ballasts, or bulbs. Very low power consumption.
26 bulbs? Would love to see your shop...
I got rid of the tube fixtures and bought LED flat panels. Some are in drop-ceiling trays and a few are surface mounted. The quality of the light is as near to shadowless as you can get because the light sources are so wide. The drop ceiling units are 2x2 and the surface mounts are 1x4. I split them to 2 circuits so in case one trips I won't be in the dark waiting for a machine to stop spinning. I can't name the brand... I bought at a supply house, not a box store.
I don't remember if I got "bright white" or daylight color balance, but without windows I don't have any color contrast to deal with. You might want to match what the windows are bringing in.
Good suggestion, not available when I did my shop. Lots of good new things out there.
LED is the way to go, and since they draw little power it will leave more for the equipment. Just be carefull choosing the right température, that is how White you want it to be. At the bottom of the Kelvin color range there is a yellow hue, between 3000 amd 5000 its White as daylight, above its blue and gray that is too bright to be sustainable, I stay in the 3200 to 4000 K range.
agree with gulfstar: led, 4000k (for me color temp is key, and 4000k is a good balanced/warmish light) - I would add get max lumens if you have old eyes like me. I have shop slightly larger than yours, and went with 5 led fixtures, 26,000 lumens each, from 1000bulbs.com, product # plt-11078-4k, approx $200 each.
I have been very happy with some fairly inexpensive LED shop lights I bought at Costco. Koda brand, 48 watts, 4600 lumens, 400K natural white color temp. They have motion sensors (which I have turned off) and remote switches (though mine are hooked to a wall switch). They can hang or be surface mounted to the ceiling. Cost ~$30 each. Have them in my wood shop and in wife's quilting studio. Have used them for almost two years with no problems.
I recently upgraded from 4ft flourescent to 4ft LED 5000K (temp) linkable fixtures. You can find many brands on Amazon. I used the following Q&A from Wood Magazine to help with the placement. In the end I replaced 4 fixtures at their existing locations and added 3 more. The linkable feature meant I didn't have to add any more receptacles. I'm supper happy with the results.
https://www.woodmagazine.com/workshop/lighting-wiring/whats-the-best-spacing-for-shop-light-fixtures
Lots of good suggestions already. All that I can add is, I also have one of those bright head band lamps. Comes in hand from time to time even with good lighting or if you are working elsewhere in the home or at a friends house. Plenty to choose from. I'd go 500 lumens or more.
A little more information about direct wire LED T-8 bulbs. These do not use a ballast and are not like those that are drop in replacements for your existing fluorescent bulbs. You need end caps that have two connections at one end, a hot or black wire, and the other is the white. No connections at the other end as done with fluorescent bulbs, they are just place holders. The power number comparisons I have seen are 12.5w for direct wire, 32w for fluorescent bulbs. I don't know how solid those numbers are but the LED's use a lot less.
For a 20x30 foot space, I would suggest considering LED ceiling lights or linear lights with diffuser shades for a soft and even light. For brands, Philips is a good choice. The wattage of each light is about 30-50W, and the color temperature selection of 4000K-5000K is closer to natural light, which can make the details clearer. When installing remember to distribute the lights evenly to avoid shaded areas, especially near the workbench.
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I suggest that you take a look at "Lighting for the Workshop", FWW #154 (February 2002). When I built my shop in 2010, I followed the author's recommendations for the placement and size of lighting fixtures and have been very happy with the results.
The OP moved into his new shop 18 months ago...
Party Pooper...
Ha, that's me.
Would love to hear how, what happened. The only other thought I've had on the topic (beyond what I posted 18 months ago) was that I would find a "professional" lighting company (likely one you would purchase the hardware from) to design a system for your needs. I know I have a lot of light in my shop and still wish I had more.
I didn't see any reference here to the actual quality of the light, beyond the simple Kelven temperature, which is just an average. If the color of a project is important, is a good idea to look for the highest color accuracy or color rendering index ( CRI) across all the visible parts of the visible light spectrum, so your project will look is best wherever it is later placed. A few fluorescent tubes carry this designation, but led are often poor in this regard.
Another vote for the 4ft likable LED fixtures. Slowly replacing all the 2 tube florescent fixtures as they die. They are super light weight also so very easy to hang.
I have a couple of task lights at the lathe and workbench that switch from cool to warm if needed.
The wiring is different for the switchable LED's compared to the initial direct wire ones I have in the shop. Friend told me they are different, real the instructions.
I have a 40’ x 15’ basement shop and I’m of the age that believes that there is no such thing as too much light. Well maybe there is, but I haven’t seen a shop with it yet. I originally had 20 48” fluorescent shop lights, but I tired of the constant irritant of bad bulbs and bad ballasts. I bought 48” direct wire LED bulbs in bulk and rewired each fixture to use the new LED’s. It took about ten minutes per fixture to pull it down, remove the bulbs, pop the cover, remove the ballast and rewire and rehang it. What a difference! I agree that 4000K is about the right color temp. Old 48” fluorescent fixtures aren’t hard to find for a song if you need them and easy to rewire for LED’s.
My work shop space is about 26x36. I have 3 rows of 4ft. flouresence, 8 fixtures in each row. t-8 lamps and lamps are full spectrum lighting. just the right amount of light for all kinds of work and also a led fixture at my bench for fine work. just a hint for you, the amount of light that the lamps are rated for ( lumens ) are at the light fixture. at 10ft. down ( ceiling to floor )that amount of light is cut in half. so with a 10ft. ceiling you are working with just less than half the amount that the lamps are rated at. if you do purchase t-8 lamps with ballast choose the lamps with full spectrum.
You will get opinions all over the map. But here is mine....
Built a barn that served as a temporary shop. High ceilings so I used hanging 'alien' lamps. They are LED and did a good job. I had two rows and the one thing I did not like was the shadows off them. Always seem to be in the place I was working.
Finished the new shop, pretty large. Did my research and the recommendations were 70-100 lumens per sq ft. I aimed for 100 and actually hit mid 95ish. I used strip LED lights and my shop is BRIGHT! I love it too. No need for additional bench lighting.
I have 10 foot ceilings and I used these.
https://www.amazon.com/Barrina-Fixture-8500lm-Daylight-Warehouse/dp/B07JVXLQ8R
Only one issue with them. They are so bright that looking into them is not comfortable. But with my higher ceilings that is not a problem, unless I am working on say pulling a wire across the ceiling. I just unplug that row so I am not blinded.
If were doing it again I would use these lights but with some sort of diffuser. Neighbor just bought some and he found the same light (maybe less powerful) with frosted covers. Much better in his 8' ceilings.
Sorry for the slooooooow follow up here. I ended up going with 1' by 4' Lithonia LED panels that are rated at 4000 lumen's each. They are switchable 3500 to 5000K - I stuck with the 5000K. They needed to be wired long before the shop was done and I had a general idea of tool placement but not exact... I struggled deciding on placement and finally decided to just space eight of them evenly in the 20' by 30' ceiling area (10' ceilings). There is another one in a smaller bump out.
Man I am very happy! I have been in the shop now for about 5 months and the lighting is fantastic absolutely everywhere - really no shadows anywhere that have been an issue - probably helps that I opted to paint the walls white as well. Even placement has worked out just fine. I have some task lights still packed up but so far hasn't been an issue with them unlike my old shop!