Garage Lighting T5HO or T8HO.....

[Greg Nichols]

Here is where I stand now.

I'm going with t8 6 bulb fixture...the fixture has two ballasts so I can turn on either 4 bulbs or 2 bulbs or all 6. This way I can adjust the light and save a bit on energy but still have the amount of light I need.

The bulbs will have a very high CRI rating so I get the truest color possible.

I'm still waffeling on the temp of bulb......5000 or 4300.

My garage is 24x25 and I'm going to have 6 fixtures.........mega light for the long evenings and black cars.

Cheers,
GREG

[snowskate]

Originally Posted by Greg Nichols

Here is where I stand now.

I'm going with t8 6 bulb fixture...the fixture has two ballasts so I can turn on either 4 bulbs or 2 bulbs or all 6. This way I can adjust the light and save a bit on energy but still have the amount of light I need.

The bulbs will have a very high CRI rating so I get the truest color possible.

I'm still waffeling on the temp of bulb......5000 or 4300.

My garage is 24x25 and I'm going to have 6 fixtures.........mega light for the long evenings and black cars.

Cheers,
GREG

Sounds like a great set up. Keep us posted with details if you have time. And of course pictures.

[Picus]

Kind of off base but did you consider metal halide at all? I know there are cons to it, just wondering?

[Pats300zx]

I'm still waffeling on the temp of bulb......5000 or 4300.

Greg I went with 6500k bulbs in my T8's. My electrician tried 5000 and 4300 and I liked the brighter light better.

[Greg Nichols]

Originally Posted by Picus

Kind of off base but did you consider metal halide at all? I know there are cons to it, just wondering?

Kevin, I did but my celings are only 9.5' and MH are for much taller, the cost is also a factor to run them, buy them, and replace bulbs.

Originally Posted by Pats300zx

Greg I went with 6500k bulbs in my T8's. My electrician tried 5000 and 4300 and I liked the brighter light better.

Pat, I thought about that but it is more BLUE then, I wanted as close to natural as possible. I understand that CRI of the bulb also effects things?

Cheers,
GREG

[Picus]

Originally Posted by Greg Nichols

Kevin, I did but my celings are only 9.5' and MH are for much taller, the cost is also a factor to run them, buy them, and replace bulbs.

Right ok, that is what I figured. I only asked because I did the whole fluorescent thing but ended up with a few metal halide in the end anyway. My ceilings are 14 ft though so it's a little easier. I think that's a nice setup you're going with; mine was nowhere near as nice.

[tenorplayer23]

Ten banks in a 3 car garage!!! I have a 3 car garage.........

Can I ask: how many bulbs, what length bulbs, what wattage bulbs you used??

I have four, 2-bulb, 8ft. fixtures. T8 bulbs that fire in the cold (unfortunately, they hum a bit/less expensive ballasts........you only get so much for free from the Home Depot (literally free.........I got some gift certificates from my local bank as an "account premium". Sweet.)

And..........my garage walls aren't even dry walled & still looks like dayglow in there. When I add the walls/white paint, I'll be wearing sunglasses. How do you actually "see" in yours??

I'm surprised I can't see your garage in Delaware from here on a good night.

Thx.

See ya. :

Originally Posted by Pats300zx

I love the T8 lights that I put in my garage. I put in 10 banks in my three car garage. Proper lighting makes such a difference.

[Fat-Whillie]

Originally Posted by snowskate

Good info. Can anyone explain color rendering index? and how it's important. I thought natural light was more like 6500k?

Also, what light and fixture is recommended when your ceilings aren't 20 or 30 high and more like 8 or 9 feet high?

---

Okay here we go. Being a Lighting Designer (for theatre) and an advanced amateur photographer, color temp has always been very important to critical for me. Since I now have a very "healthy" addiction to auto detailing I needed better lighting for the Salon (garage). IMHO, color temp. need not factor into utility lighting. What is very important is Lumens (need lots) and even distribution. Color temp. is important if you are trying to match colors, as in being an auto painter. Check out how lighting is arranged in a paint booth (top and side lights). Here is a short explanation on color temps.

Color temperature, expressed on the Kelvin scale (K), is the color appearance of the lamp itself and the light it produces.

According to the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), color temperature is "the absolute temperature of a blackbody radiator having a chromaticity equal to that of the light source."

Imagine a block of steel that is steadily heated until it glows first orange, then yellow and so on until it becomes blue or bluish-white. At any time during the heating, we could measure the temperature of the metal in Kelvins (Celsius + 273) and assign that value to the color being produced, resulting in a "color temperature." Computer software performs this function for today's lamps, giving them a color temperature rating found in the manufacturers' literature.

For incandescent lamps, the color temperature is a "true" value; for fluorescent and high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps, the value is approximate and is therefore called correlated color temperature. In the industry, both terms - - color temperature and correlated color temperature - - are often used interchangeably. The color temperature of lamps makes them visually "warm," "neutral" or "cool" light sources.

Lamps with a lower color temperature (3500K or less) have a warm or red-yellow/orangish-white appearance. The light is saturated in red and orange wavelengths, bringing out warmer object colors such as red and orange more richly.

Lamps with a mid-range color temperature (3500K to 4000K) have a neutral or white appearance. The light is more balanced in its color wavelengths.

Lamps with a higher color temperature (4000K or higher) have a cool or bluish-white appearance. Summer sunlight has a very cool appearance at about 5500K. The light is saturated in green and blue wavelengths, bringing out cooler object colors such as green and blue more richly.

But to each his/her own. P.S. I use all 5500K lamps, great color rendering and easy on the eyes (Fluorescent lights in higher color temps tend to create eye strain and fatigue). Today's digital cameras have a white balance setting for it, and pictures look great. As always do your final pics in the sun to show off the perfection.

My $.02, Thanks

[Shaun Carollo]

I just picked up 3 of these from a local distributor for my new shop:

High Bay Fluorescent Fixture,F54T5HO - High-Low Bay Fluorescent Fixtures - Indoor Fixtures - Lighting : Grainger Industrial Supply

I got em for $125 too, minus $60 rebate per fixture from the electric company. Pretty cheap, and they are BRIGHT!

[karburn]

So your local distributor discounted the $238 price from Grainger? I ask because we have a huge Grainger warehouse/distribution center in our area and they are not known for discounting anything. These look great for $125 - not so great at $238. Glad that your local electric company is progressive enough to offer rebates on good equipment. Our provider just looks for ways to bump the rates.

Thanks

[Shaun Carollo]

Originally Posted by karburn

So your local distributor discounted the $238 price from Grainger? I ask because we have a huge Grainger warehouse/distribution center in our area and they are not known for discounting anything. These look great for $125 - not so great at $238. Glad that your local electric company is progressive enough to offer rebates on good equipment. Our provider just looks for ways to bump the rates.

Thanks

I bought them from a local store and just linked to Grainger to show the model. THEY ARE AWESOME! Haven't hung them over my bays yet but my nextdoor neighbor in the building hung them and they are so bright its incredible.

-Shaun

[**Frank**]

Sooooo, does anybody that have these fixtures have some pictures they can share?