# Garage Lighting



## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Yet another thread from me asking for more advice :lol:

So the electrician is coming round this weekend to quote for wiring it up.

What lighting would be best / recommended.

Matt


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Get a few 6 foot fluorescent lights with good day light tubes 6300 would be great for crisp white light


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Derekh929 said:


> Get a few 6 foot fluorescent lights with good day light tubes 6300 would be great for crisp white light


Any links to good prices for these?

Screwfix / B&Q ?

Thanks
Matt


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

I would try the lighting centre or tlc direct, get the tubes local Edmunds electrical mine were £3 each light units twin 6 feet Compton high freqency so quick start and no flicker were about £28 inc vat per twin had to get day light tubes as standard not as bright but still ok


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

how much you want to spend?

In a garage i would always try and go for ip65 rated fittings that way any leaks dont cause issues and it keeps every insect and spider from covering the tube / getting inside reducing the need to clean the lights....

eg






2x 5ft doubles (cant remember the make of them off the top of my head but they are fancy soft start up ones the wholesaler didn't realise till i was walking out the door that he gave me the expensive ones by mistake


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

mattsbmw said:


> Any links to good prices for these?
> 
> Screwfix / B&Q ?
> 
> ...


Screw fix not good for them or b&q to expensive:thumb:


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## Covenantor (Sep 19, 2012)

As he mentioned earlier.
The cheapest will be someone like TLC Direct.
The IP65 referred to is known in the trade as an NCF - Non Corrosive Fitting, or vandal resistant.
If you don't intend to swing things about, then you don't need the protection, you could pick some batten fittings with reflectors.
The other thing you may need to consider is the type of lamp, whilst daylight may be good, the wattage on an 1800 is higher than say a 1500mm fluorescent.
That said it's all about what you want?
My proposal would be 2 rows of 4 fitting, spaced across width; 1/4-fitting-1/2-fitting-1/4. I would think you only need single fittings.
This is the important bit!
PAINT the walls and ceiling WHITE!
The reflectance of the walls is vital.

Asking how he knows, I'm a qualified lighting designer!



Derekh929 said:


> Screw fix not good for them or b&q to expensive:thumb:


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## Covenantor (Sep 19, 2012)

The fitting i would suggest from TLC Direct:
1 x 58watt 1500mm @ £16.90
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/GLWP158.html
The lamps are:
T8 Daylight Tri-phosphor tubes @ £2.90
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LAFLT58DL.html

Hope this helps.

Careful, if your using a local spark, he may have an account with a wholesaler, may be cheaper BUT could be more expensive!


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## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

Keeping an eye on this as I want some better lights in my garage...


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

Looking to upgrade my lighting too - subscribed.:thumb:


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## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

Are tube lights all universal fitments or do you get different ends as I have no idea whats in my garage ATM?


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## Covenantor (Sep 19, 2012)

The tubes in most garages are what's called T8 fluorescents, these generally are 5 or 6ft fluorescents, 1500 or 1800mm long, 58w or 70w in wattage. 
This old technology, is why the fittings in TLC Direct are cheap.
The newer tubes are T5, lower wattage, smaller diameter, different pin arrangement, the equivalent in 5ft is only 35w.
If you have say 8 of them, then 23w x 8 saving is nearly 200 watts, run the lights for an 8 hour shift, 1.6kw, a unit of electricity is 9p a kw/h approx, so you have spent approx 14p extra by not paying £200.00 to change to the latest lights. 
Indeed, the technology is moving swiftly to LED even as a tube.
I would suggest you just clean the light fittings, then change the tubes!


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## Covenantor (Sep 19, 2012)

Right guys, reading through a number of the garage threads and everyone seems to be wanting some LED Daylight lamps.
By the way! It would appear that the best light source to see swirl marks is not Daylight, as this is the equivalent of flat North Light, which is good for colour matching but not to see scratches, etc.
A task lamp or lamps at adjustable angles is the best, you can see most of the pro-garages use lamps on stands and move these to suit the task, viola!
BUT, i thought i'd share with you the T8 LED Daylight replacement lamps that are available, hope you sitting down, as they are SORE - £119.45 a lamp. 
This is the equivalent of a 5ft (1500mm) fluorescent tube running at 58W, the 25W version here would take years to pay back - The cost for energy saving, working these lamps (based on 8) 8 hours a day for 5 days a week for 50 weeks of hte year is only £47.52 - Thus based on the cost of the lamps times the energy saving would be 20 years to payback, then these would be "[email protected]%&d" and you could then start again?

So back to looking at a good clean, lots of cheap fluorescents and if you can, BUY T5 lamps or light fittings, as these are more energy efficient than the older T8's, but just buy a couple of halogen inspection floods!

Cheers


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## xlfive (Feb 18, 2006)

Covenantor said:


> This is the important bit!
> PAINT the walls and ceiling WHITE!
> The reflectance of the walls is vital.
> 
> Asking how he knows, I'm a qualified lighting designer!


what a difference coat of paint makes.i bought 4 x 4ft strips and mounted them around the garage walls and expected it should have been a lot brighter than the 2 x 100w bulbs they replaced but only just,I painted the walls white and lined the cieling with white hard board now its like turning the light on at 5am :lol:


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

Confused now - so I should get 5ft 58W light fittings with T5 tubes? Would 4x single fittings be enough to light an ordinary double garage?:thumb:


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## Covenantor (Sep 19, 2012)

wylie coyote said:


> Confused now - so I should get 5ft 58W light fittings with T5 tubes? Would 4x single fittings be enough to light an ordinary double garage?:thumb:


Ha,Ha!
Superb!
It all depends on what you want to do?
If it's just for pottering about in, no real detailing or major working on cars, then 4 singles might get you by.
If you want to a bit more work in the garage, then you will need to paint or line it, if not already done so. The walls/ceiling need to be bright.
I would suggest that 3 rows of 2 fittings, as you will need light in between the two cars.
Also, consider that if you space the light fittings,say centred above where the middle of the doors are, i.e. above the cars would sit, what good does that do? other than give you a bright roof!
One row in the middle, then the other two rows towards the side of the cars.
As mentioned previously T5's are lower wattage, T5's will be 1500mm(5ft)35W if your doing it fairly cheap, fit the T8's, these are the 58W. You can convert T8 light fittings to take T5 tubes but it's pointless if you are buying new light fittings.
:thumb:


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

Just want to do a little bit of correction, but mainly for applying polish/wax/sealant. Will not be any major correction and I already have a tripod light to help with it. Four double light fittings should do it I think - especially considering I currently only have 2 single units.

Thanks:thumb:


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## craigblues (Jul 24, 2011)

In my current office, I got the screwfix ones. If i remember rightly they used to sell them in packs of 4 but I got the SKU code for singles and they actually worked out cheaper.


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## DarrenC (May 22, 2010)

I'll be sortin mine out soon, the brother in law is a sparky so that will probably help 👍


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