Ed Zachary! I have lights above my door as well, and I use them all the time (when the door is shut). Just be sure to put them on a separate switch so you can turn them off when the door is open.
Even better if you make them so they can travel by hanging them in loops - each in a traveler - from a ceiling mounted curtain fixture...the "C" shaped ones. Coil cord at the end provides strain relief and keeps them out of the way.
Bill wrote:> One good
Good move. The cheapo, open, shop type fixtures work just fine.
Does any one no of a switch that could be put in the garage door opener that would allow the lights to work on the normal switch when the door is down, but turn them off the lights above the door when the door goes up?
If so how would it be wired?
Nice idea. Sounds like a whole nuther circuit. For me, it will have to wait until the next round! :)
Thank you, Bill
You could rig up a relay and microswitch which will cut power to that circuit when the door is all the way up, bumping the microswitch. Add it after the switch so normal switch action is uninterrupted.
-- Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling. -- Margaret Lee Runbeck
You mean the ones with the reflectors/wings?
Bill
I forgot to ask: How often do you want both the door open -and- the lights on? It wouldn't seem to be necessary very often.
-- Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling. -- Margaret Lee Runbeck
I year and a half ago, my wife and I moved into our house and so I finally have the chance to "build my shop". She says all she wants me to make for her is a birdhouse (but I've got her waiting on furniture).
And I have to tell her that I need a drill press, band saw, table saw, router, fluorescent and task lighting, and new electrical sub-panel panel to make this birdhouse.
Reminds me of the cute story that ends with the question: How much did it cost you to make that little table (birdhouse)? $100k. : )
My numbers are smaller of course, but it still makes me smile.
Another antique metal-cutting lathe showed up at the local auction this week. More petite than the monster that showed up a few months ago. I'm either becoming more particular or becoming a conniseur. It's cheaper and easier to be a conniseur than a collector! :)
Bill
Those would work but I was thinking of the ones that are a shallow metal box holding two (or one) tube, ballast is inside the box. They just screw to the ceiling. Like these...
You mean on the (thin strip of) "wall" rather than the overhead ceiling, right?
Bill
Mine are on the ceiling, not the wall.
Thank you. Bill
Nine dual 4 foot 40 watt fluorescent fixtures is pretty good. It will seem pretty bright, but could be better. I would put 12 or 15 fixtures in for overall lighting. The 9 fixtures will not be enough to really light up the room. You will be able to see everything, but it won't shine. You would still need task lighting to see. With 12 or better, 15, fixtures, you could eliminate the inconvenience of turning on and off task lighting every time you move around the work area. What an inconvenience.
My basement is split into two rooms. One about 19x29 and the other
25x32. About 550 and 800 square feet. The 550 side has 19 two bulb 4 foot 40 watt fluorescent fixtures. About 2.7 watts per square foot. The 800 side has 18 two bulb 4 foot 40 watt fluorescent fixtures. About 1.8 watts per square foot. Both rooms are bright. All walls and floor are painted white. Until now I never realized one side was so under lit compared to the other side. The way the room is setup with the furnace and ductwork and supporting beam, I'm not sure I could have squeezed in another row of lights. So it will have to do.The question asker has 500 square feet lit by 9 lights so about 1.44 watts per square foot. Good but could easily be better. Your room is
480 square feet lit by 5 fixtures. Only 0.83 watts per square foot. Not enough.If the original question asker is putting in lights, I don't understand why he would not put in plenty of lights. It takes minimal extra work to install a few more. And if having light bothers you, its easy to just remove the bulb. Less light, less electricity used, and you still have the option of putting the bulb back in and getting adequate light.
=A0 =A0 -- Storm Jameson- Hide quoted text -
Ah yes, that problem!
We are the second occupiers of our house and originally the builders installed an "up and over" wooden garage door.
When I finally grew tired of trying to repair it, in fact it reached a point when I think it was beyond repair, I made myself a pair of "conventional" side opening doors and gained myself a lot of extra space.
The original door was secured by a bolt and padlock down at the bottom right and the handle was at ground level too. I now have a nice handle, catch and mortice lock at elbow level - no more bending down to open the door.
The new doors keep out the weather and draughts better too.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your calculations.
Bill
Hmm.. 480 ft^2/13 luminaires = 30 ft^2. IIRC, that's exactly what Lew suggested. Getting wires close to the (door side) may be difficult/impossible without going through the imitation stucco ceiling. I will investigate further. With that many lights, I might feel like I'm in Las Vegas! :)
Bill
Bill wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news6.newsguy.com:
*snip*What you need is a new garage door with windows in it. Put your lights above the windows and they'll shine through! :-)
You can also cover the windows with blinds hinged at the top. When the door opens, the blinds will uncover the windows and the light still can shine through. :-)
Puckdropper
Hide quoted text -
I'd put in lots of light - but "split density" - half of each light, or every second light, on one switch, the other half on another switch so you can have enough light to move around and do non-vision-critical stuff with reduced lighting cost, and full bright light when you need it. With dual ballast 4 lampers put the inners on one ballast (and switch) and the outers on the second. Primary lighting would use the outer tubes, full lighting all 4.
With or without, it makes little difference. White paint ceilings and walls will act as reflectors.
-- Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling. -- Margaret Lee Runbeck
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