How much light does a shop need?

The book I have says you want 50 foot candles measured 30" from the floor. That will be more on the order of 1.5 - 4 w/ft flourecent. I suppose if OSHA isn't inspecting your shop you can go with less.

Greg Fretwell responds:

What book, Greg?

Charlie Self

"Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft." Theodore Roosevelt

I'll say. My set up has 20 four foot fixtures (40 tubes) at about 7'. My walls are white though I didn't fret over the additives making up the color (colour David) and my floor is green, OK, it's sea foam green. I don't have a finished ceiling. The shop is a wee bit over 600 sq. ft.

Conclusion, it's too dark. Don't get me wrong. It's more than adequate to get around, see everything and read by but I could stand for it to be a little brighter. Of course my eyes will also be celebrating a half century birthday in a couple/few years.

UA100

Yes. My VA shop has 1200 sf. The ceiling at 9' is white, with 16 two tube fluors, for a total of 32. The light is ample, and evenly spread: big difference is simply a semi-gloss white ceiling. Walls are unpainted OSB, floor is gray.

And I've had cataract surgery since I got to use the shop much, so it should be even closer to correct.

But that's not to say that close up work doesn't require task lighting. It does.

When I get back--anyone wanna buy a small house in WV?--I have 2 more two tube fixtures to place around, plus a couple four tubers. They may get set directly over the base cabinet area, with maybe one over the main workbench.

Charlie Self

"Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft." Theodore Roosevelt

i can't stand the light or noise of fluorescent fixtures. i used ten 150W Halogen bulbs in my two car shop. light tan painted plywood walls. open ceiling, bare fixtures, no reflectors, new concrete floor. i call it my stadium lighting. i have it on three switches, 2 switches with 2 fixtures and one switch of 6 fixtures. i do use task lights as needed. yes, i'm creeping up on the half century mark too.

just my two cents, Myx

A huge variable is ceiling height. My 7' ceiling basement shop seems to need twice the light as a 9-10 foot ceiling would require.

The light never gets a chance to spread out with 7' ceilings.

Barry

My shop has 600sq ft with only 4 such fixtures. . .I suspect I am dangerously under illuminated. . . I have 2 3x5 and 2 4x3 windows tho. I am thinking tho that my tubes are 35w but I could be wrong. . .there is this old saying about old age and memory, but I forget how it goes. . .

Ahhh, but that only means you've bought the cheap ass models. I didn't spend entirely too much more (one, maybe two price jumps over *shop lights*) and mine have nary a humlette after 3 years.

'Sides, once you have machines running, the hum goes away.

UA100

If you also up the price you pay on the lights themselves, you can get the full spectrum lights. Colour balance is closer to that of sunlight.

Mike

The good ones don't have the florescent flicker that drives some people nuts either.

Both Mr Bohn and Mr Daily made valid points, however, they still don't apply. I bought the best fixtures recommended to me buy a lighting consultant and the sunlight balanced tubes and installed them in my basement craft area. (Flytying, tackle craft, rod building, wife's sewing) This is a 20 x 25 additional basement space under an addition I put on 4 years ago. I can still hear the fixtures. My wife cannot. I still see the light as blue and don't like it. I guess i just dislike fluorescent light. as a significant downside, tube storage is a pain. Now i hang them between floor joists but I don't care for it. The halogen bulbs are stored in a small box in the dead space under my bandsaw cabinet.

Thanks for the suggestions anyway, Myx

Maybe you're nuts and you don't know it.

UA100

You're probably just attuned to it. I can hear subtle little things that nobody else can too, but fortunately my Super Cheapass Lowball 2000 Ultra Crappy SuX shop lights aren't on the list. I like'em fine, which is good, 'cause that's all I could afford after my little stupid electrical mishap where I let the smoke out of every single one of my lights.

Some folks are particularly sensitive to these things. I know a guy who goes nuts around a computer or TV because the noise of the ummm... flyback? whatever it's called. Drove him crazy. No one else could hear it. Just like some folks are more sensitive to the flicker of TVs and monitors - they _need_ to have 72Hz or whatever even though many of us don't notice flicker at 60Hz screen rates.

I know another person who finds fluorescent lights too blue. He had cataract surgery and the result of removing the yellowed cornea was to increase the amount of blue light hitting his retina.

We might be created equal, but we don't end up equal.

Mike

Man, that was so low, even Tennessee Ernie Ford couldn't sing it.

Regards, Tom Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania

My shop is only 252 sq feet, ten foot ceiling but I have 75 sq ft of windows. Three 30x48 windows are high on one wall, the other 3 are placed directly in front of the tool workstations I use most. I have a 5x5 window for my scroll saw and a beautiful view to boot!

I intended to say, these are the cheapest shop lights I could buy--from Sears probably ten years ago. Less than $7.00 including two tubes. When they are all on I can just barely hear a faint hum. Turn off one bank and it is quiet. I'm hoping that they don't deteriorate over time.

Keith, I think being in your shop would be similar to the light I saw when I shorted the 3-phase circuit to ground when checking breaker numbers. After two weeks the thumb doesn't have any open cracks now, and the tan oval after-image disappeared in a couple of hours!

If the "General green" soaks up too much light, I have 5 outlets designated for lights, but unused, where I felt I didn't need more light.

-Doug

still spreading good thoughts, Keith?

dave

Unisaw A100 wrote:

groan! Tom, you could also use some new writers....

dave

Tom Wats> >