MERRY CHRISTMAS
My wife got a new house for Christmas and I got a new 2 car woodshop to begin making stuff for the new house. I got a question for all of you electricians out there. I plan to use florescent light fixtures in the shop. Which would put out more light , a 4 foot fixture or an 8 foot fixture or something other than florescent? The shop has a 8 foot ceiling complete with pulldown stairs and storage area above it so wiring is not a problem. I get to design this one from the ground up.
Replies
Consider 4 footers with T8 lights. 4 footers are easier to handle (replace), less expensive, and can be placed in more locations. You can also afford to buy them by the case in places like Lowes and save even more. Also, if you wire them to a single switch, I would recommend each one have a off/on pull chain (or some sort of individual control). That way, you only have to burn the ones you need.
Sounds like you are exactly in the same position I was in 2002. New house, new shop, some new tools, new challenges, and a lot of fun work!!
Good luck.
gw52 - I'm not a sparky but I'll reply and in doing so bump you back up the post list so it can be easily seen by others again.
I can tell you that all things being equal, you can figure an 8 ft fixture will put out about twice as much light as a 4 ft fixture. 4 foot fixtures might be easier for some people to dispose of burnt out bulbs. 8 foot fixtures give you half as many to install.
Most woodworkers use fluorescents for the main overhead lighting with some incandescents for individual workstations. I recommend T-8 fluorescents with the electronic ballast....they're quieter and the bulbs will last longer than the run of the mill inexpensive "shop" fluorescent lights that the big box stores sell. You can also find the T-8's at the big box stores...they cost more but in my opinion are worth it.
Personally, my shop is 192 sq ft (12 x 16). Most advice would have at least four 4-ft fluorescent lights (each with 2 bulbs) for a space that size. I've got six because I'm not 25 yrs old anymore (try doubling that age and adding a couple) and erring on more light never hurts.
Also, I recommend wiring the lights on a separate circuit breaker so if you trip a breaker while using a power tool your lights will remain on. I also recommend splitting them between at least 2 light switches so you have the choice of having all or just some of them on when your working.
Hope this helps.....and hopefully others will chime in now.
charlie -- "Count your blessings....it could always be worse!"
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=fw-knots&msg=39195.1
Have alook at this thread from a few days ago I think it may be of some help.
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