Shop Lighting

[Tim]

Anyone have any thoughts on halogen shop lighting? During a brief (brief!) search, I ran across this little number at lowes.com. I'm trying to research some viable lighting choices for the new shop, since I want to make sure I get it right this time. I don't know that much about halogen fixtures.

[Robert The Gray]

I found this thread.

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=85438&page=2

It looks like a good site as well

robert

[Figment]

I'm not immediately sold. These things have a few quirky side-effects.

For example, I've learned the hard way not to locate thermostats anywhere near halogen lighting. The radiant heat is enough to throw things off by several degrees. Jeez, this room feels chilly, but the thermostat says it's 72 degrees..... switch off the light, the thermostat almost instantly "realizes" that the room is actually 65 degrees, and the heat comes on. But now the room is dark.... this could have interesting effects on the curing of epoxies and paints.

Even with filtered lenses, they can throw quite a bit of UV (or otherwise remarkable) wavelength. I know we're not talking about displaying Monet and Matisse, but still I'm not sure that this is what you want in your shop. Pay attention to the color temperature of the lamps.

This really can be a mind-numbing research task. There's a reason why guys get paid good money just to sit around and pick light fixtures all day long. There's a lot of information to wade through, and the end product is really important. This is worth several days of your time, trust me.

Go to at least one lighting supply house. Try to find a salesman that's at least halfway technically proficient, and describe the application. Important information will include:
Supply voltage (110 or 220?)*
Dusty environment
Ceiling height, and resultant distance to worksurface height
Longevity of lamp is more important than energy efficiency (I gather from previous posts)
Color rendition important but not critical
Light diffusion is more important than minimizing fixture-count.
Ask to see a photometric chart** of the fixture he reccommends. If he says "huh?", find yourself another salesman.


* Always gotta throw in the scene from "Mr. Mom".... So, gonna wire it all up for 220? Yeah 220, 221, whatever it takes.

**This is a chart of intensity distribution curves which will represent how intense the light will be on a surface X-distance from a fixture, and will represent how that intensity changes when not directly under the fixture. This is critical information, as it determines how closely spaced the fixtures need to be to achieve a given uniform level of intensity.

[Figment]

ok, I couldn't just put it down and walk away. I had to go dig up an old textbook.


This is a what a (fictional and academic) potometric diagram looks like.
An actual diagram would show several curves to represent several decreasing levels of intensity, hopefully expressed in FootCandles*
The Y-axis, instead of measuring candlepower (academic) should measure distance from the fixture.

*A footcandle is equal to one lumen per square foot.
A lumen is a candlepower X 4pi, which is a conversion of candlepower spread over the surface of a sphere.
Lamps (bulbs) are measured in candlepower. Fixtures are measured by footcandles, because this is the useful measurement that accommodates the characteristics of the fixture and lens, etc.
More than you wanted to know? oops.

[Joe]

Tim, Your power company, I believe it is still CMP in Whitefield, has a lighting consultant that will meet with you and provide recommendation to meet your needs. This service is provided free. Free is good, right? Or you could have them meet in your current shop and make suggestions on changes to your current lighting and you could take these suggestions and incorporate them into your new lighting design in the new shop. I think they will probably steer you towards fluorescents with electronic ballast or possibly metal halide fixtures (High or Low Bay). The best color renditions will be from a fluorescent bulb (5000K). You might consider vaporproof fixtures which would keep out dust and paint overspray.

Joe
Kittiwake 23

[Figment]

Hey, that's a very good resource!

CT Light & Power used to have such a service (federally subsidized via Energy Star), but they shut it down so long ago that I'd completely forgotten it ever existed. Good to hear that this isn't universally true!

[JetStream]

I think the power company lighting consultant is an excellent recommendation. When you speak with him/her, I would suggest that you request something with low UV output so you don't have major little critter problems when you are painting. UV will bring midges from a long distance and Maine has a lot of them. I would also suggest that you try to get a pretty good color rendition. It's amazing how a wiring color code can look totally different in the wrong light. If you are painting boats for customers that don't understand lighting differences, they might hate the colors they picked out either while the boat is still in the shop or when it is finally out in the sun.

[bcooke]

I know we're not talking about displaying Monet and Matisse

What are you saying about Tim's painting ability?...

I had to go dig up an old textbook...

Feeling inspired? Now that chart is just the thing to elevate the conversation above the peasant level.

More than you wanted to know? oops.

You did that on purpose.

[Tim]

Good comments all...thanks!

Of course, it's becoming startlingly apparent that there will not be an easy answer to this question. Of course I want to do the right thing, but I also don't want to go in over my head--cost, information, or technology-wise. But lights that work for two years and then inexplicably die (only to sporadically spring back to life for indeterminate amounts of time) is not an option either, no matter how low the cost.

I will look into the CMP lighting consultant. I was kind of hoping to be done dealing with CMP (other than paying the bills, though I wish I could be done with that too), as they have made acquiring power to the site far more difficult than it truly need be; with that over and done with, I felt a certain freedom, but I can't turn down this resource if it exists. I hope the lighting consultant is more knowledgeable and helpful than the "field planner" that I dealt with. Groan. (This is a whole separate story that perhaps I'll detail someday.)

It's time to stop thinking I can do this on my own. I know nothing about lighting, other than...well...it's light. Light is good, dark is bad. That's the extent of my knowledge and, frankly, interest. So I will throw up my hands in surrender and start making those lighting consultants (at lighting companies and the power company) earn their paycheck. And then just hope that I can light this place for less than the frame is costing to build!

I appreciate any additional comments going forward, too.

[Tim]

Now that chart is just the thing to elevate the conversation above the peasant level.

You have a problem with peasants? I hear they taste good.

Oh...wait. I thought you said pheasant...

;<P

[Tim]

Update time!

Shortly after the initial post in November, I called the CMP lighting consultant. Though we never talked directly, we traded a couple messages, and I told him, honestly, that the building wasn't even yet standing, so there was little point in meeting immediately. When I never heard back from that message, I eventually wrote off the idea, and figured it wasn't the end of the world.

Then, last week, I received a message from him, just checking into see where things were--bonus points for the guy. As it happened, his timing was impeccable: just the day before, the insulation guys had installed the white ceiling plastic, which meant that I could think about installing lights.

We met at the site late last week, and he offered some general information and recommendations. There was a lot of talk about lumens and foot-candles and the like, most of which was over my head. But overall, his thoughts paralleled my own, and confirmed my belief that fluorescent fixtures would be the way to go.

He volunteered to come to my existing shop as well, so he could use a light meter to give me a sort of baseline from which to judge the light output, and he arrived last Tuesday to do that. (Of course, I had already installed new lighting fixtures in the new shop by then, but he didn't have to know that!) In the old shop, with its dirty and inoperable cheap-o fixtures, the general range was 25-23 foot-candles, for those of you keeping track. (It's definitely getting sort of dim in there!)

In any event, the suggestion to call the power company was a good one, and thank you, Joe, for that. The meetings weren't overly enlightening (yes, pun intended!), but certainly didn't hurt; he was a nice guy, and it was good to at least confirm my own thoughts on the lighting.

What I ended up installing (in 2 of the 3 bays so far) is 8' fluorescent strips, with high output double bulbs. I had wired the ceilings for up to three rows of lights, each switched separately. Because of the overhead garage doors, which have only a couple inches clearance from the ceiling when opened, I couldn't install ceiling lights in the front 16' or so of the bays, so I installed two rows of two lights each. I found that these two rows were more than adequate to light the bays, even with the white plastic incomplete at this time, so I didn't install the middle row. (I had anticipated this possibility, and wired the middle row into an outlet box first; with no lights needed, I installed a switched outlet there instead, which will be handy for on-deck work and auxiliary lighting later.)

These pictures are lousy, but give you some idea of the new lighting. These lights are extremely bright, and at some point I'll figure out a good solution for some additional lighting at the front end of the bays--perhaps one of these big strips wired to a standard plug that I can hang temporarily, or some wall fixtures, or something. For now, the bays are plenty bright!

[Figment]

Tim,

Is there enough door clearance to mount a strip of fixtures to the wall just above the door, just under the spring packs? Just a thought.


Looks good. It'll look even better once the plastic is applied to the walls.

[Tim]

Is there enough door clearance to mount a strip of fixtures to the wall just above the door, just under the spring packs? Just a thought.

Interesting thought. I'll check into it.

[Joe]

Tim, Good selection on lights. High outputs will probably give you the most lumens. Also the starting temperature for these are quite low, so even when the shop isn't heated the lights will be fully bright. Keep in mind as the lightbulbs age they will become less bright. So you may want to replace them before they burn out completely. Also dust accumulating on the bulbs will dim them quite a bit. Remember a clean shop is a happy shop. Good luck with the rest of the construction. Looks great so far!!

[Tim]

Also the starting temperature for these are quite low, so even when the shop isn't heated the lights will be fully bright.

Yes--the lights are rated to start as low as -20?F. The shop will always be heated, though, so it should never be a problem anyway.

[bcooke]

The shop will always be heated, though

You torture me.

-Britton

[Tim]

The shop will always be heated, though

You torture me.

-Britton

Well, then, my work here is done!