# Lighting for a workshop



## Richard65 (21 Nov 2018)

I have a workshop 7m by 6m in size and I want to put in decent lighting. I am thinking of putting in LED panels, something like this (https://www.lightrabbit.co.uk/catalog/p ... -x-595-mm/ ) or is it better to go for a LED strip light, something like this ( https://www.simplyled.co.uk/product/pho ... gency-kit/).

Whichever system you recommend can you say how many you would fit in the size I have.

Thanks


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## will1983 (21 Nov 2018)

Either will work, the led panels have gained quite a following here and elsewhere.

I'm a tight pipper and I like to experiment so I made my own boxes 800x400x80mm, painted them white then installed 5m of sticky LED strip inside each one. The diffuser material is low profile wriggly opaque plastic roofing from Wickes.

I made four units for less than £60, probably not a lot cheaper then bought units but like I said, I like to experiment. 

Rough comparison photo with and without. More photos/details/videos on my Instagram feed.


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## Tasky (21 Nov 2018)

Only had a quick look, but those tubes look a touch pricey. 
I kitted my garage workshop out from this place - https://www.ledhut.co.uk/commercial-led ... tings.html

They're a little on the cheap side, but work really well. I have a single-car garage and only fitted two little 2' tubes above the bench, with a third above the table opposite, but already they're bright enough for me to do most things. Bigger ones, or full-on panels (I'd guess 6-8 of those), will do great. 

They're easy to wire up, so if you leave space for expansion you can always add more in afterward!


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## Inspector (21 Nov 2018)

When we had the house built a couple years ago I had the shop placed above the 2 car garage. It is equal to 59 square meters and I have 64,000 lumens of light in it from 16 fixtures in 4 rows of 4 . Your shop would have to have 45,560 to have the same level of illumination or 11 or 12 of the same fixtures. I went by a recommendation in an article that said 100 foot candles per square foot. I think that converts to about 1,100 ish lumens per square meter maybe a little more. The lights I bought were through Alibaba and ended up costing about half to a third of what I could find here at the time. I selected a company that had the proper electrical certification for Canada/US (not all have certs for the county you live in) and it was an easy transaction taking about 2 weeks to arrive at my door after paying. It is something you can consider when you're shopping around. 

Pete


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## mayo.mick (21 Nov 2018)

Richard65":37d1na0f said:


> I have a workshop 7m by 6m in size and I want to put in decent lighting. I am thinking of putting in LED panels, something like this (https://www.lightrabbit.co.uk/catalog/p ... -x-595-mm/ ) or is it better to go for a LED strip light, something like this ( https://www.simplyled.co.uk/product/pho ... gency-kit/).
> 
> Whichever system you recommend can you say how many you would fit in the size I have.
> 
> Thanks



My experience, I first installed a 4ft led florescent over my workbench which cost about €100 (OK but not overly impressed, especially the price!). I since got a 600x600 led panel for directly over my lathe which only cost €45, much better light, only 18w but 5000K. I was idealy looking for 6000K for more light but the one I have is great. Very slim, about 10mm thick. Made a frame to fix to the roof, they are designed for shop fitting ceilings.


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## beech1948 (21 Nov 2018)

Be prepared to make your own frames for fitting to the ceiling and also to include the driver/power unit. I got caught out by that for a few minutes. The odd thing is that the seller of mine sold the frames for fitting at 1.5 times the price of the light units.


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## flying haggis (21 Nov 2018)

strangely I had just been looking at these to replace a failing flourescent in my workshop

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/48W-Ceiling- ... 0921892859


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