Workshop lighting advice

[Plwm]

Hi all, hoping to tap into the collective knowledge and experience here.....

I'm blessed with having a large workshop, circa 15m X 5m, ceiling height varying from 2-4m, to play in. It also doubles as storage for all the sh@te that you'd normally hide away in your loft 'cos we don't have a loft!

The only lighting at present is 6 single light bulbs roughly spaced evenly in this area. On dull days I often find myself using a head torch as well to give detailed task illumination, not ideal. My machinery/ workbenches are spread out as I have room!

I'd really like to change to led battens and/ or panel lights but seek advice on...
- what sort of lumen ratings I should be looking for to light this space effectively? (I'm guessing a few 1000 lm each?)
- brands to go for/ avoid?
- supplirers at reasonable prices
- single or double battens?

In my googling I did find a supplier (can't remember who now) who sold, what I thought were decent Lm / price battens, but for some reason wouldn't post to Wales!
Can't really afford to spend a small fortune but I also try to avoid the "buy cheap, buy twice" trap.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

Cheers, Neil

 

[Fitzroy]

There are lots of threads on here regards how many lumens you need, the search bar is your friend I have just put 3 of these in a 5.5x3.3m workshop, 2.4m ceilings, and it is lovely and bright, with total lumens/m2 about 15% below recommended levels but I didn't want 4 units.

I bought from any-lamp as I wanted the Phillips driver (in my experience it's the driver that craps out first), delivery was quick and efficient. They are super lightweight and I just made some slotted wood blocks to hold them c 5cm off the celling. However, there are plenty of screws around the edge of each unit it you wanted to suspend them from some cord/chain.

 

[Plwm]

There are lots of threads on here regards how many lumens you need, the search bar is your friend I have just put 3 of these in a 5.5x3.3m workshop, 2.4m ceilings, and it is lovely and bright, with total lumens/m2 about 15% below recommended levels but I didn't want 4 units.

I bought from any-lamp as I wanted the Phillips driver (in my experience it's the driver that craps out first), delivery was quick and efficient. They are super lightweight and I just made some slotted wood blocks to hold them c 5cm off the celling. However, there are plenty of screws around the edge of each unit it you wanted to suspend them from some cord/ch

Cheers Fitzroy, and thanks for that link - that could be just the job!
Used the search right after my post, doh!, and came across another of your links to another thread I hadn't read yet

 

[Richard_C]

I work in half a double garage, other half needed to put a car in. Decent lighting made a huge difference. I threw out 2 ancient 5ft fluorescents and fitted 2 similar sized led battens which screwed easily into the joists. Just over 7000 lumens each, from Toolstation. It was during one of the Covid restriction periods so the what to buy and from whom was based on who had what in stock and delivery. Happy.

If I were doing it again I might get a third and install it at right angles to the others, or maybe one big and two small arranged to avoid shadows.

I still use an old articulated style desk lamp with an 800 lumen led bulb above the workbench,

 

[Yojevol]

My 10 x 6m workshop was fitted with 8 x 5' fluorescents. These started to fail a couple of years ago and I've now replaced 4 with 600 x 600 LED panels of no particular brand. Huge improvement with reduced shadowing. I'll get round to doing the other 4 before long.
Brian

 

[Inspector]

Info on light levels. Illuminance - Recommended Light Level

My shop is just under 60 square metres and roughly square. 4 rows of 4,000 lumen battens for a total of 16 fixtures/64,000 lumens, 6,000K (white leaning a little towards blue to some people). Bought direct from China through Alibaba in 2016 when there were few local options.

Pete

 

[Ozi]

I use these, both in the work shop and utility room. I have 5 in the workshop, 3 overhead and the other 2 one each side to get rid of shadows, turn them all on and you need welding glasses. I also have the smaller one on a 5m extension to use as a lead light. Very useful on the farm now we have power to some of the sheds the lead light is screwed to a batton with a wire cage to protect it and has two screw eyes in the back. anywhere I want light I put two hooks on the ceiling and one light works for all

 

[Jackie H]

Hi,
I found the guidance does vary a bit, up to 300 luminaires per sq ft. I worked on 200 for my new workshop which is a little under 3 x 4 m. This worked out at roughly 20,000 luminaires in total which turned into 2 x 4ft LED twin battens and 4 x 4ft single battens. 3 rows of 2 running length ways, the twins are down the centre. The electricians have just finished the install. I took a couple of pics this evening so you can see the lighting level. Not sure if the pics give a realistic impression but I would say it was about right and I set it up so there are 2 circuits so I can dial it down if needed. I went with the electricians recommendation of Make and they advised against SFix Lapp.
Not sure what the make is but I can find out if wanted, they use Denmans Electrical.
Hope this helps, you should be able to pro-rata one way or the other.
Jackie

 

[Spectric]

Don't get to hung up in the technical aspect, lighting is not that complex if you approach logically and you know when it's right because you take it for granted. Lighting is aimed at the task expected to be performed in a given space, as a minimum you start with background lighting, something that fills the void and work from there. In a workshop your background lighting is that above you, if you need to light a workbench so as you can clearly see pencil lines, markings and smaller things then you need lights that are much closer, something behind the bench shining down like you have on an assembly bench where you can have lights hanging over the bench just above it with fixtures that looked like lifeboat derricks. For me I use LED lights with magnetic bases that I can easily move around and place close to a machine I am using, makes aligning cutting marks much easier and decent lighting makes life safer. These days with LED's in tube fittings you no longer have the issue with strobe effect that could happen with old flourescent tubes.

 

[RobNichols]

Following seeing a Peter Millard video I fitted three of these panels in my work space and it was one of my best decisions. The light is excellent. I often get the reaction that people think I have a skylight in my garage. They're surprised that the light from panels can be so much like natural light.

 

[TomTheToolMan]

Make sure you pick the right colour temp of the lights. Lower is more yellow. Higher more blue. I have found that about 4000k is a good compromise as not too harsh. I lit my wife's optician practice with 4000k 38w 600x600 panels in a suspended ceiling. They are at 1.8m centres 2.7m up. Lighting is excellent. I think there are 18 of them. Been on 10hrs a day for last 6 years and no fails. Drivers are separate so if they do pop easy to change. May be a bit overkill but if you are going to spend a lot of time in workshop you want good lighting both for safety and eye fatigue.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You can of course mix the colour temperatures when fitting multiple units. My old workshop was 400² ft and I found it better and much cheaper to light the areas I needed lit well and have very basic lighting overall.
I had three of the 600mm x 600mm units a few years ago - two of the three have failed (not the drivers).

 

[bryan267]

I put three bulk head lights in their about 40cm round from tlc with multiple led and that's ample for a 3.6m X 5.5m workshop. You could be all day reading everyone's choice, however I purchased one with a back up, if you loose the power you still have light, perhaps while a blade is spinning down. Brightly coloured ceiling and walls is a big help to remove shadows.
Galaxy 1 LED Bulkhead Lights Bathroom

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes. I have these in nearly every room. 24W CCT Adjustable Circular LED Panel - 290mm | Knightsbridge (CPL24CT)

And, of course, paint all walls and ceilings white.

 

[Reffc]

My workshop is about 130ft2 and was equipped with 4 fluorescent 4ft lamps on two double battens when I took it over. Whilst replacing the starters as they were playing up I looked at the electricity consumption as well as the lighting and it was a no brainer to replace those with two 4ft LED battens which were I think 6000 lumens and offered a 60% saving in electricity costs whilst putting out a more even brighter light than the old flourescents. The LED lamps have come a long way in reliability. The only issue I had with one of them was they continued to glow dimly and draw current even with the lightswitch turned off. I think the term is LED Ghosting. It's caused by the serial connection clamping the circuit causing a low voltage drop across the LED purely down to residual capacitance within the cable itself. Cured simply by placing a capacitor across the wiring at the input of the lamps if it happens. This allows a low low impedance path to neutral of leakage currents when the switch is turned off.

 

[COWS]

My shop is 6x4m, with ceiling height about 2.3m (with roof void above). Installed 6 of these 5ft led battens overhead from Screwfix. Just over 3k Lumens per unit and around £33 each. It's really good spread of light with minimal shadows. Not blindingly bright either. I still shine a halogen over surfaces to inspect, but that would be a normality anyway.

 

[mikej460]

I've got the Screwfix LED battens in my temporary workshop and they are fine but do cast a shadow, which can be a pain. I intend to fit daylight LED panels in the new workshop. Up to now I've avoided cool white or daylight lighting but I've installed temporary daylight LED bulbs in a room I'm converting and the light is excellent to work in (not to relax in I might add).