Yes, you need a LOT more light. I think it's best to run a new line or two for fluorescent s.

Then you'll have plenty of room/outlets for task lighting.

 

Steve, your plan will work just fine.

 

Thanks, Mike.

Harrison, I should note that most work during daytime with garage door open, which povides a lot of daylight, except in winter.

 

Steve; on a cost basis go for the T8's; on a high light level basis, the T5's for sure.
Having said that, you're making extra work and expense for yourself going the lamp cord and plug route.
I assume there's a 4" round outlet box where the current incandescent is?
Just remove the lampholder, take out an additional knockout (or 2) and run Loomex to your new fluorescent locations.
DO NOT try and combine lighting and tool plugs on the same circuit.
A sample scenario is:
You're running your tablesaw (separate 220V cct?) and you have your dust collector plugged into the lighting~receptacle cct. The DC blows the cct. and you're suddenly left in the dark with your TS whirring away...you can't even see where the OFF switch is! Don't do it.

 

Like Dan said. You can mount a florescent over each existing octagon box and if you need more light farther back I would just run armored cable (bx cable) from those fixtures to the next lights. (The wires have to be protected from physical damage when run across a wall or the ceiling according to wiring codes in NA.)

 

Steve; I was thinking about the electrical connection issue and I remember quite a few years back the y changed the Cdn. Electrical Code for the reason I was illustrating.
It used to be that you couldconnect the rest of a cct. to the second set of contact screws on a wall plug, then they changed the code so that all the devices had to be 'pigtailed'. The reason being that if you were doing maintenance with the cct. live, as soon as you loosened the connection, the lights went out, and you were left holding a hot wire in the dark (anybody that's done reno work is lying through their teeth if they claim that they always turn the power off! ).

 

Steve I'm in the minority on lighting, I can't stand flourescent lighting. It plays tricks with my eyes and for me can't see as well..... I use an overhead light and several flood lights positioned around the shop that can be easily positioned and turned on and off when needed.

 

Thanks for the input...

1. This is a dedicated lighting circuit.
2. Only a 10% improvement with T5 over T8, but substantial increase in $
3. Dan wrote "I assume there's a 4" round outlet box where the current incandescent is?
Just remove the lampholder, take out an additional knockout (or 2) and run Loomex to your new fluorescent locations. " that will yield cable coming out of an open box, no? Isn't that bad?
4. Marco, isn't that with the older T12?

 

Steve; I made a couple of assumptions re #3
-that the jct. box is accessible
-that the wiring is up on, or above the ceiling
You can't use lamp cord for permanent wiring.
I suggested Loomex, or NMD 10, for your wiring but you could also use PVC conduit or aluminum flex if you're surface mounting it. The reality is that a lot of exposed surface ceiling wiring is done with Loomex. As long as it's not exposed to physical damage there's nothing wrong with it. Look at any unfinished basement ceiling...the stuff is everywhere.
It must enter both the box and the fixture through a knockout and it must pass through an approved connector when it enters. The cabling also needs to be supported with staples or straps.
Is your ceiling already finished ie drywall?

 

Steve; me again. ( It's past midnight and even the dog gave up on me and went to bed).
I meant to address the open box part of your question earlier.
If the box is located above the ceiling, this item will give you code approved access for the Loomex... https://ontario.nedco.ca/sd54c6-4-r...und-cover-1-2-inch-cond/%252810032143%2529/SWDSD54C6/ProductInformation.raction
run the cable to the first fixture, use the fixture as a 'wireway' and carry on to he next fixture from the first one, and so on.

 

Do T5 and T8 Bulbs Cost The Same?

A standard 4 foot T8 lamp costs between $3.00 and $5.00, and a standard T5 lamp costs between $5.50 and $12.00. That is why you must carefully consider what is the best application so that you aren't spending 2x more than you have to.

The T5 does cost nearly 2x more, but that same margin cannot be applied to performance. The T5 does not outperform the T8 by the same margin. In fact, in many low level interior applications, the performance differences are negligible.

Both the T5 and T8 lamps have a general life expectancy of around 36,000 hrs. at 12 hrs. per day burn time.
Roman
As found on a google search

 

You have the same lighting that was in our garage.... I removed the fixtures and ran conduit between t8 fixtures lined up in rows .... Be sure to use T8, as they give more light, are cheaper to run, and because there's no hot ballast, they can be attached against the ceiling.... The tubes are more expensive than T12, though.....

 

Florescent lights don't work very well in the cold so in the winter you could have a problem.

 

I ran two 2-bulb T12 HO fixtures from a single ceiling box. Each bulb is 110W for a total of 440W. Each bulb is 96 inches and they last a long time. I mean years and we cycle these lights a lot. I have had these fixtures for 20 years will no issues except occasional bulb replacement.

 

I would drop the fixtures down to be just above the level of the garage door opener. Light diminishes the square of the distance.

Also, I would use full color or daylight tubes as regular tubes are not.

 

Ralph brings up an important safety issue. In a shop environment the tbes are supposed to have a protective sleeve over them , or a protective cage over the fixture.
If you accidentally hit them...say with a long piece of stock ...they will shatter, sending extremely sharp shards over a very wide area. I have the scar on my scalp as evidence...
Fluorescent Lamp Safety Sleeves - Grainger Industrial Supply

 

I have stated before that the T-5's are really intended for high-bay applications and most folks find they produce objectionable glare when mounted below about 12'. Each to his own, but T-8's have proven to be great general shop lights and are the future of fluorescent lighting, with the government trying to obsolete all lengths of T-12 (both 4' and 8').

 

Mike; and the beauty of the T8 is the simplicity of just upgrading your existing T12's to T8...just install the appropriate T8 electronic ballast, and replace the lamps. Everything else is the same.
Should be about $14/ea pretty much everywhere...
Amazon.com: Sylvania 49853 - QHE2X32T8UNVISNSC T8 Fluorescent Ballast: Home Improvement

 

I have to agree with Mike's comment "Steve, your plan will work just fine". The average load of a 4', 2tube fixture is approx. 1.5amp. There is no code here in the states prohibiting use of fixtures purchased with rubber cords already attached. They are already covered under the NFPA (National Fire Protection Assoc.) and UL listings for cords up to 8'. I would think it would be the same in Canada. Most of the newer electronic ballasts work OK in the cold, and have a 0 degree Fahrenheit start rating, but check to be sure. Be sure to hang them or space them down from the ceiling to protect from fire danger.

 

Steve, I buy inexpensive 4 ft. light fixtures and use t8 daylight bulbs. Walmart has the cheapest but, sometimes you get a dud. They always exchange them, no problem.

 

Dick, Wayne -- thanks for the info.

 

If the bulbs don't have "Daylight" on the packaging look for the "temperature" rating (2700K, 6500K, etc.). Look for anything between 5000K and 6500K and preferably near the top of that range. That'll get you a color that most closely matches sunlight. Stay away from the higher end (10,000K, 12,000K, actinic). They throw off too much blue. "Grow" lights tend to be a little pink.

 

Steve, just a thought. I pulled all the regular fluorescent fixtures out of my shop a year ago. I put in 3 rows of 5 daylight CFL's. Got better light than I had before at 20% of the operating cost! Considering there was over 2200 watts of light before, that is a considerable savings. Total cost for the project? A little over $100, including the conduit!

 

What wattage are the CFLs Duane? I've seen 40 or 45 watt CFLs in Princess Auto's catalog up here. I would guess that they must be equivalent to about 200 watts incandescent. I have about a dozen old 4' T12 fixtures in my shop that I have some new T8 ballasts for but I'm not averse to saving them for use in my basement and doing a refit in my shop.

 

If I was going to start from scratch on lighting a workshop I think I would go with LED strip lighting. The higher initial cost would be recovered in very short order because of the reduction in electricity. I am sure an entire 24 x 24' shop could be lit very well for 100 watts.

 

I am not quite sold on the strip lighting yet, but I do have a couple of LED spot lights in the house. 4 watt replacements for GU10 fixtures(50 watts). Added advantage is they run cool. I have 6 can fixtures ready to install in my living room ceiling when I get the ambition to go up in the attic to do the wiring! The LED bulbs are about $5 each, which I think is actually very reasonable.

It would probably take at least 24 of those fixtures to light my shop. Payback would be about a year or so with the existing CFL lights. Being recessed there would also be very little chance of hitting one with a board! Another advantage is it would not be too unreasonable to run those much of the time with a solar panel or 2!

Here is a link for anyone interested in the LED GU10's

http://www.amazon.com/TORCHSTAR-320...n/dp/B006DWT6W2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1369230113&sr=8-6&keywords=led+gu10+bulb

 

I just bought 2-100 watt LEDs. Don't have them hooked up in the shop yet.....but these babies will blind you if you look at them. They should really light up the place because I have 10 foot ceilings.


here are examples:


https://www.google.com/search?q=100...=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=xdacUfOhMMqzygGw6IDgAw&ved=0CHEQsAQ&biw=1429&bih=940

I found these on Fleabay for $15.00 each. You still have to heatsink them and get the proper Current set up. LEDs are Current based, more than Voltage.


Also got several 50, 20, and 10 watters.