Find the Right Lighting Choices for Your Garage

Have you been trying to figure out exactly what type of lighting you should add to you’re the garage you are putting up? Maybe you already have a garage and you’ve found that the lighting that’s in place simply doesn’t do the job. It might not be providing you with enough light to do everything you need. Let’s look at some simple tips that can help you improve the lighting situation in the garage area.

Create Your Plan and Vision

This is one of the most important things to do before you start to add your lighting. You need to have an idea of how you are going to be using the garage, as this will give you a better idea of the type of lighting and the amount of lighting you need. Create a basic sketch of the garage setup.

Think about whether you are going to use the garage merely for storing your vehicles, or if you are going to be putting other items in there. Maybe you will be putting in a workbench, or you might be using all or part of the space for storing seasonal items. You might need to hang some items on the walls as well, and having lighting that can focus on those areas can make it easier to see what you are after.

You might put in another refrigerator, freezer, or other appliances, or you may turn it into an extra living area. Make your plan and then create the lighting that will go with it. It will be much easier to do once you’ve sketched out your plan for the garage.

Types of Available Lighting

You can find several different styles of lighting on the market today, some of which might be better for some of your purposes than the others.

Fluorescent bulbs are tube-shaped, and these bulbs contain mercury vapor. The ionization of these bulbs, when the light is turned on, is what produces the light. The exact color of the light will vary based on the phosphor that coats the inside of the bulb. These are very common in the garage, and they are very bright. Most of the time, you will find these mounted on the ceiling.

Compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs, come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They work similarly to the fluorescent bulbs, but these tend to have quite a bit more variety. They can provide more light than the usual incandescent bulbs, and they can last longer. In fact, they have an average life of 10,000 hours. Since they also consume less energy, this makes them a nice, cost effective option.

Halogen bulbs do not have the same efficiency as the CLF bulbs, but you will find that they are still a better option for efficiency than the incandescent bulbs that people will typically use. They have an average life of around 3,000 hours, and they will typically save you about 33% over the incandescent bulbs. They provide clear, white, and bright light.

LEDs, or light emitting diodes are another good option. They can provide up to 90% savings over the regular bulbs, and they can last a long time. Another nice thing about these bulbs is the fact that they always stay cool to the touch. They don’t have any lead or mercury in them. One of the only potential downsides for some is the cost of the bulbs at the start. Of course, they will allow you to recover your money relatively quickly.

What’s the Best Choice?

Once again, it will depend on what you are doing. If you are need general lighting, then the fluorescent bulbs should do the trick, and the four-foot version of the T8 bulb is the one most commonly used because it is quite versatile. Other options include the T5 and the T12. The T8 can provide the same amount of light as a T12, however, you will find that the T8 is better for energy conservation. In addition, the T8 can provided light that looks and feels more natural. They are easy to install, they come with rapid-start ballasts, which increases their life over the instant-start option.

When choosing the lighting for your garage, you will also need to consider how warm you want the light to appear; 3000K provides warm light, while 5000K is cooler.

Use the sketch you made to determine the best locations for the light. Once the main lighting has been installed, you will want to consider whether you need to have any additional lighting installed and how strong you want it to be. As mentioned, it’s all about how you plan to use your garage and the overall amount of light you feel you will need. In addition, remember the outside of your garage as well. You need to have great exterior lighting too. The CFLs tend to be a good option for outside.

Changing the Garage Door

Maybe you would like to have more natural lighting in the garage during the day. having a new garage door installed that includes windows could help. You can contact us at 519-942-1956 so we can answer any questions you might have regarding a new garage door. Whether your current one is having issues and needs repair or replacement, or you merely want to change the look of your home, we can help. Send us a request for a free online quotation.

One of the other great features we offer is our design center, which will allow you to see what your new door will look like on your garage. You can upload a current photo of your garage and then use the tools in the design center. Also, be sure to check out our image gallery.