Fancy storage devices, new cabinets and a beautiful floor can make your garage shine, but all of these upgrades are a waste if you can’t see them(or see what you’re doing while you’re in the garage). The right lighting is more than an amenity; it’s a safety necessity. Without it, you’re raising the risk of accidents in a room that typically houses a variety of potential hazards.
Adequate and efficient lighting design involves two components: overall lighting and task lighting. For adequate overall lighting, you’ll need at least one fluorescent fixture for every car bay. (My favorites are fixtures that incorporate four 4-ft. T8 bulbs, such as the ones shown in the photo.) When choosing fluorescent lights, remember that some don’t work in cold weather. If your garage will get colder than 50 degrees Fahrenheit, purchase fixtures with electronic ballasts that operate at subzero temperatures. (The magnetic ballasts typically found in standard T12 fluorescent fixtures are not recommended for temperatures below 50 degrees.)
For task lighting (such as highlighting a workbench or a tool chest), it’s hard to beat track lighting (see photo, above). Easy-to-install tracks work like trolley tracks by carrying current through conductors inside each track section. To install a fixture, simply snap it in place onto the track and point it toward the area you need to illuminate.
Understanding Light Temperature
The Kelvin temperature of a fluorescent bulb indicates whether it brings out the cool, blue end of the color spectrum or the warm, red end. Use cool light for visual tasks because it better shows the details of materials. Use warm light for living spaces because it is more flattering to skin tones and clothing.
Seeing Color
When buying fluorescent lights for a shop where you need to see the true color of paints and stains, choose bulbs with a CRI (colorrendering index) of 85 or above. This number usually isn’t printed on the bulb or packaging, but it’s listed in the manufacturer’s product catalog (and on some Web sites). The higher the number — 100 is the maximum, which is the equivalent of natural sunlight — the better the light will reflect true color.
Another lighting concept to be aware of is what’s known as “fullspectrum lighting.” Originally coined in the 1960s by photobiologist John Ott to describe electric light sources that simulate the visible and ultraviolet spectrum of natural light, full-spectrum lighting produces excellent CRI values — generally greater than 90 — and reportedly provides additional benefits such as most closely replicating natural sunlight and reducing fatigue.