Garage Lighting Options
- There are three basic types of lighting: ambient, task and accent. Knowing them will help you plan your lighting design. Ambient light is the overall illumination in a space; accent lights are used to highlight or draw attention to specific areas; task lights are used to assist you in performing specific functions.
You'll also want to consider the categories of light bulbs available, and how they'll affect your design. For instance, fluorescent lighting gives off a greenish hue, which can affect your perception of colors (not suitable if your hobby is art). Halogen lamps are very bright, like fluorescent lights, but get extremely hot and are dangerous if placed near flammable materials (although you can help by enclosing them in a wire mesh cage). LED light bulbs are energy-saving, which will also save you money in the long run, but they're not ideal if you need white light. Solar lighting is another alternative, but you'll need to attach a solar module on an outside wall or roof and run a cord to a separate the light fixture mounted on an inside wall.
There's also a temperature factor involved: for temperatures at zero degrees Fahrenheit or below, you'll need fixtures that work with ballasts at that temperature, noting that fluorescent lights are particularly susceptible to cold. Because halogen lights get hot, they might be uncomfortable in summer, compared with the cooler temperatures of fluorescent lights. - One way of providing a lot of daytime light in a garage is to add a skylight or two. This is especially helpful if the garage will be used as a daytime shop or an apartment. Another option for day and night is to have overhead fluorescent lights that come in compact bulbs or strips of various sizes. These are good for detailed jobs, such as working on a car. Combining recessed lighting with skylights will provide plenty of light for almost any daytime garage need. If you have sufficient ambient lighting, you'll also help prevent injuries, making such lights worth the extra expense.
- If you'll need to be working in several areas of your garage and need to have direct light available everywhere, you should consider movable drop light cables, which plug directly into a typical garage outlet. Drop light cables usually extend about 20 feet when fully unreeled, and often have outlets built into the housing, which are useful for things like drills and saws. They're available in both incandescent and fluorescent models. Other movable options include clip-on lights that can be easily attached to any object. Clip-ons come in both wired and battery-operated models.
- For areas of your garage where you stock supplies and you may need to access at night, consider focused accent lights, such as track lighting. It's also important to have proper security lights outside the garage, which can take the form of stationary fixtures or motion-triggered fixtures, on either side of the garage and near all doors.