Garage Lighting
Competent and high-quality lighting in the garage is one of the main issues that arise during its interior decoration. Carrying out repair work, car maintenance cannot be carried out at the proper level in poor lighting. In addition, the garage very often becomes the “residence” not only of your favorite vehicle, but also the venue for various types of work, such as carpentry, a place to store many things, both necessary and unnecessary, and of course, you need good things to do an elementary search for any item lighting. The question of how to make lighting in the garage should arise at the design stage. It is at this stage that it is necessary to develop a lighting scheme for the garage, to choose the best option for the location of the lamps and their type.
Content
- Garage Lighting Requirements
- Types of Lighting
- The use of incandescent lamps
- The use of fluorescent lamps
- Energy saving lamps in lighting
- LED lighting
Garage Lighting Requirements
How to make the lighting in the garage so that it meets all the requirements? In this paragraph, we will consider in detail what main points you need to pay close attention to when designing lighting.
So, what should be the proper lighting:
- Lighting should be uniform, covering the entire internal area of the room. This requirement will ensure trouble-free operation of the vehicle and high-quality repair. This problem is easily solved by means of a general lighting device in conjunction with a local one, for example, in the workbench area;
- It is better to use a modular lighting scheme, so that it is possible to separately illuminate a common space or a specific work area;
- Lighting should be economical. Since the lighting in the garage is required almost constantly due to the lack of natural light sources, it is advisable to include a clause on the use of energy-saving lamps in the project.
Types of Lighting
Today, there is a wide selection of light sources, characterized by certain advantages and disadvantages..
A more thorough acquaintance with each type of lamp will allow you to make the right decision, which will be optimal for a particular situation..
As lighting devices for a garage, you can use:
- Incandescent lamps;
- Fluorescent lamps;
- Energy-saving lamps;
- LED lamp.
The use of incandescent lamps
The use of incandescent lamps is one of the most common options for lighting devices in the garage. The advantages of this option include accessibility, ease of installation and unpretentiousness in operation.
However, the disadvantages are much more serious: short service life, high power consumption, uneven luminous flux. The light produced by an incandescent lamp has yellow and red spectra far from white. This leads to a deterioration in the color perception of the surrounding space. The main part of the energy consumed by the lamp is converted into heat, which explains the low efficiency of such a lamp. Another tangible minus is the high probability of sparks forming when the incandescent lamp burns out, which can cause significant adverse effects in the garage.
Of course, incandescent lamps are a familiar lighting option not only for the garage, but nowadays you should pay attention to more modern options.
The use of fluorescent lamps
Using fluorescent lamps for lighting in a garage is a pretty good option. Such lamps are distinguished by a uniform luminous flux, long service life, efficiency. But they also have flaws.
Fluorescent lamps may not light up when the air temperature is below +5 degrees. In addition, with voltage drops, such lamps begin to burn with a barely noticeable dim light. Therefore, if you finally decided to make a choice in favor of fluorescent lamps, then you need to take care of garage heating and installing a voltage regulator.
There is another unpleasant nuance, which is more able to influence the choice. The fluorescent lamp contains mercury vapor that can be harmful if it is damaged. For this reason, such light sources require special disposal, which is often not available in many Russian cities..
Energy saving lamps in lighting
Using energy-saving lamps for lighting in a garage is the most profitable option. Such lamps are characterized by a long service life, good light output, low power consumption and the ability to work at any temperature. There is also the possibility of choosing the desired color of the light flux – daylight, cold and soft white light and others.
The negative aspects of energy-saving lamps include the higher cost and the presence of mercury vapor inside the case.
LED lighting
LEDs are rarely used for lighting devices in a garage. Most often they are used to organize local lighting. The main advantages of using these lamps include a high color rendering index, low power consumption, lack of ripple in the light stream, long service life, and safety. The disadvantage of LED lamps is the rather high price, which, no doubt, pays off during operation.
Garage Lighting: Organization
Garage – industrial premises, so the main goal that is achieved during the installation of wiring, is to ensure safety and practicality. The scheme of its laying is being developed simultaneously with the garage project.
A more preferred option when organizing lighting is hidden wiring. It conceals the cable and performs a protective function against mechanical damage. For brick and concrete walls, we use cable installation in a strob and cover everything with plaster. If wall sheathing is planned, then the wiring is mounted in plastic or metal pipes. When laying concealed wiring, the cable is protected from any adverse effects.
Open wiring is also quite common. Suppose, if the garage is metal and the walls cannot be sheathed, then the optimal way out is to lay an electric wire in a plastic box, metal hose or corrugated pipe. Installation of open wiring reduces the amount of work performed. In addition, it is advisable to install an earthing system in the garage.
Local lighting device in the garage
In any garage where car repair is seriously involved, there should be manhole. For its lighting, the ideal option would be the device of local lamps. It should be noted that this place is characterized by high humidity, the formation of condensate. That is why low-voltage light sources with a 12V power supply become the optimal solution for illuminating the inspection pit. Their washing is carried out through a step-down transformer from the general electric network of the garage. Lighting the inspection pit requires special care and accuracy, since this place is especially dangerous from the side of electrical safety.
In addition to the inspection pit, you can organize local lighting of the entrance and garage door. This measure will greatly facilitate parking in the evening. In conclusion, it can be noted that the organization of competent, economical, efficient lighting in the garage is a task to be solved. The only thing you should approach this issue at the design stage is to carefully think through everything and make the most optimal choice. The main thing is that you must strictly comply with all electrical safety requirements when lighting in a garage.