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kitestrings:
I debated where to put this... I mostly wanted to show the lighting piece, but there are some other things going on that might get discussed.

It doesn't seem that long ago, but about 18-20 years ago now, I had the chance to grab these tube fixtures from a defunct efficiency program.  They are mostly 4' units with gasketed snap on Lexan dust, splash resistant covers, and specular reflectors.  They were intended, then, to be used with T8 fluorescent tubes & electronic ballasts.  A typical 2-lamp version pulled about 62 watts IIRC.  Most however, had no ballasts, so they sat in storage.



Well, jump ahead to present day, and behold they have these LED lamps with ballast by-pass.  These are powered directly with the stock 2-pin tombstones.  They are 14 watts, 4,000K, 82 CRI (that could be better), and can be powered directly with 120-277VAC 50/60hz.



I put switch receptacle outlets in the ceiling, and when they had a holiday sale on extension cords I bought a bunch of 15' 'ers (12#), and suspected them on wires/clips.  So far only the two by the OH door have 2-lamps.  It seems to be plenty (way more than we had) of light.





Two are in the car-bays, and one went upstairs in the soon-to-be family/game/guest room
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Mary B:
I mounted an LED light at an angle on the wall about head height, light is directed down at where a cars engine bay would land. Really lights up that space when the hood is up blocking ceiling lights. Rarely need the magnetic battery light under the hood.

kitestrings:
Yes, that makes sense.  I try hard not to have vehicles in this bay.  It is mainly a woodworking shop.  There are three banks of lights, separately switched, three, three and two on either side of the OH door.  The two near the door, I dropped a bit lower to be under the door & track, if it happens to be open.

It's a nice space.  It is 24' x 36', with no posts to have to navigate.  Some lighter coverings would help too though.

The shop's a disaster right now... I'm trying to get it insulated, and over the years have found I've accumulated a lot of treasures, all neatly tucked into the perimeter stud spaces, or hanging from screws, nails, hooks.  All of that had to be pulled into the space to allow me to insulate.  I'm looking forward to being able to find things again... one day.

SparWeb:
The lights look nice.  Try a photo at night!

Just a point of trivia: a project at work about 10 years old is still selling slow and steady; the kit replaces fluorescent bulbs with LED bulbs in a variety of aircraft.  You'd think the aviation industry would have figured out LED's by now, but we're a conservative bunch.

Back to garages and shops.
I notice a lot of spray-foam insulation there.  I'm curious about the difference in the lower level (insulated walls and ceiling) and the upper level (insulated walls but no roof insulation).
Are you just not finished yet?  Are you planning something else in the rafters?

But surely the guest /game room needs to be heated, so why the insulated barrier (second floor) between it and the heated shop?

Mary B:
My parents did that because they had zone heating... basement during the day was a lot cooler and didn't start warming up until 4pm so it would be comfortable by 6:30 or so when dad went down to watch TV, at 10pm it set back to the cooler temp. Why heat a space when it isn't in use...

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