If you’re like most people, chances are lighting in your garage is insufficient. The sole incandescent bulb that hangs from the center of the garage ceiling at best casts a shadowy glare, insufficient for pursuing a hobby or doing any sort of productive work.
Apart from providing bad lighting, the incandescent bulb also wastes a lot of energy. For the same energy cost, you can have something that can provide enough lighting for different tasks.
We’re talking about LED light bulbs here. If you want to improve garage lighting, it’s time you embrace this relatively new technology.
What are Lumens, Kelvin, and CRI?
Earlier, you needed to bother about only one thing when you shopped for bulbs—watts.
This number provided an easy, simple way to compare brightness. For instance, a 60-watt bulb gave the same level of brightness irrespective of the manufacturer.
However, now watts are no longer an effective way to compare brightness. To know how bright a light bulb is you must check lumens. The good part is all new bulbs have this number printed on the package.
Apart from lumens, you must keep an eye on another number called Kelvin. It measures color temperature or, in simple words, the color of white light emitted by a light bulb.
The Kelvin number ranges from 2200K to 6000K and above. You may have noticed that some bulbs emit more yellowy orange and soft light than others. This type of lighting is often referred as soft white or warm lighting. The lower the Kelvin number, the warmer (yellow/orange) the light. On the other hand, the higher this number, the cooler (white/blue) the light.
LED light bulbs with a Kelvin score of 4000, also referred as “natural white LEDs”, mirror the natural daylight as much as possible. These bulbs are ideal for garages.
The last number you should be mindful of is CRI, which stands for color rendering index. CRI tells us how accurately the light bulb reproduces the colors of the object it illuminates. CRI is measured on a scale of 0 to 100, and the higher this number, the better the light quality.
We recommend you go for LED bulbs with a CRI of 90 and above.
Apart from LED lights, what else can improve garage lighting?
An effective garage lighting layout consists of a combination of ambient, task, and accent lighting.
Ambient lighting refers to overhead lighting that illuminates the floors and walls so that you can safely park and walk around. Task lighting, on the other hand, is used in storage and work areas and lends increased visibility during organizational tasks and detail-oriented work. You may also require accent lighting, which helps draw attention to showpieces or certain items in your garage, such as an old trophy or a foosball table.
Lastly, measure the garage to understand your light output needs
According to light experts, you should aim for 50 lumens per sq ft in case of ambient lighting, 75 lumens per sq ft in case of accent lighting, and 300 lumens per sq ft in case of task lighting.
Final Words
Often people don’t pay attention to garage lights. As a result, they usually shy away from using it for any productive activity or for pursuing a hobby, even when there’s ample free space.
As this post shows, it doesn’t take much to improve garage lighting. Just follow the tips in the post—and you’ll have a brighter garage.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What type of lighting is best for a garage?
Whether it’s a garage or any other space in your home, you should go for quality LED bulbs. They last longer, consume less energy, and have better light quality.
- How many lumens do you need to light a garage?
According to light experts, you should aim for 50 lumens per sq ft in case of ambient lighting, 75 lumens per sq ft in case of accent lighting, and 300 lumens per sq ft in case of task lighting.
- What is best lighting for a workshop?
We recommend you go for an LED task light that has flexible goose-necks. In case of finished-ceiling garages, you can use recessed fixtures for task lighting.