No one likes a poorly lit garage. It can lead to difficulty finding equipment and tools, strain your eyes, and even can cause more serious consequences such as falls or other injuries. That is also the reason most people are concerned about garage lighting.
So how many led lights for Garage is enough? The number of LEDs needed for a garage is based on the Lumen- unit of luminous flux and several other related factors.
In this article, let’s find the answer to the above question, as well as discover useful information related to this issue!
How many lumens do I need for the garage lighting?
Finding the right amount of lumens is just as important as choosing the type of bulb you install and the color of the light. Garages, warehouses, and workshops are often poorly lit, which is why it’s important to know the lumens required so you can choose the most optimal lighting equipment.
What is a lumen?
The lumen (symbol: lm) is a unit of luminous flux in the International System of Units, a measure of the total quantity of visible light emitted by a source per unit of time. In a word, lumen equals brightness. More lumens means that it’s a brighter light while fewer lumens means it’s a dimmer light.
Why do lumens matter?
If you look at the power of modern lighting fixtures, you’ll see why lumens matter! Understanding the meaning of this parameter will bring many great benefits to you.
- Firstly, lumens help choose the most optimal lighting equipment:
Lumen directly corresponds to the total amount of light that you will receive from a light source. This is an essential factor to get the level of brightness you desire. Never choose anything too low or too high, and buy lumens instead of watts!
High beam luminaires can be very expensive to run due to a rapid increase in wattage. Incandescent or halogen bulbs are often the worst culprits. They are inefficient, hot, and require high power to produce lumens. Therefore, they are very expensive to operate. Most modern lighting fixtures use LED technology. LED lights are considered energy efficient because they provide a large number of lumens with low power consumption. A 3W LED provides a luminous flux of 300lm (100lm/w) which is equivalent to a 15w (20lm/w) incandescent or an 8w (40lm/w) fluorescent lamp.
***Refer to more: Conversion lumens to watts – Efficiency estimation solution
- Second, by understanding the lumens of a light bulb, you can also discover the health benefits.
Your light bulbs can actually produce all sorts of benefits, including light therapy. Brightness can affect your mood. High luminous flux lights can get rid of the anxiety and depression associated with prolonged overcast days.
- Third, the amount of lumens in the lighting space directly affects the results of your work.
More light will allow you to see more details and make your space a productive and efficient workspace. Upgrading your lighting setup can make things easier to see and pleasant to work with, resulting in improved work efficiency.
How many lumens to light a garage?
Since lumens are the only measure of brightness, this is the most important factor you need to consider when choosing a garage light source. If you choose a bulb with a low lumen output, you will experience poor lighting conditions. You won’t be able to fully see your tools, equipment, cars, and other devices without using a flashlight or work light.
The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) guidelines recommend a minimum of 50 lumens per square foot of space. This means that a standard garage (12*22) of 264 square feet will require 13200 lumens (The same calculation for other sizes).
However, determining the exact number of lumens and LED lights required will depend on a number of other relevant factors. We will find out in detail in the following sections.
What determines the number of LED lights for the garage?
To determine the number of LED lights, you need to consider some below factors:
#1. The size of your garage
Since standard brightness is measured in lumens per square foot, you need to determine the exact area of your garage to calculate the required lumens, thereby deducing the number of bulbs that need to be installed. Smaller garages need fewer lumens, and of course, larger garages need more lumens.
Normally, there will be 3 standard garage types: one-car garage, two-car garage, and three-car garage.
- One-car garage: This garage type is designed to contain only one car and can be used for a small bedroom as well. It has the smallest size and least size option. A one-car garage is mostly 12*22 square footage (other options are 14*22, 16*24, 14*24 sq ft).
- Two-car garage: is designed to contain two cars regardless of shape and size. The standard size of this garage type is 18*20 square footage (other options are 20*20, 22*22, 20*22 sq ft)
- Three-car garage: the size of this garage-type ranges from 32*22 square footage to contain 3 cars. (other options is 36*25, 38*26, 40*30 sq ft).
#2. Lumens of the LED light:
The number of lumens that different types of LED bulbs emit is not the same. Typically, LEDs have an efficiency of about 80-100 lm/w, higher than incandescent (10-20 lm/w) and fluorescent (40-50lm/w). This means that with just one 8 watt LED you can get up to 800 lumens of luminous flux. In particular, some advanced LED lights also have an efficiency of up to 150lm/w.
As such, the more lumens an LED emits, the fewer bulbs you will need for your garage. When buying LED lights, you should pay attention to this parameter in order to choose the most suitable type.
#3. Other conditions of the garage
No two garages have exactly the same conditions. A completely finished garage with bright-colored walls and ceilings will reflect light much more efficiently and require fewer lumens. Meanwhile, an unfinished garage with rough walls and ceilings or dark paint will use light less efficiently and tend to “absorb” light. In this case, the amount of lumens needed to light up the entire space is also larger.
How many led lights for Garage?
After identifying the above essential factors, we can easily determine the number of LED lights needed for the garage. Size is a determining factor in how many LEDs you will install to make your garage bright. However, you also need to keep in mind that if your garage has a garage door opener, the lumens will also be different than a garage without this type of equipment, i.e. the number of LEDs may also be different. Because the high lumen produces a high infrared beam that interferes with the operation or function of the garage door radio transmitter.
Garages with door openers do not require high lumens as they will emit high infrared rays that interfere with the operation of the radio transmission system.
***Refer to more: LED lights interfere with garage door opener: Causes and Remedy
Therefore, it is important that you know the size of the garage before installing the LEDs to provide brightness. The higher the brightness, the more infrared the lumen produces.
In particular:
- 1-car garage needs 4 LED lights which are enough to illuminate the entire space for you to use the garage at any time. You can set the operating time for each bulb to minimize costs.
- 2-car Garage needs twice the number of LED lights of a garage, ie about 8 LEDs of 400 lm to ensure effective lighting without affecting the operation of the garage door opening.
- 3-car Garage needs 12 led lights 800 lm. These bulbs will create the perfect lighting space while ensuring that the infrared rays from the lumens are not strong enough to affect the radio transmitter.
In addition, you can take advantage of the conditions of the garage such as paint color or wall type to increase lighting efficiency.
What to consider when buying Led light for the garage?
Once you determine the number of LEDs needed for your garage, the next important step is to choose the most optimal type of LED. Here are the things you need to keep in mind when buying LED lights for your garage:
- Choose the right color light: Brightness is important, but the color temperature of the light is equally crucial. It directly affects your visual perception as well as your mood. Lights of over 6000k are considered “cooler” because they tend to have a blue tint. They can be very hard on the eyes and not helpful. When choosing garage lighting, our recommendation is around 5400 kelvin.
- Choose good quality LED light: Different types of LED lights on the market are of different quality. Therefore, when choosing LEDs for the garage, besides lumens and light color, you also need to pay attention to product quality. High-quality LED lights often cost more, but what you get is well worth it.
- Set your budget: Never exceed the amount that you plan to spend. While we mentioned above that you should choose quality LEDs, this does not mean that you should choose light the more expensive the better. Choose the best one within your budget, don’t waste your money on an unnecessarily expensive light.
- Figure out where to place the LED light: The optimal placement of LEDs will help illuminate the garage as efficiently as possible. Please calculate the location and reasonable arrangement of lights with the specific conditions of the garage, such as the location of electrical outlets or power lines,… Your garage will not only have a beautiful design but also be well lit.
***Refer to more: 6 Best Hardwired LED Garage Lights: Ideal Choice for your spaces
Conclusion:
Hopefully, through this article, you have got the answer to the question “How many led lights for garage is enough?”, as well as got related useful information. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave us a comment to get a timely response! Thank you for reading!
