Garage lighting with LED lamps: requirements and selection according to parameters

12/29/2016 master

Garage organization requires high functionality and efficiency in order to fit all the necessary tools and the vehicle itself. At the same time, the main role here is given to lighting, which must be of high quality and complete in order to protect the owner and his “iron horse” from injuries and other unpleasant situations.

Garage lighting with LEDs

Today, the best lighting devices for lighting are considered to be diode lamps for the garage. Our article today will help determine whether this is the case.

Features of room lighting

A garage is a technical room intended for parking and repairing a vehicle. Therefore, there are certain requirements for lighting, which must fully meet the purpose of the premises. These requirements include:

• uniform lighting of the space;
• the mandatory presence of additional lighting, which must be organized by various types of lamps: working, local, emergency, etc.;

Garage lighting option

• implemented using safe and environmentally friendly lighting devices. The lamps here must also have a high degree of fire safety, as well as resistance to moisture, various chemicals and dust.

In connection with these requirements, lamps used in this room must have the following qualities:

• have high protection against various types of mechanical influences. The fact is that the lamps in the garage are located quite close to both people, tools and the vehicle itself. Therefore, they can be seriously damaged at any time for a variety of reasons: the car drove further than usual, the person did not hold the tool in his hands, etc. To increase protection, you can use anti-vandal grilles and additional means of strengthening the housing of the lighting device;
• high degree of protection of the lamp from moisture;

Note! Only those lamps that have a moisture protection class IP of at least 54 should be installed in garages.

creation of a high-quality light flux, devoid of glare and stroboscopic effects.

It is desirable that the lamps consume as little electricity as possible. LED and fluorescent devices are suitable for the parameters described above. Which lamps, or rather light sources, are better? Of course, LED and there is a lot of evidence of this.

How to choose the optimal lamps

The following types of lamps are suitable for garage lighting:

• incandescent lamp;
• halogen;
• luminescent (energy saving);
• LED

Among all existing lamp designs, LED lamps are confidently in the lead. They have many advantages:

• low power consumption;
• long service life;
• silent operation;
• smooth glow without flickering.

In addition to technical characteristics, LED garage lamps are convenient due to their variety of shapes and design options. There are different color options, from cool blue to warm red. The most natural color rendition occurs with the yellow color of LED lamps, but each person has his own preferences and concept of comfort.

Why choose diodes

LED garage lighting will be better than fluorescent for the following reasons:

• long service life. Of course, fluorescent lamps also have a fairly long service life, but they cannot keep up with LED products. LED light sources will serve faithfully for more than 10 years (approximately 50,000-80,000 hours) under properly selected operating conditions;
• the design of the diodes is such that they will not fail if turned on/off frequently;

LED garage lighting

• no heating during operation. This is a very important point, since it is the heating of the light source that can cause a fire. Various substances (antifreeze, oil, etc.) can be stored in the garage, which can easily ignite even from a heated light bulb. Therefore, it is better to use LED light sources here than fluorescent light bulbs;
• the ability to install an LED lamp with your own hands. Moreover, any DIY installation on a wall or ceiling will be carried out with equal ease;
• excellent luminous flux characteristics created by diode lamps. They create bright lighting that is as close as possible to natural light and does not cause discomfort to the human visual system when exposed to such illumination for a long time;
• 100% environmentally friendly lamp. LED products do not contain harmful components and substances. For their operation, the same fluorescent light bulbs require mercury vapor, which, if the fragile glass bulb is damaged, can enter the air, causing disruptions in the functioning of the systems and organs of the human body;
• low power consumption. Today, diode lighting devices are considered the most economical in terms of power. Their use allows saving up to 80%.
• LED bulbs have different bases. Therefore, they can easily be screwed into any type of lamps with their own hands.

As you can see, in many respects, LED lighting devices will be better than other lamps into which other light sources are screwed (fluorescent, halogen, incandescent lamps). But, before choosing an LED lamp for your garage, you need to know the lighting features here and the requirements for its organization.

Why LEDs

The lighting market today is quite diverse. The units differ in their operating principle, size, color scheme, shape, etc. Compared to alternatives, many experienced car owners highlight LEDs. Why? The products are characterized by a wide range of applications and have a huge number of important advantages.

LED strip - connection diagram.

Let's talk about this in more detail:

1. An important advantage of an LED lamp in a garage is its economical energy consumption. A regular incandescent lamp consumes 10 times more energy, and fluorescent light bulbs consume 3 times more than garage LEDs. Therefore, lighting with diodes allows you to save on electricity bills.
2. The devices are safe to use and dispose of as they do not contain harmful substances. It is especially important that there is no mercury inside the unit, as when using other lighting devices.
3. LEDs have high fire safety ratings and operate at low voltage, therefore reducing the risk of fire from a short circuit.
4. The lighting will last for a very long time, because each light bulb can work up to 100 thousand hours in a row. Voltage changes do not have much effect on it, so you should not worry that the chandelier with lamps will quickly fail.
5. Due to its high resistance to mechanical stress, it is not at all easy to damage the product in lampshades. The only way to damage an LED strip is with a sharp cutting object.
6. The product does not have consumable components, so it does not require replacement of light bulbs, chokes, or other parts. Installing the unit is not difficult with your own hands, which will take very little time.
7. The lamps provide a person with comfortable lighting for the eyes, as they light up quickly and do not flicker. They emit a light that is not too bright, but not dim, so a person does not have to squint or close his eyes when entering the area of ​​scattering of the lamp rays.

All of these advantages of LEDs set them apart from other options for lighting a garage structure. Does such light have any disadvantages? Still, yes. Among them are not very high brightness, narrow directionality of the light flux from the lamp, and high cost. Regarding the last drawback, we note the following.

When building a new motorhome, organizing LED lighting will be completely justified financially. The money spent will pay off, as the products will last for quite a long time without the need for replacement. Inside an old capital building, using LED lighting can be expensive.

Requirements and regulation of garage lighting

Before choosing a lamp and the type of light bulb into which it will be screwed, it is necessary to calculate the required level of illumination. All standards regarding lighting are given in a special document - SpiN. It specifies lighting standards for each room or section of the street. The garage has several functional places, which include:

• vehicle parking. In small garages designed for one car, an inspection hole is always placed under the parking area;

Illumination of car parking space

• rack with tools;
• inspection hole.

In each functional area, lighting should be provided at a level that will allow the necessary manipulations to be performed safely and efficiently. It must be remembered that the standards are a boundary line, below which lighting will cause obvious discomfort to people’s eyes. But it is allowed to slightly overestimate these standards, since small upward deviations are not so noticeable to the visual analyzer. You can make the necessary calculations yourself. So, to determine what the standard of illumination should be for a particular garage, you need to know the following parameters:

• general dimensions of the room;
• type of lamp and light bulb. In this case, both are LED;
• standards prescribed in SNiP for garages and certain areas thereof (in order to know what to build on).

To calculate this parameter with your own hands, you need a special formula. But today, an online calculator can do all the necessary calculations for you. Its use will allow you to avoid errors and if you correctly enter all the calculation parameters, the program will give you the exact result. Having the standard of illumination in hand, you can easily calculate with your own hands how many lighting fixtures you will need, as well as how much power you need to use the light source.

Calculation of the required number of lighting fixtures for the basement

After organizing the cable layout, you should pay attention to the amount of lighting required. To do this, you can use the following formula:

Amount of light = P*S/n, where:

• P – the specific lighting power of 1m2 is called;
• S – area of ​​the room (garage);
• n – number of lamps.

But the use of this formula is not very popular, since there is a simpler method for calculating the required lighting for a garage. It is generally accepted that 15-20 W of lamp power is needed per 1 m2 of room area.

These readings apply only to incandescent lamps in the luminaire. If you plan to install halogen lamps, energy-saving lamps or LEDs, then you should adjust the data to their power value.

Let's consider the choice of lamps and their power using an example:

1. A garage space of 20 m2 is accepted. That is, the length of its inner side is 5 m and the width is 4 m.
2. The minimum power of all lighting lamps in the garage or basement is determined. For our example, let's take 20 W per 1m2. For energy-saving and LED lamps this figure will be 4-5 W. It turns out: 20 (area) * 20 (power) = 400 W.
3. Lighting also depends on the height of the garage ceilings, as well as the presence of windows. If the garage has a height above 3 meters, then the power of 400 watts must be increased by 1.5 times. For ceiling heights of 2.5 meters and below, there is no need to make changes. What does 400 W mean? Explanation: 400 W = 5 incandescent lamps with a power of 80 W. But as you know, incandescent lamps of such power do not exist in nature, so 75 W lamps are selected. If the installation of energy-saving or LED lamps is calculated, then the indicator will be as follows: 400/5 = 80 W. This means that 80 W of energy-saving lamps is enough to illuminate a garage of 20 m2. If you plan to install halogen ceiling lamps, then the total power (400 W) is divided by 1.5.

We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the types of energy-saving lamps in more detail.

Designer LED chandelier using a bus

Complex garage lighting (photo)

There are also wall-mounted luminaires that can be optimally selected in shape and size.

If you want to make more accurate calculations, you can use special computer programs. One of them is called “Formula of Light”.

The Internet is also filled with various free calculators for calculating lighting for garages and other premises.

What should the light be like?

An LED lamp installed in a garage, in order to comply with the standards and requirements prescribed in SNiP, must produce light with the following characteristics:

• uniform;
• bright;
• as close to natural light as possible;
• the luminous flux should cover either the entire garage area (ceiling lamps) or the area that it illuminates (wall-mounted, portable lamps);
• The light should not blink during combustion or create other lighting effects that could negatively affect a person’s visual acuity.

Color rendition of different light sources

It is these parameters, as well as power and color temperature, that the choice of an LED light source should be based on. It should be noted that the light bulb must provide high color rendering so as not to distort the colors of objects. For a garage, this aspect is especially important, since various manipulations can take place here that require high color rendering of objects (for example, painting some parts of the car body, connecting LED lighting with a wire, etc.).

Criterias of choice

When choosing LED lamps for the garage, the choice of models should be made according to the following criteria:

• installation method. In the garage you can install both ceiling and wall models. Here the choice depends on what type of lighting you want to organize: general (ceiling lamps are needed) or local (wall and portable lamps);
• moisture protection class. It must be above IP 54;

Moisture-proof lamp for garage

• increased protection against mechanical damage;
• terms of Use. Before purchasing a lamp, you should definitely ask what operating conditions the device is designed for;
• manufacturer. It is best to buy products from already proven brands, avoiding Chinese models if possible. They do not always work efficiently and often fail in the first months of operation;
• price. LED products are not the cheapest, but you can choose models that will meet all of the above requirements and not be that expensive.

Based on these selection criteria, you will most likely choose the most profitable and optimal option for yourself. Now all that remains is to figure out what you actually need to make a choice from.

Proper organization of ceiling lighting in the garage

The garage is classified as a high-risk premises.

This is due to the fact that not only tools are stored there, but also petroleum products and chemicals. To ensure safety and practicality in the room, it is worth taking care of the electrical wiring.

The most preferable wiring installation option is a hidden method. Its feature is to protect the power cable of the lamps, which increases the safety of the room.

If the interior walls of the garage are built of brick or concrete, then the cable installation is carried out in a groove. Upon completion of installation, the cable is hidden with a layer of plaster. This is the cheapest and easiest way to install wiring.

But the cable can still be laid:

• in corrugated or metal pipes;
• leave it open, securing it with staples.

Garage with visible electrical cable installation

It is worth paying special attention to the inspection hole as a component of the garage space. Providing adequate lighting for the pit is quite a difficult task.

Illumination of the inspection pit

After all, lamps and wiring must be protected. To do this, it is necessary to make the wiring closed in the wall of the pit, and the lamps protected from mechanical factors, as well as moisture and dust.

Finally, don’t forget about grounding. It is on its availability for electrical appliances, in particular lamps, that human life and health depend.

To illuminate the area around the garage, it is better to choose an outdoor LED floodlight. You can also install a motion sensor for lighting. Thus, a street lamp with a motion sensor will save energy.

It is also important to have a powerful LED light in your garage. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with them in more detail.

Types of diode lighting devices

When choosing LED lamps for your garage, you need to understand that one device is not enough and you will need several lamps at once, which will need to be installed in different places. The final choice of lighting fixtures will depend on this. LED lamps, which you can always install yourself in the garage, are divided into the following groups, depending on the type of construction:

• ceiling They are naturally placed on the ceiling. If a ceiling chandelier is to be used, it should be placed in the center of the room. With large dimensions, the chandelier can be supplemented with spotlights and thereby effectively zoning the garage;

Note! With the help of LED ceiling lamps, a general type of lighting is implemented.

Ceiling light in garage

• wall-mounted With their help, you can easily implement local or working lighting. Here the lamps can be placed both vertically and horizontally. The choice of localization depends on the need for local illumination and its intensity. LED wall lamps, like LED strips, are often used to illuminate the inspection pit;

Wall light in garage

• portable lighting devices (lanterns, etc.). These are universal additional light sources that can be autonomous or connected to the network using a portable device. They can be used for work lighting, as well as illumination of the inspection pit.

Portable garage light

As you can see, a garage needs all three types of lighting fixtures that use LED bulbs as a light source. But besides this classification, such lamps may differ in installation method:

• mortise Such devices are built into ceilings or walls. For a garage, this is not the most convenient option, since there are usually no suspended ceiling structures or hollow walls. Therefore, the installation of such lamps will be complicated by the technical side of the issue;
• invoices. This is the optimal lighting option, since the lamp can be easily mounted on any surface by connecting external wiring to it.

Thus, for a garage, the best option would be an overhead LED lamp of portable, ceiling and wall type.

Which lamps to choose

The type and shape of LED lamps play an important role in the organization of lighting. The most common are linear luminaires, capable of providing a powerful and uniform luminous flux covering a large area. To illuminate important areas or work areas, spot structures or LED strips are also used.

Interesting! To save electricity or in case of a power outage, it is recommended to have autonomous lamps. They are powered by their own battery, or alternatively, a car battery is used. To do this, you need to take into account the operating voltage, the best option is 12 or 24 Volts.

Ceiling

LED ceiling lights provide general lighting in the garage without emphasizing flow in any specific areas.

Predominantly linear structures are used, which provide a wide angle of flow and are most effective for illuminating areas.

Such groups are used for emergency lighting, designed to ensure general visibility in the room when performing non-essential work.