And there was.
I’ve been working on the lighting grid for the shed, based around 16 double fluorescent tube fittings. The majority of the light reserved for the main workshop floor, with some for the mezzanine.
This is what I have come up with (excluding localised light which is available for the lathe and bandsaw).
I was thinking about the GPO grid, but that is probably better left for when the shed is up and the general layout is understood.
Filed under: Shed | Tagged: Fluorescent lamp, Light, lighting grid, tube fittings |
Stu's Shed 
you may wish to put in some condutes for power point in the slab to power things like table saw or thiknesser etc pendding on your layout, so your not tripping over leads etc also you could plumb in a toilet and basin or even better kichen sink with drainer in to shed. This should be done before concrete lay of course. If I was starting the shed from scatch like you I think these are a must.
Good point- I keep thinking of it, then forgetting it again. I also am thinking of laying down some pipe that will be used for under-floor dust extraction
Normal Fluoro tubes or LED?
Quick update – I picked up the majority of the lights today – double fluoro tube. The quality is superb, they are basically new, but not wanted as they did not have the modern green functions. To be quite frank, the amount of energy that would be expended to replace them will take a long time to add up in the ‘waste’ these ones create.
Especially in my shed – lights get turned off when I leave, so does it really matter if they don’t have movement sensors etc?
They are the same model as the ones I had in my previous shed.
I have enough lights for the whole main floor now, which is a great start.
To pick up on Pat’s question – if I was purchasing lights, then there would be a whole other set of criteria to address – cost vs performance vs energy consumption etc. However, when performance is satisfactory, energy consumption is acceptable, and cost is zero – the the result of that equation is very easy to answer!
There is a excellent article on the Sawmill Creek Woodworking website under ‘Articles’ called ‘Lighting the small workshop’ by Jack Lindsay, this is really good discussion on lighting from an expert given in laymans terms complete with terminology explanations, formulas etc. Anyone planning to light up their world (workshop) definitely needs to read it
Thanks – will take a look.
In my shed upgrade I am using aluminium cable ducting from Cable Duct Systems it is a bit expensive, $40 a meter for the duct and $15 a GPO kit, but it allows you to put the GPO’s anywhere you need and you also have the ability to move them with minimum fuss, (covers and GPO plate are snap fit), basically if you move a machine you move the power point. You can install the ducting and GPO kits yourself and all the electrician and offsider (this is the biggest cost approx. $125 an hour) does is install the cable and connect the switches. I’ve done the maths and the initial cost will be less, in my case 21 meters of duct and 10 GPO’s cost of $1000 and about 4 hrs for electrician, where you get the big benefit is when you need to move a machine and GPO, all it costs is a bit of cable and minimum time for an electrician. Duct part number is CD8550 well worth a look at. Oh, you can also run data cable with an optional divider, CNC router? (: