Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Lighting 50'X50' building?

My situation is that I have a 50’ X50’ Shop with 16’ walls, Two 14’ OH Doors on one side (front & back) for Motor Home, one 12’ OH door on the other side (front). I have enclosed a 20’ X 30’ section on the back with walls ceiling etc. I made a loft above the 20’X30’ area and have lights there. What I need is to install lighting to the remaining (unheated) shop area. The area I need light in would be approx. 30’ Wide by 30’ deep with the 12’OH door. This will be my main working area for automobiles as well as some woodworking projects in the shop. I have already planned for lighting along two workbenches in this area and separate lighting just for above them. I would also need approx. three lights on the far side of the Motor Home lighting a 6 to 8 foot area 50’ long (don’t need bright lighting there just so I have some). These three lights will be switched and on a different circuit from the main area lights. Has anyone got any suggestions for lighting an area such as this? I already have the power run (12-2) along with two way switches (12-3) This is on a 20AMP breaker, I have built this from the ground up and have 200 AMP service so most anything is possible at this point. As I said the walls are 16’ high Open rafters with Insulation in roof, Cement floors and the walls will be insulated and covered with OSB to start with maybe someday painted a light color. There will be no heat in the area I need lighted. Any suggestions will be appreciated!

My first choice would be metal halides. They are not cheap, but they make a nice pure white light and are available 75 watts up to 1'000 watts. They are one of the most efficient lights so you will get the most light out of your #12 wire. They take a while to start-up and you should not flip the lights on/off so will need some other lighting for quick trips into the shop.

My second choice would be fluorescents. They don't do well starting in colder temperatures but some fixtures and bulbs do better than others. The ones in my shop start well at 50f but below 40f they noticably have trouble starting. I would go for the 8ft. long twin tube commercial style. In my shop at work I have one twin bulb 4' fixture in the center of the room that is always on (no switch) which is great to run in and grab something quick. The cold does not affect the burning bulbs and the same bulbs have been on for 5 years. Then the main lights are only turned on when people are working.

My third choice would be high pressure sodium. They operate similar to the metal halides but have the pinkish yellow color you see in street lamps. They are the most efficient light available so you will get a lot of lumens for your electricity bill, but you will have to get used to the color. After working under them for a while I don't notice the color, but it is "different".

I'd use four 250 watt metal halide lo-bay fixtures in the 30x30 area, installed up as high as possible. You should end up with about 50 footcandles at 3' from the floor - pretty deluxe for general shop lighting. As an example, check the Stonco MBL-22-250 here: http://www.crescentlighting.com/stonco/library/Catalog/s_ind_lowbay.pdf - there are several other brands out there.

You could also do it with two of the 400 watt version, but given the shape of the room and the "surface brightness" of that fixture at 16', it wouldn't be as pleasant to work under.

I'd supplement them with a couple of 8 foot, (2 lamps wide by two (four foot) lamps long) T-8 electronic ballast fluorescent strip fixtures with reflectors over the workbench (they'll start down to 0 degrees F.) and probably another pair of them along the motorhome corridor. They're generally sold as "tandem" fixtures.

Set the fluorescents over the bench at about 8 ft. from the floor, in line with the front edge of the counter. Set the motorhome corridor fixtures at about 10 ft.

One 20 amp 120V circuit will be adequate for all 8 fixtures. Switch them any way you like. Just remember that metal halide fixtures require warmup and have a long "restrike" time - i.e. if you turn them off and the turn them back on, it may take 10 minutes for them to come back to full brightness.

Sounds like a great shop! I want one...

First thank both of you for your input to my question(s). I have spent a lot of time doing searches on metal halide lo-bay fixtures. I have also been looking at the fluorescent Super T-8 & T-5 Lo- Bay lighting. After reading several articles I am thinking of placing (4) four-tube fluorescents in the 30’ X 30’ area (controlled by one set of switches) and an additional (2) four-tube fluorescents Spaced about 18’ apart along the far side of the Motor Home (controlled by another set of switches). Then in addition there will be a two-tube fluorescent above each workbench with individual switching for each light. The weather here is rarely below 20 degrees for any length of time and the inside temperature would rarely be freezing. From what I have read these fluorescent light have instant start and restrike to 0 degrees. Now I have to start shopping for the right sources. Still may change my mind before it is all finished. Thanks Again you got me thinking and researching. That’s what I needed! I always tell my wife "Planning is 75% of the job" That's why it takes me four days to do a one day job. PLANNING!