Garage lights

Garages are often used for many purposes other than parking vehicles, and adequate lighting is very important. There are many types of garage light fixtures, ranging from compact strip lights that can be installed in narrow spaces, to potent high bay fixtures for garages with taller ceilings. The best option will depend on how your garage is built, and also its construction. You must also consider moisture conditions, since humidity can damage fixtures without a suitable housing.

Some applications demand a specific type of light fixture, and the options available are limited. However, in the case of garage lighting, you will find many fixtures types that are suitable for the job.
- LED garage lights offer the best reliability, the lowest energy consumption, and the longest service life.
- Fluorescent and HID fixtures are also popular for garage lighting, but they need many lamp replacements over time, while consuming more energy.
If you’re looking for LED garage lights in Canada, Lumenco offers a wide selection of products from the top brands in the lighting industry.

Types of Garage Lights

The following are some of the best lights for garage ceilings, and the installation procedure will depend on the specific product you choose. There are recessed, surface-mounted and suspended options, and some garage lights can be installed on walls or below cabinets.

For example, shop lights are useful if there is a work area inside your garage. On the other hand, strip lights and wraparound fixtures are recommended when you need uniform lighting for a wider area. High bay fixtures are often used for commercial garage lighting, where ceilings are normally taller than in homes.

If you’re looking for outdoor garage lights, LED canopy fixtures and vapor tight fixtures are excellent options. They both have durable and weatherproof housings, which ensure a long service life.

The lamp types used by garage fixtures include integrated LED arrays, LED tubes, fluorescent tubes, metal halide bulbs (MH), and sodium vapor lamps (HPS). You will also find retrofit LED lamps and kits, which are designed to upgrade older garage lights.

When upgrading fluorescent garage lights with LED tubes, make sure the wiring and lampholders are compatible before installing them.
Some LED tubes are ballast-compatible, but others need a direct connection to the AC voltage, and you may also need to replace the lampholders.

Advantages of LED Garage Lights

LED garage fixtures are often recommended by lighting experts, for several reasons:

They achieve energy savings of over 30% compared with fluorescent tubes, and over 60% compared with HID lamps. In other words, LED garage lights will help reduce your electricity bills.
The best LED garage lights have a rated service life of 50,000 -100,000 hours, which means you don’t have to worry about replacements in a very long time. The durability of LEDs is a very useful feature in commercial garages with high ceilings, since lamp replacements at height are more difficult and dangerous.
LED garage light fixtures are safer than HID and fluorescent lamps, since they emit less heat when operating. This feature prevents burns when garage lights are installed in low ceilings or cabinets, where they may be touched accidentally.
Many LED fixtures are shatterproof, while HID and fluorescent lamps can break easily, releasing glass shards and mercury droplets.
Some garage lights are switched frequently, and this shortens the service life of HID and fluorescent lamps. However, LEDs tolerate frequent switching without a major impact on their service life.
LEDs can achieve a high color rendering index (CRI), which makes them useful for garages with work areas or laundry equipment.
LEDs can also be switched without a warmup period or flickering. This is very useful when you need to find something quickly in your car, or a storage area inside the garage.

If your garage is currently using fluorescent or HID fixtures, there are retrofit kits that allow a simple upgrade at low cost. The existing fixtures can be reused, and you only need to replace their lamps and internal connections. Some LED tubes and HID retrofit lamps are designed for direct connection to the existing sockets, without rewiring.

How To Choose Garage Lights with a Suitable Housing

To achieve the best results with LED garage lights, you must consider the ambient conditions of your garage before purchasing them.

If there is plenty of air moisture, you should look for light fixtures that are rated for damp locations.
Light fixtures may be splashed when cars are washed, or when there is a laundry area inside the garage. In these cases, you need a waterproof enclosure.
A vandalproof enclosure is recommended for exterior garage lights, since it offers extra protection against theft and tampering.

Garage lights with special housings have higher prices in general. However, even the best light fixtures can fail quickly in environments for which they are not designed. LED garage lights are durable, but they have electronic components that must be protected from dust and humidity.

In general, LED garage lights are more durable than their HID and fluorescent counterparts - HID bulbs and fluorescent tubes can shatter upon impact, as mentioned above. However, these lamps can also be damaged by vibration, which is often caused by large vehicles and equipment. LEDs are solid-state devices without fragile electrodes or bulbs, which makes them more tolerant to vibration.