Fluorescent Fixtures

Get an LED lamp to leave on all the time, and just turn on the fluorescents when you're working. With the right placement, an LED nightlight will speed up one's "grope for the switch".

Pre-WWII buildings had high ceilings and tall windows, with glass doors or glazed transoms, so daylight kept the rooms (and through the doors, the corridors) well enough lit without electricity. It was a good plan.

We have LED lights, banked fluorescents, and reliable but pricey electricity. With those, we make a modern good plan.

It'll encourage you to get the work done. I just love the motion sensors in public bathrooms. Some bureaucrat's great plan.

I have most of the house lighting converted to LED's. I think the easiest thing for the garage/shop is just motion sensing with a long delay. ...Jim Thompson

Or just flick the switch. It'll save you about $400 a year.

I like the Philips InstantFit 12w LED tubes we discussed here a while ago.

I made an LED nightlight by just shorting a cellphone charger with a heat-sunk 3W LED. The charger's current-limited, so the LED sees 350 mA, constant-current. Ceiling-hung. It's more than enough to light up a room. (For most things I don't even need the main lights.)

Cheers, James Arthur

Using the Mister Money Mustache thinking, that's about $6,834.31 over ten years earning 7% interest. Probably a little more, as I didn't inflate electric prices over ten years. About $100,000 if you figure it over a 40 year savings plan.

Mikek

Here's the latest MMM blog entry;

It's still the same plan today. But someone came up with the idea of doubling the spaces by diving the room into (upper) living area and (lower) basement. Can't argue for 2 spaces for the price of (mostly) 1 construction.

I don't know about AZ, but it's about $.50/day or $15/month. I wouldn't throw it away.

Like anybody too lazy to use a light switch will change out a bunch of light fixtures.

;-) I shouldn't have said "lazy"... the garage has no windows, so "groping" for the switch is the defining term. ...Jim Thompson

They do make lever-style wall switches that light up.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I assume your garage has two entrances, one for the outdoor (with your car) and an other into the house (without a car). Put one SPDT switch at the outside door and an other SPDT switch close to the door close to your house.

Thus when parking your car, flip the outside door SPDT switch and when entering your house, flip the other switch when going home.

When leaving home, use the opposite sequence.

The lights are already wired to switches near to the house-garage door but far enough away to be in the dark. I'm going to replace them with motion detector style switches. ...Jim Thompson

Cue a whole world of pissedoffness.

NT

Do not use a motion detector! You will be waving your arms all night keeping the lights on. Been there, done that.

Get an X10 paste on wall switch (or two) and a plug in relay remote (or three) that you plug in the lights to.

I use that and it works.

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;-) ...Jim Thompson

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I'm looking for work... see my website.

Naaaah! At the old house I had delay set at 15 minutes. Never had a hand-waving incident.

...Jim Thompson

Just replace the switches with lighted ones , no more fumbling.

Cheers

Buddy of mine told me his class project was an optical device that detected when someone walked into a room it turned on the lights. It would count up to 16 people and shut the lights off when the last one left.

So if you generally only use one place to enter and exit, I am sure you can throw something like that together in minutes. Well a couple hours including building it. You could have it designed in minutes. Grinding and soldering can take time...

IIUC he's still got to cross the garage to reach them. A 3w LED left on should do.

NT