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Garage lighting with LED

The garage primarily serves as a protected parking space for your car. However, many people also use it as a workshop or storage room for car accessories, bicycles and garden furniture. The garage is (an often unnoticed place that is) often overlooked when planning home lighting. In this blog post, we want to show you that bright garage lighting is desirable in many situations. In keeping with this, we will show you which LED light sources you can use to avoid darkness in your garage.

 

garage

Pixabay.com/Pexels

 

Table of contents

  1. Why is garage lighting important?
  2. Which lights are suitable for garage lighting?
  3. Which lights can I install in the garage?
  4. Garage lighting with sensors
  5. Where is the best place to install garage lighting?
  6. What do I need to consider for the exterior lighting of my garage?
  7. Conclusion

 

 

The most important information at a glance:


  • The right garage lighting creates security and prevents break-ins.
  • LED lights are particularly suitable as garage lighting.
  • Before buying a garage light, check the IP protection class.
  • The outdoor area in front of the garage entrance should also be illuminated.

 

Why is garage lighting important?

We strongly recommend installing lights in your garage. You need a suitable light source to find your way to the car door early in the morning or to bring the shopping from the parked car into the house in the evening. Furthermore, many people use their garage not only as a parking space, but also as a work area. Accordingly, your workbench should also be illuminated. With garage lighting, you avoid both accidents and uninvited guests. Because: An illuminated garage acts as a deterrent to burglars.

 

Which light sources are suitable for garage lighting?

In the past, cheap fluorescent tubes with glaring neon light were often used to illuminate the garage. However, conventional neon tubes have a number of disadvantages:

  • the light is emitted in an omnidirectional pattern
  • the tubes flicker and often start only with a delay
  • they contain toxic mercury
  • reliable lighting at cold temperatures is not guaranteed

These are enough reasons to put an end to your old garage lighting. Switch to modern LED technology today, because you can even illuminate your garage sustainably with it. These are the advantages of installing LED lights:

  • bright even light
  • one hundred percent brightness immediately after switching on
  • no annoying flickering
  • weatherproof: even in sub-zero temperatures, LEDs function without restrictions, so they can be used not only inside but also in front of the garage

 

You can read more about the advantages of LEDs in our blog article.

 

Which lights can I install in the garage?

The requirements for garage lighting are different from those in the house, so you cannot use the same luminaires. The conditions to which your lamps are exposed in the garage are somewhat harsher than in the house. Numerous dirt particles enter the garage through the car, garden tools or a workbench. In summer, the temperature can rise sharply and in winter, sub-zero temperatures can occur in the garage. If the wet vehicle is parked here, this leads to increased humidity and condensation forms. For this reason, the garage should be considered a damp room.

 

To ensure that garage lighting stands up to the demands over the long term, a number of things need to be taken into account:

 

The LED lights must have suitable IP and IK protection classes. For the conditions mentioned above, you should choose at least protection class IP54. This classification indicates that luminaires are protected against dust and contact as well as against splashing water on all sides. Normal residential luminaires do not offer such a level of protection, so this type of lighting is not an option for use in the garage. We therefore recommend LED moisture-proof luminaires with IP class IP54 or IP65.

 

In the garage you often look in vain for natural light because only a few people have equipped their garage with a window. Therefore, you should also pay attention to the appropriate luminous intensity. The unit lux (lx) indicates the light output in a certain area in lumens per square metre (lm/m²). Depending on the size of your garage, you should opt for LED lighting with 300 to 500 lux.

 

Apart from the luminous intensity, the choice of the right colour temperature also plays an important role in lighting. Since the garage is a functional room, we recommend a lamp with a cool white light colour (4,000 Kelvin).

 

Garage lighting with sensors

Light is needed in the garage whenever the door is opened. Either you want to drive out of the garage with the car, or you come back and want to park the vehicle. Larger garages often have a connecting door to the house or garden in addition to the door. There should be a way to control the lighting without opening the door. Lamps are usually operated via a normal light switch. This should be installed in the garage both near the door and - if necessary - at the side entrance. However, using a standard light switch has one major disadvantage: you can only switch on the lights after you have entered the garage. We therefore recommend a different type of light control: sensors or motion detectors. There are numerous LED lights that have a built-in motion sensor. These ensure that the lighting in the garage comes on as soon as the door or the connecting door opens. Garage lighting with a motion sensor is not only useful for you as a motorist or DIY enthusiast, it also protects your garage and home from burglars. You can find more information on the subject of sensor lights in our blog.

 

Note: You already use optimal garage lighting but would like to link it to a sensor? You can find the right products in our online shop.

 

Any Lamp tip:

Incandescent Bulb Symbol

Our exclusive brand Noxion offers high-quality indoor lighting and safe outdoor lighting for your garage.

 

Where is the best place to install the garden lighting?

As a rule, the lighting is mounted centrally on the garage ceiling. If it is a small space that serves only as a parking space for your car, it is sufficient to mount a single LED garage light. This ceiling light should definitely be mounted lengthwise to the vehicle.

If you mount the ceiling lamp across the car, the LED cannot illuminate your vehicle from the side. Additionally, when buying the ceiling light, make sure that it has a beam angle of 180° so that the light cone of the luminaire does not only illuminate the roof of the parked car.

Alternatively, you can also illuminate your garage from the side. Wall luminaires ensure that the light not only falls on the car roof - the LEDs also illuminate the driver's side and the path to the car or the side entrance.

However, if you use your garage for other purposes or if it is a large double garage, at least two LED luminaires should be installed. With two lamps, uniform illumination can be ensured. The LED luminaires can be mounted either on the ceiling or on the walls.

 

Our product recommendations:

 


Noxion LED Waterproof Batten Poseidon Housing IP65 V2.0

Noxion LED Waterproof Batten Poseidon Housing IP65 V2.0


  • 3-year warranty
  • lenght of 60 cm, 120 cm or 150 cm
  • IP65
  • IK08


Any Lamp Mask Up/Down LED Wall Light

Any Lamp Mask Up/Down LED Wall Light


  • 2-year warranty
  • colours: anthracite or white
  • IP65
  • 3,000 K or 4,000 K


Noxion LED Waterproof Batten Poseidon IP65 Throughwiring

Noxion LED Waterproof Batten Poseidon IP65 Throughwiring


  • 5-year warranty
  • IP65
  • IK10
  • 4,000 K or 6,500 K




What do I need to consider for the exterior lighting of my garage?

led spot made of aluminium



Besides the interior lighting of a garage, the exterior lighting should not be ignored. The entrance to the garage plays a particularly important role here. For safe parking in and out of the garage, the driveway must also be illuminated with LEDs. For this purpose, for example, an LED light can be mounted across the garage door. For even more light and safety, two LED spotlights can be mounted symmetrically to the right and left of the garage door. In addition, it is possible to illuminate the path to the garage with solar-powered pole bollards. These helpful signposts are particularly energy-saving because they only light up in the dark. With LED spotlights and bollards, the right angle is crucial so that the light does not dazzle when entering the garage. In addition, the protection level of LED luminaires must also be considered for outdoor lighting. For covered lamps, the IP44 classification is sufficient. However, if there is no protection for your external garage lighting, you should choose lamps with at least IP54. For a coherent overall appearance, the exterior garage lights should harmonise with the existing exterior lighting. Instead of strong individual spotlights, it is better to use several less bright luminaires.

LEDs with built-in motion detectors are recommended for the outside of the garage - they can show you the way to the garage or house even when your hands are full.

What do I need to consider for the exterior lighting of my garage?



Besides the interior lighting of a garage, the exterior lighting should not be ignored. The entrance to the garage plays a particularly important role here. For safe parking in and out of the garage, the driveway must also be illuminated with LEDs. For this purpose, for example, an LED light can be mounted across the garage door. For even more light and safety, two LED spotlights can be mounted symmetrically to the right and left of the garage door. In addition, it is possible to illuminate the path to the garage with solar-powered pole bollards. These helpful signposts are particularly energy-saving because they only light up in the dark. With LED spotlights and bollards, the right angle is crucial so that the light does not dazzle when entering the garage. In addition, the protection level of LED luminaires must also be considered for outdoor lighting. For covered lamps, the IP44 classification is sufficient. However, if there is no protection for your external garage lighting, you should choose lamps with at least IP54. For a coherent overall appearance, the exterior garage lights should harmonise with the existing exterior lighting. Instead of strong individual spotlights, it is better to use several less bright luminaires.

LEDs with built-in motion detectors are recommended for the outside of the garage - they can show you the way to the garage or house even when your hands are full.

 

Conclusion

Optimum garage lighting contributes to your own safety. It prevents accidents and break-ins. What is more, switching to long-lasting LED lighting can save electricity and thus energy costs in the long run. For these reasons, we at Any Lamp advise you to buy effective LED garage lighting.