Is 5000 Lumens Good for a Garage? (Find Out Now!)

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Is 5000 Lumens Good for a Garage?

Do you sometimes feel that your garage is dimly lit? It could be that you do not have enough lights in your garage. So how much lighting does your garage really need? Is 5000 lumens good for a garage?

5000 lumens is good for a standard single car garage measuring 12’ X 20’. However, 5000 lumens is not sufficient for a standard two or three car garage or even a large single car garage with a workshop.

The brightness of a workspace is measured by lumens per square foot. For a garage 20 lumens per square foot is considered adequate. The requirement for the workshop area is much higher at around 70 – 100 lumens per square foot.

Which Factors Affect Brightness of a Garage?

Lumens is a measure of the amount of light emitted by a light bulb. While the most important factor, other factors also play a role in determining how bright your garage is.

Get the most out of your 5000 lumens garage lights by ensuring that the other influencing factors are optimized. In addition to total lumens of the light bulbs installed, brightness of your garage also depends on:

Distance Between Light Bulb & Garage Floor

The brightness of the garage depends on how high the light bulbs are above the floor.

The illumination intensity on a surface is inversely proportional to the square of its distance from the light source.
The Engineering Tool Box

In simple terms, the same 1000 lumens light bulb will make a work desk four times as bright as the garage floor. This is because the garage floor is twice as far as the work desk surface.

Based on this principle, shop lights increase garage brightness, as compared to recessed lights, by reducing the distance between the light source and the garage floor.

Beam Spread & Direction

Beam spread, or beam angle from a light bulb determines the lumens per square foot falling on the garage floor. Reflectors, above the light bulb, are used to direct the light to the garage floor or work desk to increase brightness.

Maximize garage brightness by keeping the beam angle at around 60°.

Color of the Garage Walls

Garage brightness does not depend only on the direct light falling on the floor. Light reflected off the garage ceiling and walls also adds to the brightness.

Light colored or white garage walls & ceiling will increase brightness in a garage as they reflect light better.

Color Temperature of Light

The color temperature of light, measured in Kelvin (K) is related to the light hue or the wavelength of the light. The color temperature is not directly related to brightness but light with higher Kelvin makes the light crisper and helps you to pick out details better. As such it is also perceived to be brighter.

The best color temperature for garage lights is around 5000 K.

What Type of Lighting Is Best for a One Car Garage?

There are 3 great 5000 lumens options to consider for your one car garage lighting needs:

Shop Lights

Shop lights come in both fluorescent and LED versions. The standard length is either 2 feet or 4 feet. Personally I prefer the 4 feet length rather than the 2 feet length. The great thing about shop lights is that you can flush mount them on the garage ceiling, garage wall or your workbench.

But you can also hang them from the garage ceiling to any height that works for you. This is a great option if you have a high ceilinged garage.

Sunco Lighting LED Shop Light for Garage

Garage Light with Adjustable Panels

Garage lights with adjustable panels have 3 LED panels that can be adjusted vertically. It lets you direct the light directly on to the garage floor, garage walls or somewhere in between.

Some models come with 3 color temperature selection options. This feature means that you can select between 6000 K (cool daylight white), 4000 K (cool white) or 3000 K (warm white).

3CCT LED Garage Light with 3 Deformable Panels

Recessed Garage Lights

Recessed garage lights are the ones to go for if you want a high end luxury look for your garage. Recessed lights are also great for garages with low to moderate heights as they give you more head space.

Sunco Lighting 5/6 Inch LED Can Lights Retrofit Recessed Lighting