Lighting up my garage for my layout

[Chrisjh]

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question, my layout is located in my garage which I have plastered and painted to help light the layout, as my garage door has no windows there is no natural light into the garage. just wondering what everyone else does to help light up their layouts in their garages or rooms.

 

Many thanks,

Chris

[lezz01]

Hi Chris.

I have a 5 foot strip light with a daylight simulation tube over my layout.

Regards Lez.Z.

[LBRJ]

There are some simple maths involving lumens needed here.... 

Other people will tell you what they are!

But you always need more light than you think you will.

 

Somethnig about 6000 - 7000 lumens to make a typical garage as bright as a kitchen.

[DCB]

No windows is good.   Strong sunlight fades stock and especially card buildings,   not too clever in a hot summer like this year but that's why we have gardens for outdoor lines!

We have three 6ft florescent strips in a 24ft X 8ft shed.   Painting the ceiling white and the walls light blue helps. Walls were white but blue is just as good for lighting and looks better as a sky above the backscene.   

Real effective lighting is difficult. Trains look so much better in the garden with proper deep shadows as they pass under bridges etc so trying to replicate sunlight is not easy.   Most train photos were take from south of the line with the sun behind the camera so to look "Right" models are best arranged with the operator south of the line. We haven't bothered but then our dock is approached up a 1 in 36 incline!

[jcm@gwr]

An alternative to tubes are the LED panels, we have used these

in our clubroom. We got 600 x 600 panels as it has a suspended

ceiling like an office. B&Q are doing smaller, round units (hole size

215mm), no thicker than the plasterboard ceiling for under £10, or

the posher ones (3 different lumen outputs) for under £20!

[Danemouth]

Danemouth is in a windowless garage and is lit by clip on lights - have a look here

 

Dave

[Chrisjh]

Many thanks everyone, I am thinking of cutting out the inserts of my garage door panel at the top and putting frosted glass in the top four panels. Not sure if we can get frosted panels to suit. 

 

We are going to have a look at the LED panels as well, just in case the above doesnt work.

 

Thanks again everyone, much appreciated.

 

Best,
Chris 

[stivesnick]

Chris

 

Many LED downlights have a very narrow light spread so are not the best option for layout lighting and you could end up with multiple shadows on the layout. 

 

The 600mm square panels would give a better illumination over the entire garage and two of them would be enough. Screwfix do them for around £40.

 

Hope this helps

 

Nick

[The Johnster]

I would aim for a cool overall ambient light, such as LED through diffusers, for the room as a whole and light specific but overlapping areas of the layout from the side you'll be viewing it from.  It's my contention that a lot of layouts, including some otherwise excellent exhibition ones, have the light far too high over the model; even in midsummer the sun is not anywhere near overhead in the UK.  The result is that roofs are lit but all that lovely detail on the sides or on chassis' is in shadow.  

[Teabag]

In my garage I have two fluorescent strips mounted on the ceiling and find that when I sit to view the trains just above track height the light is too bright such that I don't see the detail on the trains unless I shield my eyes as you would if looking at something with the sun behind.  This is really annoying - not sure what the solution is other than wearing hat...

 

Teabag.

[Chrisjh]

Many thanks everyone much appreciated. How do you fit the LED Panels?, Many thanks.

 

Best,

Chris

[Chrisjh]

Once again many thanks for everyone's help.

 

I decided to install two x 50 Watt Dimmable 600mm x 600mm LED Day Light Panels

 

This has made a huge difference, being dimmable I can get different light effects,  much better than florescent tubes. Being daylight they replicate the natural light really well, especially in a dark garage! 

 

 I hope this helps

 

Best,
Chris   

[Midnight-Freight]

Whichever route you decide to go definitely use led. Be wary of the very cheap stuff though, they may look very similar to the better stuff and the led's may be ok but it's usually the drivers that fail and depending on the type of fitting aren't always easy to replace.

Most common colour temperatures are 4000k (cool white) and 6000/6500k (daylight) on the commercial style fittings such as 600x600 panels. Daylight can be a bit harsh for some with cool white being a bit 'warmer'