Lighting your garage is a slightly different task from lighting any other parts of the house. You would have to give special considerations on the type of lights to use, the design and placement of such lights, and the number of lights you would need. To make things more complicated, you want to light your garage that has a sloped ceiling. It may seem like a challenging task but with a few pointers here and there, you can set up a sloped ceiling lighting that would set your garage apart from the rest.
How can I set up garage lighting on sloped ceilings? Lighting styles such as, beam structure lighting, track lighting, and recessed lighting are the best options for you. The main goal is to illuminate the whole garage, with sloped ceilings and it can get tricky.
There are a number of lighting styles and ideas that may suit your garage and its sloped ceiling. In this article, we will go through each lighting style. There will also be an enumeration of things to consider when lighting your sloped ceiling. Sloped ceilings are very tricky to light as compared to your regular flat ceilings. With proper knowledge and creativity, you can have the best version of your garage lighting.
Things To Consider With Sloped Ceilings
Sloped ceilings are very difficult to light because of the ceiling itself. It is challenging to hook up lights on a sloped ceiling. So to light your sloped ceilings in your garage, you must put into consideration a lot of things.
Measure the Amount of Light Needed in the Room
The primary goal is to light the whole garage area. Therefore, it is very important that you determine the amount of light needed to be provided in the garage area. To compute the light needed, multiply the length and width of your garage with each other. The product should then be multiplied by 25, which will give you an approximation of the total watts needed.
If you want to base it on lumens, multiply the amount of watts needed by 10. Most LED bulbs measure their light output by lumens. For instance, a single Philips Hue LED bulb will produce 800 lumens of light. Your garage does not need to be a dark room where you happen to park your cars.
Consider the Highest and Lowest Points of the Ceilings
Another thing to consider in lighting your sloped ceiling garage is the varying heights of your ceiling. A sloped ceiling will have parts higher than others. Depending on the design of your garage ceiling, as well as the slope degree, you may either opt to put more lights in the lowest ceiling or also put a strong light, such as a track light, in the highest ceiling.
Whatever your style or preference may be, remember that you will have to put more lights in the lowest ceiling, if you want the garage to be bright. However, not putting enough light on the highest ceiling will cast a shadow on that part of the ceiling. So you will have to distribute the lighting on your sloped ceiling properly. You can also opt for an easy fix lighting style that will equally illuminate the whole garage area, the linear lighting style.
Parts of the Garage that Requires More Lighting
Similar to other rooms in the house, your garage will have places that would require the most lighting. In your garage, the garage door requires the most lighting because it is where the cars go in and out. Thus, you would need to find a way to light your garage door without obstructing the passage properly. A good lighting idea to be used would be installing recessed lights just above the garage door.
If your garage does not have window panes or glass panels, chances are your garage’s sides are too dark. Garages can be messy, and so visibility is very important. You do not want to step and slip over leaking oil because you failed to see it.
Check Your Electrical Wirings
The first step in setting up your garage lights is to check your electrical wirings. Faulty and improper wirings can cause not only an inconvenience, but also additional expenses. Before you even plan to install your lights on your sloped ceiling garage, have an electrician check your wirings. Furthermore, you would need to check those dimmer switches too, as they often do not match with newer models of light bulbs and lamps.
Beam Structure Lighting on Sloped Ceilings
Beam structure lighting is an excellent choice for your sloped ceilings, including garages. In beam structure lighting, you will strategically place lights at the edges of the ceiling. Through this method of lighting, the sloped ceiling of your garage can be illuminated properly because ecause there is no shadow cast in the middle of the ceiling. This way your garage ceiling can be displayed.
Best Bulb to Use: Smart LEDs
Smart LEDs are the best option for this style of lighting. LEDs have smart features that can add more ambiance to your garage. Beam structure lighting or linear uplighting are used by many homeowners to set up the ambiance in the room through lights. Smart LEDs, with their color variations and smart features, are the best light bulbs to use in creating ambiance.
Smart LED bulbs come with a significantly higher price. In beam lighting, you would need to use a lot of lightbulbs. A single bulb from Philips Hue would cost you around $50-80, depending on the type of LED bulb. Thus, this style of lighting would be costly.
Pros of Using Beam Structure Lighting
Beam lighting is the most aesthetically pleasing of all styles of lighting for sloped ceilings. All the more, it suits garages because of the added ambiance that amplifies the light surrounding your cars. Another pro of having beam structure lighting is the equal distribution of lights around the garage.
There is no use of having a sloped ceiling on your garages if you do not display it well. In beam lighting, there are no shadows being cast by lights. This is due to the lights being spread along the edges of the ceiling, especially in the beam structures.
Cons of Using Beam Structure Lighting
Beam lighting will cost you more money because you will be buying more light bulbs. More light bulbs mean more expenses. Aside from that, you will be burdened with the hassle of installing so many lightbulbs.
Since beam lighting is more on light ambiances and equal distribution, this style of lighting results in less illuminated garages, compared to track lighting and recessed lighting, garages lit with beam lighting are not as illuminated.
Track Lighting on Sloped Ceilings
Track lighting is another advisable lighting style that would perfectly suit your sloped ceiling in the garage. It uses a cluster of lights being hanged from a track or pole. Usually, the track lights are situated at the highest point of the sloped ceiling.
Track lighting is originally used in kitchen lighting because sloped ceilings are common in kitchen designs. Since garages have now experimented with sloped ceilings, many homeowners have started to adopt the track lighting style in garages.
Best Bulb to Use: CFLs and LEDs
CFLs or Compact Fluorescent Lamp bulbs and LEDs are the best bulbs to use in this style of lighting. CFLs and LEDs provide the most lumens. Track lighting is mainly used to illuminate as much space as possible. Therefore, it would need light bulbs that produce high lumens of light.
CFLs and LEDs, especially smart LEDs, are much more expensive as compared to incandescent light bulbs. However, as compared to beam structure lighting, track lighting requires a lesser number of bulbs. Cost-wise it is cheaper than beam structure lighting.
Pros of Using Track Lighting
Track lighting can illuminate the garage better than beam structure lighting. This is due to the lightbulbs being close to each other. So if you seek a brighter and well-lighted garage, choose track lighting as the style of lighting to use on your sloped ceiling garages. Another pro is that you will not be hassled in the installation as one track of lights is sufficient to lit the garage.
Cons of Using Track Lighting
Track lighting eats up space due to the track being installed overhead. That space could have been used for other purposes, such as the installation of ventilators. The overhead space could have also been added to the available parking space, especially if you have tall cars like RVs and vans. Track lighting can also cast shadows on the ceilings.
Recessed Lighting on Sloped Ceilings
Recessed lighting is probably the most widely used style of sloped lighting. It is a method of lighting where the light bulbs are attached to a hollow opening on the ceiling. Since you have a sloped ceiling, recessed lights can perfectly be installed without the need for track devices or cables.
The lights are directly pointing below, but can also be adjusted to point at a certain angle. Recessed lighting can provide you with either broad floodlight or narrow spotlight, depending on your preference. Regardless, recessed lighting is your go-to lighting style for your sloped ceiling garage..
Best Bulb to Use: CFLs and LEDs
Use CFLs and LEDs because they provide you with the better light output. To further modernize your garage’s lighting system, you can use smart LEDs. Smart LEDs allow you to apply motion sensors, so that you will be burning energy only when the sensors pick up your presence. Smart LEDs also provide you with ambient lighting that makes your garage way cooler!
Pros and Cons of using Recessed Lighting
Accurate lighting is the best advantage that recessed lighting gives. By having your light bulbs point downward on a specific area, you can make sure that such an area receives sufficient lighting. The only downside to this style of lighting is that installation becomes time-consuming. You will have to install each bulb independently of each other.
Conclusion
To conclude, there are a number of available lighting styles that homeowners have used on their garages with sloped ceilings. Garages do not often come with sloped ceilings. But when they do, it would be a shame not to showcase the sloped ceiling through perfectly placed lights. Always remember that preparation and planning will make sure that you do not mess up in lighting your garages, sloped ceiling, or not.
References:
- https://blog.yaleappliance.com/ideas-for-lighting-kitchens-with-sloped-ceilings
- https://www.delmarfans.com/educate/recessed-lighting-guide/
- pageonelighting.com/blog/post/lighting-a-room-with-sloped-ceiling
- https://homeguides.sfgate.com/adapt-lighting-sloped-ceilings-65150.html
- https://www.remodelista.com/posts/expert-advice-5-things-to-know-about-recessed-lighting-from-architect-oliver-freundlich/
- https://www.overstock.com/Lighting-Ceiling-Fans/Ceiling-Lighting/Sloped-Ceiling-Adaptable,/product-features,/554/dept.html
- https://www.bobvila.com/articles/garage-lighting/
