Lighting

[lland]

I am upgrading the lighting in my store. Does anyone know how many 2X4 florescent fixtures (I have a drop ceiling) per a what amount of square feet of floor space is required to obtain bright lighting? I want the mat to be bright, but then again I don't want to go overboard and waste electricity.

[DAVID BLANTON]

Go To A Lighting Store They Should Be Able To Tell You How Many. When We Remodeled We Replaced Our Old 8ft. Lights With New 4 Tube Electronic Flourescents. They Use Less Electricity.

[pete f]

I have twin 8' and at other store double 4' The key is using the skinny bulbs., they come in 4' and 8', though you won't find the 8' at Home depot. I like the 8' better, they light up a bigger area, however, they are not available as an in drop ceiling 4' box. Depends on your ceiling and design. I would guess you need at least 1 ft of light for every 20 sq ft of space

[laundryboy]

Make sure you go with the T-8 high efficiance bulbs/electronic ballasts. They are cooler, brighter, and use WAY less energy. I'm planning on upgrading a store I just took over that has the older T-12's (8 foot) bulbs. I'll post how difficult the project actually turns out!