How Do I Install LED Lights in my Garage?

How many hours have you spent working in your garage and swearing about how dark it is with that single puny bulb? And then you look at the cost and hassle of installing something decent and it makes your eyes water? Well, we had the same problem, until the solution dawned on us!

The easiest way to install LED lights in the garage is to find a product that simply screws into your existing lighting fixture instead of having to install new fixtures or ballasts. The TriLight from STKR is such a product:

• Unscrew the old bulb from the existing light fitting.
• Screw the TriLight into the existing light fitting. (no tools required)
• Enjoy the increased light output and cost savings per watt-hour.

The Trilight will deliver far more light (4000 lumens) than a standard 60W bulb (800 lumens) and only draws 24W. It’s plenty of light for even a double garage. But, if you have a workbench in a corner and want the lighting power of a small sun, we have another option for you.

An LED light that screws into your existing fitting is far simpler and cheaper than rewiring the whole garage for LED/fluorescent tube lighting.

Ambient light is measured in lumens, and a traditional 60W incandescent bulb will deliver around 800-850 lumens. The Trilight delivers 4000 lumens from 3 adjustable heads.  Add to that the 5400K color temperature and CRI of 80+ (read: Brilliant White Light!) and the difference is night and day!

Add to that the convenience of the motion sensor function, as soon as the door opens the light comes on, regardless if you're driving, or walking in with an armload of stuff and no hand free. 90 seconds after you leave it’ll switch off by itself, so no more wasting electricity by forgetting the light on. 

If you work in your garage you may need to light up awkward corners, the workbench when the conventional light is behind you, or down behind the car or bike that you’re working on. In this case, you might want to consider the MPI.

 

 

The MPI is similar to the Trilight, but has four satellite lights that can easily be screwed to the ceiling, and then plugged into the main light that twists into a standard socket fixture. 

It’s the same easy installation, just screw it into the existing fitting. Each satellite light has 9.5 feet of cord, so you can spread the light over the whole garage, and that works wonders for reducing shadows on your project. 

This would also be excellent lighting for a hobby room, sewing studio, or office. Fine work, in particular, is difficult when shadows are cast on the workpiece. The MPI would also work beautifully in retail applications, where true color rendition of products and samples is important.

• Better light with fewer shadows
• Less eye strain from squinting in low light
• Longer work time without extra lighting
• Less fatigue 
• Safer work

The MPI delivers 7500 lumens spread over 20x20 feet. You’d need 10 conventional 60W bulbs -all separately wired into the ceiling- to even try to beat that. 

Do I need an electrician to install LED lights?

If you install LED garage lights from STKR, no you don't need an electrician. But if you are thinking about putting up rows of 4' light ballasts then yes you probably do as they all need to be hard-wired. 

Depending on where you live, it may be a legal requirement to be certified to install wiring in a house, and there may be implications for your insurance as well. 

Electricity is one area where it’s best to let a pro handle it. 

Would fluorescent lights be an option?

If your current lighting is incandescent, the good old-fashioned bulb, then fluorescent would offer some advantages. But with the recent advances in LED technology, fluorescent lighting is slowly being put in the shade. 

• LED lights last much longer than fluorescent lights, especially when the light is going to be switched on and off a lot.
• Fluorescent lights contain mercury, which is only a problem if they break, or when it’s time to recycle them.
• Fluorescent lights are much more fragile than LEDs.
• Fluorescent lights emit UV light, which can fade fabrics and other objects. 
• Fluorescent lights have a warm-up phase before they start, so there is a slight pause before they work. Maybe a small thing, but it can be irritating to hang around for those couple of seconds when the garage floor is freezing your feet off and you just wanted to check that you hung your mountain bike up so your spouse doesn’t drive over it again.
• Fluorescent lights need a ballast, which often develops a hum, which can be an irritation.
• LEDs are much more resistant to icy temperatures.

 

The TriLight concept worked so well we made a shop light out of it too!

We found that the TriLight body is so versatile with its adjustable heads that we put the same concept into an even more versatile shop light. 

There are situations where even the best ceiling light in the world can’t reach where you need the light. Like checking the pipes in the crawlspace under the kitchen.   

With a 6ft cable and a hanging hook, it's just the light you need for all those jobs that finish up in the wee hours.

Hang it wherever you want, stand it on its side, fold in the heads to get it down that gap behind the motor so you can see if the oil filter is leaking. 

The light stays cool though, so you won’t be burning your fingers on this one. 

It emits 3000 true lumens, which is plenty of light for a portable workshop light.

 

We’ve put the same ingenuity to work in our portable lights.

Our FLEXIT headlamps have extra LEDs on the side of the head so you have peripheral vision on your night hikes. That is a major safety upgrade! No more getting bashed on the ear by that branch you didn’t see while wriggling between tree trunks.

Our FLEXIT flexible flashlights can be bent out of shape to shed light in a variety of angles, focused on a particular point or lighting different points at the same time. There’s a range of options available, with up to 500 lumens, and USB and solar charging options. 

Flexible, tough, and weather-resistant, these lights are ideal for campers, hikers, and workers. Keep one in your glove compartment, and another in your go-bag.

 

LEDs have made giant leaps in progress!

What seemed science fiction only two decades ago is now science fact in many areas of technology, and this is particularly true of lighting. 

The limitations of short battery life and poor light power in torches and mobile lighting that some of us remember from our childhoods are now things of the past. The improvement that halogen bulbs brought in light power was great and enabled a range of new applications, but their heat and their hunger for power were enduring problems. 

Fluorescent lights had great applications, particularly in large area lighting that was to be lit for long periods at a time. Their low energy cost and longer lifespan were great improvements on the humble incandescent bulb. But their mercury content and fragility limit their usefulness considerably. 

But LED technology, with its excellent light quality, low power consumption, and long lifespan has brought a step-change in the lighting industry and enabled a whole new dimension of possibilities: bright, economical, and durable. 

Whatever your application, we have a product that will be the light of your life!