who knows about overdriving shop lights?

[Anto]

Gonna outfit a garage with some shop lights, I was looking up T8 vs T12 and overdriving electronic ballasts.

people say t8's are better lumens/watt and to run with daylight lamps >4100k for the best CRI. I was planning to put up 4-6 two bulb fixtures in a two car garage.

can anyone school me??

[cdlong]

it sounds like a good way to burn down you house and not get an insurance check. but i know nothing about overdriving fluorescent lights. i've also heard T8s are more effecient.

the lighting sounds adequate, but if you're using this as work lighting, flexibility and shadow elimination are important. i'd go with more/dimmer lights rather than fewer/brighter lights to reduce shadows. and i'd lean toward outlets for portable shop lights than lots of lighting on the ceiling.

there's a garage thread somewhere, either here or FA, where a guy installed some lights on the wall about 2-3' up from the floor so it would illuminate under the car when on a lift/stands. something to consider too. another thing that just popped into mind, painting your floor (with garage floor paint) a light color will help visibility under the car and overall visibility.

[psidriven]

it's pretty common practice in the saltwater aquarium hobby. only downside seems to be increased energy consumption and decreased tube life. otherwise it's an easy upgrade and along w/ good single lamp reflectors, you can dramatically (2x-10x) increase output.

what are your specific questions? lmk and i'll ask on rc.