Buyer’s Guide: 5 Best Garage Lights

No garage or workshop is complete without proper lighting systems. Working in poor lighting conditions is not only unenjoyable, but it also may cause accidents. If investing in some proper lighting means you get to keep your fingers with your hands, you definitely would take your garage or workshop lighting seriously.

We spent some time researching the best garage lighting in the market, and may we present the 5 best garage lights for your consideration.

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Our Top Picks

Best Value	Best Price	Best Feature
Great performance, with a great price Sunco 2-Pack Industrial LED Light	Most wallet-friendly option Tanbaby LED Garage Light	Best performance, with prices secondary. Craftersmark 2 Motion-Activated LED Garage Lights

How Do We Select The Garage Lights?

The criterion we looked at when selecting garage lights include things such as size, installation, pricing, brightness, and longevity. Home and small garages often have different requirements than larger ones, so the lighting selection may also differ. 

Size: Most homes and small garages do not usually have enough room to keep many things. Home garages also have to include many other items, such as your car, children’s toys, or sports equipment. This might mean you need ceiling-based lighting to save space on the floor.

On another note, small garages often do not need the ample lighting or ultra-bright lighting that large workshops need. This may mean smaller workshops may get by with smaller and less bright lighting, but maybe over more sections of the workshop.

Installation: Home or small garages usually do not need very high-tech lighting with complicated installation processes. Most home workshops aim to bring in some lighting and keep the installation and wiring process simple, reduce costs, and keep the maintenance simple. 

As a result, we try to recommend lighting that requires only a simple installation process, with some not even requiring wires since they work with batteries. The savings could be invested in things such as an excellent workbench.

READ MORE: 6 Best Workbenches For Garages

Pricing & Cost: Small, home-based garages are often set up as a way to indulge in hobbies or occasional projects. This means the workshop would not be making money. You also may be on your way up with some of these skills, meaning you still want to invest in great tools for your workshop. 

This means you want to keep the costs low with the lighting. There are good lighting systems out there with great brightness, which last longer, and at a very affordable price. Some of these lightings made it into our list here.

We also try to recommend lighting with better long-term costing, which means they tend to have lower wattage, meaning they use less electricity. We also try to source longer-lasting lighting elements such as LEDs. 

Brightness: One of the significant characteristics we look into in the lighting is the brightness, which correlates closest to the amount of light you get in your workshop. Brightness is measured by lumens; the higher the lumens, the brighter it is. 

The common understanding for good garage lighting is around 3500 lumens of brightness, so we try to recommend lights at least this brightness or more. 

Best Garage and Workshop Lights

The best garage lights for home garages and workshops are:

Lighting	Pros	Cons
Sunco 2-Pack Industrial LED Light	-Scalable system. -Can be controlled individually. -High brightness and low wattage. -Long-lasting LED bulbs.	-No mounting holes for flush mounting.	Check Prices
Tanbaby LED Garage Light	-LED – energy saving. -High lumens for excellent brightness. -Heat dissipating aluminum plates. -Adjusting lighting angles. -Easy installation.	-Helpless user manual. -Lighting plates are only adjustable manually.	Check Prices
Qimedo 9-Inch Garage Lighting	-LED – energy saving. -High lumens for excellent brightness. -Installs flush to the ceiling. -Nicely designed. -Easy installation.	-Slightly harsh light, akin to the midday sun.	Check Prices
Craftersmark 2 Motion-Activated LED Lighting	-LED – energy saving. -High lumens for excellent brightness. -Great 360-degree lighting. -Easy screw-on installation. -Motion sensor.	-Lighting plates are only adjustable manually.  -The motion sensor is not adjustable.	Check Prices
Lithonia Fluorescent Light Strips	-Serviceable parts. -Custom control over brightness and color temperature. -Even, soft, less direct light.	-Harder to install and maintain.	Check Prices

Sunco 2-Pack Industrial LED Light

This LED lighting from Sunco makes it into the list as it is a great, scalable lighting solution. Scale it down to fit into a home garage, and expand it to use in a factory.

These 4-feet-long lights have a 5,000K color temperature, which is perfect for a garage, and give off 4,000 lumens each. This means a set of 2-pack lighting gives you 9,000 lumens, which should power you through most of your garage work. 

Another good thing about Sunco’s lighting is that they come ready to be plugged into standard 110-volt outlets. In contrast, other systems may have differing plugs, which may mean additional work to change the plugs to fit US sockets.

You can mount the lighting to the ceiling or hang them from the hardware and chain that come with them. The lights can be stacked by connecting them through hooks. 

You can also wire them in your preference. If you want to be able to control each of the lights, you may use the switches on each of the lights. If not, you may wire everything to be controlled by a single switch. 

If we are to complain about Sunco’s lighting, it will be a lack of mounting holes. This means if you are keen to install the lighting flush to the ceiling, you may need to drill holes through the backplate, which may mean additional work on your end. 

Why We Like This: It is a very scalable system where you can add and remove the lighting as you see fit. You can also control the lights individually. It is also bright and uses LED, which is known to be up to 30 times longer lasting than traditional bulbs.

Tanbaby LED Garage Light

Tanbaby light may be the simplest and easiest to install of the bunch of lighting on this list. This is because if your garage has a traditional screw lightbulb mount, all you need to do is to screw in the garage light, and you are done. 

Once you set up the light, enjoy the brightness rating of 6,000 lumens and 6,000K color temperature. That may be similar to summer afternoons outdoors. The brightness, fortunately, does not result in high electricity usage. The LEDs inside help you to save up to 85% in energy bills compared to other non-LED lights such as fluorescent bulbs.

The lighting is also great in that it has a unique construction that can light up almost all areas of your garage, no matter how big it is. This is because the light comes with a tri-plate arrangement that you can move around for a full 90 degrees. This means with one lighting, you can light up the whole garage. 

One concern is when you place so many LED lights so close to each other, the heat may cause the LEDs to die faster. The Tanbaby has thought of this and has added aluminum fins to keep these lights cool. They even lay a proud claim that their LEDs can last for 50,000 hours. 

However, the Tanbaby does have some issues, although we do not think it is a major setback. One is that the user instructions can be lacking, which may mean you may not have much information about how to install and take care of the light. Fortunately, installation is simple and almost intuitive, and LED lights do not need more maintenance. 

Another concern is that although the lights come with adjustable tri-plates, they need to be adjusted manually. There is no remote control to automatically adjust the angle. When you install your light, you might want to adjust it until you are satisfied so you do not have to touch it again later. 

Why We Like It: It is incredibly simple to install. It’s almost instinctual. The LED bulbs are arranged in three plates, adjustable by up to 90 degrees, meaning one of the lightings may be all you need to illuminate your garage. 

Qimedo 9-Inch Garage Lighting

If you are in the search for a lighting solution that can be installed flush to the ceiling, you cannot go wrong with Qimedo. 

Qimedo would be installed in a similar manner as the Tanbaby lighting. You just put it in any E26 or E27 lightbulb socket. Then, all you have to do to turn the lights on and off is flip the switch. You do not have to create and pull wiring to supply electricity to the LED garage light.

Some garage owners care about the appearance of their lighting, which means you may pick up a Qimedo if you want a nicely installed light that is flushed to the ceiling. The lights are also made of high-quality aluminum, meaning they would have better heat dissipation. 

The lighting is also a great energy saver, requiring 60W to deliver over 6,000 lumens of brightness, which is great for a small garage. The LED used in the lighting can also run up to 50,000 hours, meaning you can pretty much use the lighting for a long time before replacing it. 

If we are to force ourselves and find a weakness in this lighting, it would be the quality of the lighting. It’s bright and works great but has this harshness that other lighting does not. We suspect it is the color temperature of 6,000K, which may be similar to the midday sun.

On another note, this may be asking for an additional cherry on the cream. Perhaps because the lighting looks nicely designed to the point, they would do well in your home ceiling. Still, it would be much better if the lighting came with motion-sensor activation. 

Why We Like This: It is easy to install, similar to an E27 or E28 lightbulb socket. This lighting also installs flush to the ceiling and has a nice design that may even fit into your home or bedroom. It is also power-saving, delivering 6,000 lumens of brightness using only 60W.

Craftersmark 2 Motion-Activated LED Garage Lights 

If you love lighting with fancy-schmancy functions, you would love Craftersmark 2. 

As a start, the lighting is similar to the Tanbaby. Screws right into an E27 or E26 lightbulb socket, and the LED lights are arranged into three angle-adjustable plates. These plates are, in turn, arranged in three different directions, offering you full 360-degree lighting. 

The lighting gives out an impressive 12,000 lumens of brightness, with a 6500K cool white color temperature. Craftersmark 2 bulbs achieve these ratings using 120W of power. This would be similar to an afternoon sun, which may just be what you need for garage work. 

Now, to the icing on the cake. The Craftersmark 2 LED lights come with motion sensors, which means they will activate when noticing any movement. When someone walks into the garage, the motion sensor turns on the lights quickly. 

Imagine the convenience that will bring. For example, if your hands are full of things, you can’t reach out to the switch to turn on the lights. Simply walk into your garage, and there will be light. 

Another situation will be when you are backing your truck into your garage. Instead of getting out of your truck, turning on the light switch, and then hopping back into your truck, the lighting will turn on automatically. You do not even have to get out of your car.

The motion sensor also works when it does not detect any movement for a set time. When that happens, it turns itself off automatically. This may help you save some electricity bills in the long run.

Why We Like This: The lighting screws into the common light bulb socket and gives our 360-degree LED illumination. It provides excellent lighting ratings, with only 60W required, meaning it is energy-saving. It also has motion sensors that automatically turn the light on or off. 

Lithonia Fluorescent Light Strips

If you dislike the sharp and harsh LED lighting, you may do better with fluorescent light strips. Plus, some garages already have fluorescent lighting housings ready, making installing one easier. 

Lithonia is a 4-foot light fixture that uses T12 fluorescent bulbs sold separately. The housing has a high-gloss, baked-on enamel finish to resist heat and reflect as much light as possible. This is great for those that prefer softer, warmer light that is not too direct. 

This model comes with a 120-volt residential ballast to make installation and maintenance easier, which can be set up directly into your garage’s lighting circuit. 

When it comes to selecting the bulbs to work with Lithonia, it accepts any 4-foot, T12 bulb. This allows those who really care about their lights to custom choose and decide between the lumens and color temperature that they prefer for their garage. Such control may come in handy to those that love to work on color or scratch-sensitive work such as painting, auto detailing, or polishing. 

The only downside with Lithonia would be the common issues with fluorescent fixtures and installation. Fluorescent lights also may not last as long as LED lights. You may need some understanding of how the lighting works, such as the starters, bulbs, and ballasts, to install and maintain them. 

Why We Like This: Fluorescent lighting may not be cutting-edge, but it is reliable, giving you soft, warm, and less direct light. You stand a chance to custom control the bulb’s color temperature and brightness, giving you a better lighting choice. 

What To Look For When Shopping For Garage Lights?

When shopping for garage lights, you want to take note of things such as brightness, energy efficiency, color temperature, installation, longevity, and any additional features the lighting has. The key is to know what you want before comparing, buying, and installing the lights. 

Brightness

In simple terms, brightness refers to the intensity of the light. The brighter it is, the easier it is for you to see things around you. Brightness can be crucial in garages, as many garages are dark and do not have many windows. 

Brightness is commonly measured in lumens, with the higher lumens count signaling higher brightness. One way to roughly judge the lighting you need is to see the lumen rating with our natural surroundings. For example, an overcast afternoon may have around 2,000 lumens of brightness. 

You may also need to experiment and see what sort of brightness works best for you. For garages, you should consider the brightness from 3,500 lumens and above. This gives you great vision as you perform your work, yet not too bright to the point that it blinds you and makes you uncomfortable.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency measures the amount of brightness illuminated by the lighting compared to the power consumed. The most energy-efficient bulbs can achieve a high lumen rating while using minimal amounts of electricity.

When it comes to energy efficiency, you cannot but choose LED lights. This is because it only takes around 60W for it to produce over 6,000 lumens of brightness. This means you only have one set of LED lighting to illuminate your entire garage. 

Color Temperature

Color temperature refers to the color that the lightbulb emits. You may choose between warmer colors (more yellow) and cool colors (bluer). Color temperatures are often expressed in Kelvins. The correlation is that the higher the Kelvin number, the whiter and bluish the light is. 

Generally, warmer colors are less harsh and may be less stressful on the eye. It also may be less triggering to the brain compared to cool white lights with higher kelvin ratings. Whiter lights are more bright and neutral. Which means it may allow you to see colors better.

You will likely have trouble falling asleep if you use high kelvin lights at night. However, whiter lights can trigger our brain to think it is in the afternoon, which may cause our body to not release melatonin. This hormone helps us fall asleep. 

Installation

In general, for home garages, the key is to have enough lighting at the lowest cost possible. This is because the garage may not be making money for you, which means you may not want to throw too much money into it. 

In short, you will be better off with lights that are cheap to run, maintain, and most importantly, easy to install. 

If you are a DIY person with the capability to hardwire your lighting fixtures, then go ahead and get that done. However, suppose you are not technically inclined. In that case, you may make a better choice with simple screw-in LED lightings such as from Tanbaby or Craftersmark.

Longevity

Longevity is also related to the overall cost of ownership of your garage lights. If your lights frequently burn, you need to frequently purchase new bulbs, which may add to your cost long term. 

In general, when it comes to lighting longevity, LED bulbs seem to do very well. They are known to last up to dozens of times better than a conventional lightbulb, with makers such as Tanbaby giving a 50,000 hours operation time guarantee on their LED bulbs. 

Bells & Whistles

When shopping for lighting for your garage, you can also try to see if there are additional features that you may find helpful. For example, things such as motion sensors, remote-controlled lighting angle adjustment, or brightness regulators. 

Some high-tech lighting comes with an attached camera and may alert you on your phone if it detects any movements. 

These features may feel like the cherry on the cream, but they can sometimes be useful and helpful in garages. The key is to not be too excited about these features. You ended up buying lighting so expensive it made no sense. 

FAQs About Garage and Workshop Lights

What Types Of Garage Lighting Are Out There?

In general, you may see up to three types of garage lighting. The first is the most old school, the classic lightbulb. There is a reason why they are out of style now – they are not as bright and can be energy-consuming. 

Fluorescent lights are known for being warmer, even, and less harsh. It also performs better than the classic light bulb because it saves energy and breaks down less often. However, fluorescent bulbs do not last as long as LED, and maintaining a fluorescent light fixture may require technical skills. 

LED lightings are probably the best out there these days. They are bright and last very long, sometimes up to dozens of times longer than common light bulbs. LED bulbs running well past 10,000 hours is not uncommon, and some makers even claim their bulbs can last up to 50,000 hours. 

What Is The Difference Between Lumens, Kelvins, and Watts?

When looking at lighting, you may encounter these terms, which may confuse you somewhat. But essentially, these are expressions or measurements of something. 

Lumen: Lumens are expressions used to show the brightness of lighting. The higher the lumen readings, the brighter it is. An ordinary overcast afternoon may have a brightness of around 2000 lumens. 

Kelvin: Kelvin describes the temperature color of light, with lower kelvins indicating a warmer, softer color. Lightings with high Kelvin readings are white with a bluish hue, similar to a mid-day sun. Lightings with lower Kelvin may be more yellowish. Higher Kelvin readings indicate cooler, harsher color.

Watt: Watt is the expression of energy or electricity the lighting uses. The lower the wattage readings, the more energy-saving the light is. Energy-saving lighting might not necessarily be less bright than more energy-consuming lights. 

One of the best ways to combine all three readings when purchasing lighting is to find lights with high lumen and kelvin ratings while having a low wattage. This means you are getting bright lighting while not having to use a lot of electricity.

Do LED Lights Lose Brightness Over Time?

Yes, LED lights lose their brightness over time, unlike conventional bulbs that keep going until they burn. 

However, many LED lighting makers understand this issue and, as such, pack their lighting with many LED bulbs. This means if a small number of the bulbs start to lose brightness, it would not be too noticeable since other bulbs are still working at optimum brightness.