Mock-up of layout at appropriate height with basic valance. This allowed me to test various
Lighting techniques as well as specific bulbs to determine what looked "right" to my eye.
Once I set up the module and a basic valance I was able to check some different lighting options. I have read a lot about LED lighting and believe that it is probably the best option for the future, however right now the cost is still a downside for me. My best option for being able to move forward without breaking the bank was going to be either fluorescent tubes or CFL bulbs spaced closely. So I acquired the materials to test both options. I pulled enough 12-2 wire from my panel to the layout room to power a small town, so some quick math confirmed that I wouldn't exceed code limits of electrical load on my lighting. This was an important consideration from step one when I was pulling wire a year ago before drywall. 30 to 40 fixtures is a whole lot of amperage, so I feel it pays to provide a little bit of over-kill in the planning and construction phase. Below is my very biased, non-scientific testing and decision-making process:
Test one consisted of two basic 4' shop light fixtures using T8 bulbs. I placed the fixtures basically end-to-end behind the valance set as far forward as possible. I bought three types of Phillips 32W T8 bulbs from Home Depot:
Daylight Deluxe: 2,850 Lumens - CRI 75 - Color Temp 6500K
Natural Light: 2,850 Lumens - CRI 82 - Color Temp 5000K
Neutral: 2,875 Lumens - CRI 84 - Color Temp 3500K
To start with, I placed both bulbs into the fixtures to get an idea of their overall appearance. I very quickly decided that the Daylight Deluxe was far too blue, the Natural Light was pretty good (but "flat" sort of gray-ish) and that the Neutral was great at bringing out the warm colors (red, orange, yellow) but cast an overall orange-ish hue (which was expected).
Natural Light bulbs on the left, Daylight Deluxe on the right. Note the very obvious
blue light cast by the Daylight Deluxe... yeeek.
Natural Light bulbs on the left, Neutral bulbs on the right. The yellows of the CNW GP40
and the ex-Chessie covered hopper stand out much better, even the Tuscan of the Conrail covered hopper
seems to look better, bringing out the slight red tint. The orange tint is very obvious against the
wall though, and seems to kill the blue and green colors.
Combining the Natural Light and Neutral bulbs actually gave me the effect that was most pleasing
to my eye.
I placed a ceiling box on the framework of the valance, a cheap plastic socket and wired between the sockets, spacing them about 16" apart.
CFL bulbs placed behind the valance.
I used Utilitech 18W (75W equivalent) bulbs from Lowe's. These advertise 5000K Daylight color with 1200 Lumens.
Lighting provided by the four CFL bulbs.
Overall, the light provided by the CFL option wasn't too bad, but the intensity was lacking. I thought that stepping up to the 100W equivalent bulbs I had might help this, and it may have but I ran into another problem. I didn't take photos to show it, but the major issue with the 100W eq's wasn't so much the light, but the aesthetics. The 100W eq's are so long, that when combined with the depth of the box and socket along with the deeper base of the bulb, the lit portion of the bulb was already over the edge of the benchwork, producing a strong top-lit effect that I was trying to avoid. It was a little bit evident on the 75W eq's as well. Turning the bulbs vertical may have alleviated this, but then the bottom of the bulb was close to protruding from the bottom of the valance, which wasn't gonna work either. At this point I scrapped the CFL option. Difficulty of wiring a hundred-some-odd of these sockets around the room was also a factor. I had initially thought that it may be a slightly cheaper option than the T8 fixtures, but this turned out to be false as well. Not by a huge margin, so the basis of my decision could be made solely on what I thought looked best. Subsequently I settled on the combined T8 bulb method.
With the lighting question answered, I could turn my attention to the backdrop and valance.
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