The shop lights were mounted by shortening the chain that they came with and hanging them from the aviary frame's ceiling crossbeams.

Shop lights were hung from crossbeams in the ceiling.

A notch was cut in the frame ceiling, through which the electrical cords could be threaded behind the interior panels, which would be installed later.

Once the frame was up, we decided to install the aviary lighting next. We did this primarily because once installed, the light fixtures would provide ample light for working on the remainder of the aviary. The simplest approach to aviary lighting was to purchase shop lights (like those used in garage and basement workrooms). Thus, we need only suspend them and plug them in. In order to decide what shop lights to buy, I had to decide on what type of light bulbs I wanted to use in the aviary. The full spectrum lights I chose for the aviary are the Sunstick (DSGN50) from Sylvania. These are consumer grade full-spectrum bulbs with a color temperature of 5000K and a color rendering index (CRI) of 90. They are probably comparable to the GE Sunshine bulbs, also commonly available (for more information on lighting, see the "Light Bulb" topic of the Accessories section). These bulbs are 48" long, 40 Watts, and use a T12 connection. We therefore purchased two double-fixture shop lights that accomodated these bulbs. Note: flourescent bulbs should be used in double fixtures (two bulbs per fixture) and not installed singly.

The shop lamps were hung from short chains attached to the crossbeams on the ceiling panel. Using the chains made installation easy (they come with such chains - we just had to shorten them significantly). It also makes the fixture flexible so that we can access it from above and turn it upwards to replace the light bulbs without disturbing the birds in the aviary.

The electrical cords were strung through a notch we cut in the frame so they would extend behind the interior wall panels and reach the outlet in the wall behind the aviary. Here they were attached to a timer that regulates the birds day/night cycle, and that timer was plugged into a surge protector. These cords could be accessed through an outlet door that would be installed in one of the interior wall panels of the aviary.

A red light was intended to be mounted to the ceiling panel at the center of the aviary. This light would have been on a timer to go on shortly before the full-spectrum lights went off and then to turn off again shortly after the aviary lights turn on. The red light would provide enough light for the birds to find their way to their sleeping spots when the lights go out (and when startled at night), without keeping them awake at night. However, when we tested some incandescent fixtures with red light bulbs, they generated an awful lot of heat. Because the top portion of the aviary between the ceiling and the roof would not have ideal ventilation, we were afraid the red light would become a fire hazard. Instead, we wired an extension cord so that we could add such a fixture in the future, but opted to use a standard nightlight on a nearby outlet instead.

Supplies