I have fortified a garage to use as a home base, but the one thing I can’t seem to find to make it perfect are some lights so I can read safely without using up all my batteries.
Are there generators and static lights I can use? Something other than fire? I saw I could build a brazier, but I am not sure how brutal the game would be if I used one in a building that has gas all over the floor.
You can make a generator by building a vehicle with lots of batteries, an engine and an alternator (preferably truck alternator) on it.
Brazier currently prevents all fire spreading when set up on a tile. Pretty sure that even if fire spreads onto brazier, it will prevent it from spreading further.
I assume this means I could also slap some headlights on that and have light? I love this. 
Yeah, though if you only need enough light to read/craft, controls themselves will provide it. You will need controls to turn on the generator/light.
If you want to light up an entire base, floodlight would be the best choice, because it grants a ton of light without directional restrictions.
Braziers pump out smoke all over the place if they’re lit inside. So unless you have decent breathing protection, I wouldn’t reccomend using a brazier as an indoor light source.
If you have a rivtech design binder and electronics skill, you can create an atomic lamp with some plutonium. Decent light radius, never goes out.
It’s a weak light that only provides slow reading, but crafting is okay - shocker brute slaves.
Or one can use Constructions and make a stone fireplace or wood stove.
Firewood and rocks are the one thing you’re not going to lack in a city.
Getting the skill up w/out books does take a bit doing though.
Here are some alternatives nobody else seems to suggest but work great for me.
At level 3 fabrication, with some basic tools and a welder, you can make a charcoal kiln. Fill it up with a little wood and light it up for a 3x3 pool of useful light. You can repeat the process every now and then for charcoal or don’t bother and enjoy the light source forever.
At level 5 electronics you might be able to build an inactive turret. Activate this for a 11x11 pool of light (only 7x7 is sufficiently bright to read with no penalty). You don’t need to provide it with any ammo if you only want to use it as a lamp.
At even higher levels of electronics, blessed with a rare book and a rarer drop, you can create control laptops which can reprogram hostile turrets. Once a turret is friendly you can walk into it and deactivate it, granting you another inactive turret and its cache of ammo. Robbing a lab or military bunker will provide you with enough light sources to light all your rooms and much of the street outside.
Smartest way: build your base using buildings with a working console (like shelter, bank, church, etc)0
The simple way: lightstripe
The harder way: dome light cart (frame+control+battery+solar panel+wheel/casters)
not sure if it is still in, but there were multi-level above ground buildings as an optional test thing for the 3d merge, the roof makes a good base since solar panels will work up there - infinite light.
I assume this means I could also slap some headlights on that and have light? I love this. :D[/quote]
Yup. Get a small engine and a truck alternator with some fuel tanks and controls. Add lights to suit your bases needs. You can get really fancy too and wire up your entire base with the 1 genny and laying down frames/floors and walls to merge with base walls to mount lights in multiple rooms.