Low Voltage Lighting Questions
Low voltage lighting overload? My low voltage garden lighting transformer is rated for 150 Watts. What will happen if I put 160 Watts on the line? Will it blow the transformer? Breaker? Lights?
Why does low voltage lighting have to be 10 feet from pool? I just put in some low voltage landscape lighting and a few of the fixtures are about 3 feet from the edge of my inground pool. The instructions say not to have any fixtures within 10 feet from the pool "for maximum safety". I thought low voltage lighting was completely safe. Why shouldn't I have fixtures within 10 feet from the pool edge?
Low voltage lighting transformer location? I asked this question a week or so ago and think I may have confused folks. All of these power packs state for outdoor installation only. I called Malibu technical service and all she told me was that it was the UL code. More simply put, does anyone know of a concern if I mount and plug in my transformer in my basement, and run the low voltage wiring through a small hole to the outside for my outdoor ground lighting? Hope that's clearer, thanks for any thoughts!
How to wire low voltage lighting to transformer? I have 14 LED lighting fixtures with 10" pigtails and the transformer (12vdc 2800 mA 36 W) which powers all of them is 5 ft away. Please advise if wire nuts or what is used to extend the wiring from the fixture to the transformer. I assume I need some kind of terminal blocks to connect the fixtures to the transfomer. How do I connect all the terninal blocks to the transformer? Thanks.
Low voltage halogen lighting? What benefit if any? I am looking at buying new lighting for my kitchen - the halogen one I like is listed as a "low voltage system", what is the purpose of "low-voltage" systems? What the reason for why I might want this, are they more economical or is there an electrical benefit to them - please help.
Low Voltage outdoor lighting? I have a low voltage ooutdoor lighting system and need to switch one set to the other how do I get the old lights off to connect to the other wire and what are the steps to connecting.I am a woman so patience is a virtual..thanks for your help..
Low voltage wire lighting fitted in the kitchen? I am thinking about lighting for new kitchen,spots are not an option, dont really want to use wall lights. how much dust collects on the wires, is this type of lighting practical in a kitchen The ceiling is pitched with two Velux roof lights
I want to add to my low voltage outdoor lighting system??? Can I just put another wire on the transformer leads? I want to put a light in the other direction than where I originally ran the wire. the lighting I have doesn't exceed the transformer rating but will have any problems if I just take a second wire and connect it with the original wire to the transformer. and go in the other direction?
How many low voltage indoor lights ? I am replacing some standard recessed lights with low voltage recessed lights. These are halogen low voltage and not CFBs. I am wondering if I can increase the number of lights on this leg of the circuit from the existing 6, would like 8 (there are other lights throughout the house on this 15A circuit). Today there are six 6inch 65W standard incandescent lights, would like 8 low voltage (12v) 50W lights. Not sure if there is anything specific I need to be concerned with with respect to low voltage lighting. thanks. Should of added, the potentially new lights have integrated transformers. It is not 1 transformer for all shared lights, 1 transformer (integrated to recessed can) per light. thanks.
Low Voltage Landscape Lights: Wiring and Spacing Questions? I am installing low voltage lighting and have a couple of questions: I'm working both with 4 watt and 11 watt tiered path lights. I plan to use the 11 watt fixtures on corners and at steps. How far apart should I space the 4 watt fixtures along the path? Also, can I change out the 4 watt bulbs with 11 watt bulbs if some areas need extra lighting? Is it true that I can pierce the low voltage cable and if I'm not happy with the location, that it is OK to remove the fixture and place it elsewhere (meaning the cable is really self sealing?) I have about 240 watts of lights to be controlled by a 300 watt transformer, on 12 gu cable, and the run is approximately 150 feet. Should I run two, 75 foot cables to the transformer, or have one long 150 foot cable to it?
Which is better, low voltage or mains halogen lighting? Can't find any sensible answers to help me decide whether to fit low voltage halogen downlights or mains voltage downlights. I know that mains voltage fittings are cheaper but the bulbs don't last as long. Is there a difference in light quality? Does having a transformer per light make any difference (like a background hum if you have 10 lights each with their own transformer)? Anything else I need to consider?
Are there any advantages to low voltage halogen downlighters versus 240V ones? I am going to be installing ceiling downlighters, and wondered whether to use a transformer and low voltage lights, or just 240V ones. In particular would I need to leave some way to access the transformer (presumably in the ceiling), in case it fails at some point in the future? Great answers thanks: can anyone cast any more "light" on the ventilation issue if I go for transformers and low voltage lights?
Insulating non I/C low voltage recessed halogen lights? I purchased and installed non I/C 4" low voltage recessed lights new construction. They were installed in a ceiling of a room that was an addition. I am noticing a very cold draft on our cold nights coming from the lights (when off) due to the number of small holes in the cans. Can I user foil/aluminum tape to seal up the small machined holes inside the can to help reduce the draft that comes in? Since they were non I/C and the transformer was exposed, the insulation was kept at a distance. I should have used I/C lights but it is too late as it is all rocked and painted. Need some suggestions.
I need a simple wiring diagram to switch low voltage garden lights between one another ?? Hi guys. I have a set of 3 garden lights. They all run off a 12 volt transformer and are simply connected using low voltage garden light wire. Now, my question is, I want to be able to wire in a simple switch, which when thrown one way, it lights up 2 lights, and when thrown the other way, simply lights up the other light and turns the original 2 off. I tried to wire a switch in but it didn`t work for some reason. Please note: there is no negative or positive wire with this garden light wire, just 2 cores which can be split or twined with one another and it doesn`t matter which way any connections are conncted. I hope what I want is achievable. Thank you heaps in advance. Neil.
Electrical: How do I replace 3 (120 Volt) landscape lights with low voltage lights - is this a job for a pro? I have already purchased my new lights but just today learned about the voltage variance (what I have now is 120V, need to move to low voltage). I'd like to use the existing underground wiring for the new lights, if this is possible. Can a layman easily install a transformer on the existing line and plug the new low volt lights into the heavy power cable already in place? ...or is this too much of a job to bite off for a guy juggling overcommitted weekend schedules and soccer coaching?
If you were sealed in a small steel walled room with no door and a low voltage light ...? ... how would you kill yourself? I mean, you would have ABSOLUTELY no chance of escaping this room, EVER. You would just dehydrate and starve to death or suffocate if you didn't off yourself. What one solid-state, non-mechanical object would you prefer to have to do it? Remember, you can't escape, no matter what! Check back often after you answer, because I will eventually think of how I would do it and with what item too. (you do not have to be creative, whatever works for you. It also helps to seriosuly imagine yourself in this situation and how time would wear on you.). Extremely long answers welcome. Oh, and please check your spelling. Nothing kills the mood of what you're writing as when you misspell. Sorry friend, but the purpose of the low voltage light is that it cannot be used to electrocute yourself. That would be too easy. And don't forget, you're allowed one solid-state, non-mechanical object to do this with. Geez people, come on. Im not trying to be "novel". Im satisfying my own curiosity and also entertaining myself and others who have fun answering these types of questions. Also, how would you live long enough to grow your hair and strangle yourself? Knowing the helplessness of my situation, I would break the light, cut myself and write my last words in blood on the floor. (this would be difficult in the dark, but I'd try. Perhaps would be my last act once I decided how to kill myself). Then, the one item I would have would be, umm ... a three foot steel spike. I would practice falling forward to the floor until I can do it without instictively throwing my arms up. This would be painful practice. Then, I would take the steel spike, with a wide flat base to keep it standing well, and put it in the center of the room. I would then jump up and attempt to land on it, aiming for the heart. If i miss, it would certainly be painful and I likely wouldn't have the heart to try again, in which case I'd propably cut my wrists with the glass from the broken bulb. Or I could sit in agony and bleed to death from the wound I already have, although that would be long and arduous. If the room were tall enough, I'd hang myself with a cable Or I'd take a large steel ball and try to swallow it and choke to death. I might take a claw hammer and after a long, insanity inducing time of being in that room, bludgeon my skull until I fell into a coma. Or maybe I would take a long, pointy object and stick it in my eye socket and attempt to labotomize myself, using rapid motions to get the job done completely because it would propably suck to just get some strange brain malfunction and have to be completely mentally concious to suffer it. I might also Get really aroused, perhaps through masturbation, then slice my penis open with a razor. This would be the fastest way to ensure sufficient blood loss. If I had any hope of rescue, I'd have a serated knife to occasionally cut of a part of my body for sustanance until I had no limbs left to remove, or would actually bleed to death because I'm nude and I chose a knife instead of a proper tourniquette as my item. Maybe I would have a sharp jagged length of steel and swallow it. Or, I would have a bible. I would tear the pages out and swallow them until I died from ink poisoning. I could also use the tightly rolled up pages to make a shiv and stab myself. Or maybe I'd have a long, flat and heavy piece of steel with a razor sharp edge and wedge it into a corner of the room and run into it repeatedly until I was sufficiently butchered. I could deficate on the floor, let it fester for a few days until I'm starved enough to eat it and die from dysentary (sp?). I could also choose as my Item, about five gallons of lard, then keep eating it until I successfully clot my arteries. With any luck this will end in a heart attack and not a stroke or subcranial hematoma. Or for my item, I would have as much water as it would take to fill the room to the roof with water, then drown. Or my item would be a stack of paper. I would break the light, use the filament to start a fire, then burn the paper one sheet at a time untitl the oxygen is gone and I asphyxiate.
will low voltage damage led lights? I have several led strip lights (DC) and am curious if low voltage will damage them. I know high voltage will destroy them if high enough, but it seems when the voltage gets low enough they simply stop emitting light. Does this do any harm to them or am I okay?
Sparkys Out There?? (Electricians) Low Voltage Recessed Down Lights.? Iv fitted 2 low voltage recessed down light in my bathroom just wanting to know what they mean in the fitting instruction. in simple terms/ the cable used on low voltage electronic conductor must be greater in daimeter than the cable of the 230v mains?? help me on this 1 please all iv done is connected it to the old light cables is this ok?? thanks thanks for the tips it all works ok. the transformer has blue/brown cable mains also the 2 prong connectors both brown for the lights i think you can put about 6 light off 1 transformer cheers for help
Buzz and hum on 12v low voltage cable light transformer? Over the weekend I have installed a LV cable light system from light waves concepts. The quality of the fixtures and the overall kit is great and we're really happy with the look of the lights.The problem is, kit came with a 300 watt magnetic transformer that included a debuzzing coil but even with a 600VA LV magnetic dimmer, the transformer is still quite loud with a hum and buzz. I have tried leviton and cooper magnetic LV dimmers and I have even removed the debuzzing coil from the transformer and relocated it to a covered and hidden Jbox because the coil makes some noise too. That helped a little but the transformer itself is still loud when dimmed and silent when at full power. I'm thinking that I may have to get a remote transformer and hide it in the basement or something to keep the sound away from the living room but before I go to such lengths, does anyone have any advice or suggestions?
How do you calculate amp draw on low voltage track light? Hey Yahoo Experts! I have a halogen track light fixture. It uses a transformer to convert 120 vac to 12v. The fixture has 5 20 watt lamps. How do you calculate the amp draw? Maybe I made my question sound like a riddle, but it's not. Since the voltage was stepped down from 120 to 12, which voltage do I use to calulate the amp draw with 5 20 watt bulbs on the fixture. I don't have an amp meter.
Why do we have to pull the light switch 3 times with our low voltage halogen lights? In our bathroom we have the standard pull switch operating fixed halogen downlights. Lately for some strange reason we now have to pull the light switch 3 times to switch them on i.e. on, off then on and it works! Why is this?? Is it a problem with the pull switch unit or is it something to do with the transformers for the Halogen lights? Thanks, but it's not that the transformers need to warm up as we've tried leaving it for a while. Also it isn't a 3-way switch, it's just a simple on and off bathroom pull switch! Thanks anyway