low voltage lighting

The efficiency of the solar panels including the reduction in their size coupled with the quality of the batteries they charge and the length of time they last has made the purchase of solar lights very economical.

The Old Way

Once upon a time if you wanted outdoor lights, you had to assemble the lights, dig ditches, run wires, find and outlet for the transformer(these were low voltage systems using 12 volts), connect the light connections to the main cable, cover the ditches and set back to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Assembling the lights could be a major effort in some of the less expensive kits. The tolerances allowed are great and the manufacturers take advantage of this. Then you need to have the strength of Hercules to attach the wiring system Solar Outdoor lighting has made improvements by leaps and bounds over the last decade. Digging the ditch can be an affair if you have a tight soil. If there was a sidewalk or driveway involved, then the work had just begun, trying to get your main cable across these obstacles. They worked great until the bulbs started getting older, then they would fade a little, burn out or their connection would corrode and need occasional cleaning and reinserting. Looking for a bad connection can and does require a lot of time and effort on the do-it yourselfer.

The New Way

In the beginning, solar lighting only had one color. This was a bluish white which looked very artificial. They have evolved and include an amber color which is less artificial looking and more pleasing to the observer. They still are available in the original color for the person who likes that effect.

They can be purchased individually or in sets. If you only want to light up a feature in your yard such as a tree or a corner of your house, you can purchase the lights singly to do it. But if you want to light up the walk to your front door or the edges of your driveway, you can purchase lights in sets to accomplish this.

Installing outdoor lights has never been easier. All you need to do is decide where you want to install a light, stick it in the ground and you are done. If you decide you don't like that location, just pull it up and move it. No new wiring to run or move. No timer to set and no difficult connections to worry about.

Overall

For the person with a lot of time to spend on installing all the components involved with the old system and the maintenance they require, they are less expensive and dependable to a point. For the person who is busy and likes instant gratification, is not exactly sure where they want to install lights and may want to change the location of their lights to gain different effects, solar lights are the way to go.

You might have heard of low voltage outdoor lighting, but you just aren't sure exactly what it is or how to use it. Well, this article's purpose is to help you become familiar with low voltage lighting and answer your most frequently asked questions on the subject.

First of all, just what is a low voltage lighting system anyway? Usually it consists of a transformer that is plugged into a wall outlet and steps the 110 volt current from the outlet down to a relatively safe 12 volts or so. The current is then passed through a low voltage cable to light fixtures that are placed along the way on the exterior of your home. These light fixtures can be used to eliminate your walkways, your landscaping, or any feature of the outside of your home that you want to direct attention to at night.

One of the big advantages of low voltage lighting systems is that they can be safely and easily installed by the homeowner themselves with no special tools. So if you're looking to get involved in a home improvement project that will be relatively easy to do and really improve the outside appearance of your home especially at night, this is the job for you.

The second big advantage of low voltage outdoor lighting is that the lights are extremely energy efficient and therefore very low cost. Most of the lights that are used are in the 4 watt range, but they can go up from there. And all you have to do to get brighter light at night is just use a higher watt bulb in each light fixture.

Many installers of low voltage outdoor lighting systems wonder how many lights can be added to the system before it is overloaded. The answer to that is that each transformer is rated for a certain amount of total bulb wattage. So just add out the number of bulbs that you have in your system and multiply that by the bulb wattage that is being used and as long as that number is below the total bulb wattage rating of your transformer you should be fine.

Another interesting point to consider is that you can use different wattage bulbs in your outdoor lighting system as long as that total bulb wattage does not exceed your transformer's capability. This will allow you to put brighter bulbs in certain areas to highlight those features even more at night.

If you do happen to exceed the total bulb wattage of your transformer, you can either purchase another power pack with a higher wattage rating to handle the load, or simply purchase a second one and split the load between two transformers instead.

One warning though to be observed is to never use an extension cord between the transformer and the electrical outlet. Always plug the transformer directly into the power outlet.

As you can see, low voltage outdoor lighting is not all that hard to install or maintain. So why not consider installing an outdoor lighting system for your next home improvement project?

When designing a system for outdoor illumination you must first decide the purpose of the lights. If they are to provide good lighting to enable you to see around the property in the dark, a 120 volt system may be necessary. To put together a system that offers subdued lighting used mostly for effect, an outdoor low voltage lighting system is what you are looking for.

An outdoor low voltage lighting system typically operates on 12 Volts and requires a transformer to change the 120 Volts in the home to 12 Volts to operate the system. There are two main methods of hooking lights to the transformer, straight line and loop, but the number of lights hooked to the transformer as well the distance the lights are from the transformer will affect how bright the lights glow.

In most installations of outdoor low voltage lighting systems, six to 10 lights may be possible and the closer together they are located, the less voltage drop you will experience. Additionally, the furthest light from the transformer will experience the most voltage drop. Some loss can be compensated by the size of the wire used, such as eight gauge or even 10 gauge, but remember there is only 12 Volts running through the lines and if more lights are going to be installed than the transformer can handle, additional transformers may be needed.

Dangers Minimized With Low Voltage Systems

Some of the advantages of outdoor low voltage lighting system is that they pose little danger to children or wildlife that may happen to touch the wires. The wires also can be placed in conduit if desired or buried in a shallow trench, unlike 120-Volt systems which require conduit and depending on local building code may have to be buried below the frost line.

To install the lights in a straight line, as the name implies, each light is connected to the wire, one after the other, supplying power to all of the lights, but if you check with a voltmeter, you will see the last light or two will show a drop in power.

In a loop connection, one wire connects to the first light, then the same wire connects to the each successive light with the final light also connected to the other terminal. It is important to follow the outdoor low voltage lighting wiring diagrams as they operate on direct current and must be hooked to the correct terminal to avoid damage.