Home Page link

Low voltage lanscape lighting

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here. 

Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >> Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
Low voltage lanscape lighting hobbes 08-21-2007
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by hobbes on August 21, 2007, 7:52 am
Hi,

I am thinking about installing low voltage landscape lighting (12v). I
learned of voltage drop in that light bulbs further away from the
transformer will be dimmer than ones closer to the transformer.

The solution is to try and set up your lighting runs such that
clusters of fixtures are sufficiently close together so that the
voltage differentials are small.

My question is would it be possible to also vary the wattages of the
light bulbs on the same run to even out the light output. For example
I would place a 20w bulb close to the transformer. And then further
down the run I would put say a 50w bulb. The 50w bulb would have lower
voltage, due to the power transmission losses, but would draw more
current and hence get to the same light output.

Has anyone tried this? Or is it that in practice it is very difficult
to get the light outputs to match well.

Best, Mike.


Posted by Mikepier on August 21, 2007, 9:58 am
> Hi,
>
> I am thinking about installing low voltage landscape lighting (12v). I
> learned of voltage drop in that light bulbs further away from the
> transformer will be dimmer than ones closer to the transformer.

That would be the case if the lights were wired in series. But if they
are wired in parallel, each light bulb would get the equivelant
voltage the power supply is capable of. The power rating of the power
supply you get depends on how many bulbs you intend on using.



Posted by jmagerl on August 21, 2007, 10:20 am
When I did mine, I ran the wire as a big loop with both ends connected to
the transformer (don't get the ends mixed up). That effectively doubles the
current rating of the wire and halves the voltage drops making for more
consistant brightness.

>> Hi,
>>
>> I am thinking about installing low voltage landscape lighting (12v). I
>> learned of voltage drop in that light bulbs further away from the
>> transformer will be dimmer than ones closer to the transformer.
>
> That would be the case if the lights were wired in series. But if they
> are wired in parallel, each light bulb would get the equivelant
> voltage the power supply is capable of. The power rating of the power
> supply you get depends on how many bulbs you intend on using.
>
>



Posted by bud-- on August 21, 2007, 11:32 am
jmagerl wrote:
> When I did mine, I ran the wire as a big loop with both ends connected to
> the transformer (don't get the ends mixed up). That effectively doubles the
> current rating of the wire and halves the voltage drops making for more
> consistant brightness.

In a slight variation, you could feed one of the wires at the 'near' end
(the other wire not connected at the 'near' end). Feed the other wire at
the 'far' end. All bulbs will be the same brightness.

>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I am thinking about installing low voltage landscape lighting (12v). I
>>> learned of voltage drop in that light bulbs further away from the
>>> transformer will be dimmer than ones closer to the transformer.

>> That would be the case if the lights were wired in series. But if they
>> are wired in parallel, each light bulb would get the equivelant
>> voltage the power supply is capable of. The power rating of the power
>> supply you get depends on how many bulbs you intend on using.

If the bulbs are run in series, the current through each bulb is the
same. If the same type bulbs are used, each will be the same brightness.

Wired in parallel, the voltage at the far end is lower because of
voltage drop along the wire as the OP said.

--
bud--

Posted by Mikepier on August 21, 2007, 2:35 pm
> If the bulbs are run in series, the current through each bulb is the same.

True

>If the same type bulbs are used, each will be the same brightness.

Not true. While the current is the same, the voltage across each bulb
will not be the same because of the voltage drop across each bulb.

> Wired in parallel, the voltage at the far end is lower because of
> voltage drop along the wire as the OP said.

I think you have your series and parallel circuits mixed up. You will
definately have a lower voltage at the far end if you wired the bulbs
in series, but if you wire them in parallel, and assuming you use a
heavy guage wire and a high KVA power supply, you should get little or
no voltage drop at the far end.


Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >>
Similar ThreadsPosted
Low Voltage Lighting July 6, 2007, 7:56 am
Low Voltage Recessed Lighting January 17, 2006, 9:57 pm
Low Voltage Recessed Lighting January 17, 2006, 9:57 pm
Low Voltage Lighting Question...Help March 23, 2006, 7:54 pm
Low voltage lighting - Indoor August 25, 2006, 5:31 pm
Low voltage lighting transformers April 10, 2007, 9:56 am
Low voltage lighting fixture October 5, 2008, 11:38 pm
Low voltage vs. 110v outdoor lighting? August 19, 2006, 9:52 pm
Re: Landscape lighting fixtures - low voltage October 24, 2007, 6:05 pm
Re: Landscape lighting fixtures - low voltage October 24, 2007, 4:23 pm

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap