Low Voltage
 

Tell me about low voltage outdoor lights?

I’m almost done fixing my fence and instead of solar post caps, I want to install wired lights that actually illuminate, so thinking low voltage.

I know absolutely zip about them.

Installed about 25 lights in the backyard from these guys around 5 years ago. It has been pretty much flawless. https://www.voltlighting.com/

I took care to use grease caps on the connections between the main line and the lights. I also placed the connection points in plastic baggies sealed with electrical tape. I REALLY dd not want to have to dig them up in the future. Buried the line using a tool that is basically a wide, dull blade on a stick that you use your body weight to create a narrow trench in the lawn. Plugged the transformer into an outdoor outlet under my deck. measure your line run carefully, I had about 5 feet left from a 100 ft roll. Was pretty impressed with myself. :) Good luck.

Pretty simple really . You have a transformer that plugs into a 110 volt outlet . From there you hook up the two wire low voltage cable and run the cable to the lights . Most lights have a simple pinch connector . You place the cable into the connector and close it until it snaps . Metal teeth pierce the insulation to make the connection .

Things to know . The longer the cable run the larger the wire gauge has to be . And transformers are rated by how many watts they can support . I recently installed 5 spotlights with a kit I purchased from Harbor Freight . Each spotlight came with a 20 watt halogen bulb . So 5 lights at 20 watts = 100 watts usage. That was the max rating for the transformer .

Went online and bought LED bulbs . They are a brighter white than the halogens but only consume 1.5 watts each !!!! So I went from 100 watts to 7.5 in total . If I want to I could easily add more lights . And LED run very cool vs the halogen .

Final note . Low voltage lighting fixtures can be made of plastic or metal . I prefer metal . The kit I bought from HF is metal . I smeared silicone grease on the rubber lense cover gasket to help seal and keep the rubber soft .

I'm right in the middle of doing all this homework myself. There is an astonishing amount of unhelpful information out there.

I rec. using led lights that you can change easily when they time out. The cheap ones use a led chip that requires the whole fixture to be changed. For your posts, that will likely be the case. For spots and floods, those use MR11 or 16, or bipin G4, or similar.

Calculate the total wattage you expect to use, add in any additional you think you may want, and add 25% of that on top for a total wattage. That will be the wattage your transformer will need to be to run your line, plus a little headroom.

Long run wiring will require heavier gage, and the number of taps figure a little into the equation when using led, and a lot when using anything else. There are calculators on some websites, but that is where a lot of the unhelpfulness lays.

Best with your project

LED good. Everything else bad.
We have floodlights and built in - concreted in place - lights on the walkway steps. The upgrade in the floodlights was marked when we went to LED, and in 5 years they’ve been maintenance free.

Thanks all!

Looks like actual post cap lights are expensive for nice ones and icky for cheap ones. Esp if looking for copper.

So thinking some simple no-light copper post caps - these are actual copper, not plastic like the "copper" post light caps - and some eyebrow LED LV lights on the posts below - unobtrusive, and send light down where its actually useful. The eyebrow lights I'm looking at are only 2W, so even though I need 20+, the wattage required is moderate. They are the kind where I'd have to change out the whole light if it fails, but each light is cheap enough I'll just stash away spares.

https://www.voltlighting.com/deals/clearance-discontinued?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclsrc=ds

We install these all the time. I don't even bother with Corona Lights or the like that rule the yardlight industry for many years unless its a light design that Volt do not carry. Don't worry about Voltage drop unless you are running a lot of lights off one transformer. the 300-400 watt transformer has more then one outputs. For example, one set can control lights in the front yard, one for the sides and one for the back yard. We have run over 20 lights off one set of outputs, that's between 2-5 watts LED. Mix and match. I am not a fan of bright yard lights, bit enough lights to see the pathways and steps. Case lights on the tree and allow that light to bounce off the tree onto the walk or path way. Keeps some areas dark and some lit enough to see is all you need. I have seen some houses that have enough lights to land a 747.

Another thing to remember, John, is if you are to run 20 lights off one output, the lights should run off a hub. Main line, 12 gauge, to a distribution hub. From there, depending on the hub, it may have 4-6 outlets to different sets of lights. Maybe one set to all the pathway lights, one set for steps, another set for lights coming off the walls (eyebrows), another spots for trees. This way, the run is shorten instead of running one continuous long wire through out the yard. They have water proof hubs too, look around.

These are professional grade lights, and their pricing is more then competitive to other pro grade lights on the market. I think they run about 30-405 cheaper.

You may think about well lights in certain places

Thanks!

I think when astronomers start complaining, then it’s just right.

Very clever. LV wire is pretty heavy gauge and not cheap. Best to localize like zones. I have front on one timer and the back on another night/day transformer. I have a 3rd for auxiliary lighting if we were to have a party outside after sunset (not likely).

Good post.

Yeah, not everyone is lucky to have outlets on all area of their house plus, it doesn't look too good having too many things hanging on the wall. I like to hide the transformer best I can on one side of the house but I know sometimes fishing wires to a needed area and hiding them isn't always possible.