Articles Related to: Transformer

... that's usually not a problem unless you really do want to be out there till dawn. For ease of installation it's a clear win for solar landscape lighting as anyone who has installed conventional low voltage lighting using cables will agree. A normal 12v electric garden lighting system typically involves locating a Transformer in a secure and convenient (so you can turn the lights on and off) location indoors, routing the cable to the outside (often by drilling a hole through a wall), running the cable to the ... ... means that items in the cupboard above are invariably exposed to some amount of heat. However, these days there is a very good solution that is well suited to most kitchen lighting designs: LED kitchen lighting. Simply replace existing halogen spotlights and under-cabinet lighting with equivalent LED light fittings. This is pretty much a matter of replacing existing 12v Transformers with one (or more, depending on the number of lights involved) constant voltage 12v LED driver and then swapping out the halogen lamps for LED equivalents. If using mains voltage lighting this is even easier as all that is required is to ... ... voltage) system instead. But fitting and replacing bulbs aside, what are the essential advantages and disadvantages of using either mains or low voltage lighting? Low voltage bulbs actually consume slightly more electricity since although the lamps may use a low-voltage input, the Transformers certainly don't, and in combination they draw more power than mains equivalents. On the plus side though, low voltage halogen lamps typically last longer than mains versions. A typical line voltage bulb will last about 1000 hours in contrast to a low voltage equivalent that can last 2 to 3 times ... ... also manufacture both a 6W MR16 LED and for those who like it really, really bright a 9W MR16 LED spotlight for use with low voltage systems. Note though that for low voltage systems you will undoubtedly need to also swap out existing 12v Transformers for constant voltage LED drivers. These can be ridiculously priced, but you should be able to get a perfectly reasonable product delivered to your door for about a fiver; this basic 10 - 50W LED driver sits in that bracket (the postage costs more than the item ... ... I don't for example draw any attention to the part of the garden where the shed is, but do use clusters of very small lights packed fairly densely (maybe 5 per shrub) close up to the deck, which when mixed in with the foliage creates a "cloud" effect. This at least should make it easy to approximate how many lights, and therefore what size Transformer and length of cable, will be required. When it comes to individual light fittings, there are two basic techniques to consider. Some lights are the decorative effect themselves and ...