Upgrade Your Yard Lighting To LED The Smart Way

light socket outlet 

The listen system call permits the process to pay attention on the low voltage light socket for connections. Universal dimmers are designed to be compatible with low voltage, LED, and CFL bulbs. The thing to remember as that each LED fixture or lamp is an electronic piece of equipment and not just a light bulb anymore. The main reason for this is that the cabling used for lighting is 1.5mm cable and wouldn’t be able to take the power that could be drawn through it should someone then accidentally put in a couple of 13 amp heaters or something as this would normally require 2.5mm cabling. In September 2016, the European Commission directive banning the manufacture of ‘high-energy’ halogen spotlights came into force. If we wanted to add or move a fixture after the trenches had been backfilled, we would have to re-trench and home run another wire all the way back to the transformer, which in most cases was a very invasive and costly process. Some of my LED bulbs are more than 5 years old and still going strong. Depending on their size, these bulbs can be used in applications ranging from chandeliers, wall sconces, and pendant lights to basement and garage troffer light fixtures. This is because some vintage or retro light bulbs available in Australia use the old-fashioned incandescent technology. And light is more effectively concentrated where it’s needed, which can reduce the number of fixtures needed for a particular lighting scheme. This creates a confusing situation in which a keyed 3-way socket (which has a 3-contact socket at the top of it) has only two terminal screws, while a night-light socket (which does not have a 3-contact socket at the top) has three terminal screws on the base. To determine which size transformer you need, simply add up the wattage of all the lights in the system. Often the transformer is contained in the base of the desk or table lamp – so you can’t see it. Because there is a transformer, you may experience compatibility issues if replacing on old halogen with some new LED lights. Usually a burning lamp will produce enough heat to burn off any condensation (moisture) that may form in a light fixture. If you decide to run an outside wall light off a main power circuit (which you’ll need to do if you plan to fit a high-wattage floodlight), first identify a suitable socket from which to run a spur. General Electric produced sets in the late 1970s or early 1980s with special green-tipped clear ” fuse ” bulbs that had special bases at both ends of a set. I see 3 wires twisted, so power in, power out, and power to switch. We have actually found instances where an installer just stripped some of the jacket off of the main wire and wrapped the fixture wire around it, and then wrapped that in electrical tape. Normally, power (voltage) comes through the tab on the socket base. When a standard bulb is screwed into a standard socket, a matching contact on the bottom of the bulb presses against the metal tongue in the center of the socket, creating the live connection. Even if you realize that you are using a light bulb with a higher wattage than you are supposed to and attempt to fix your mistake, it may already be too late. Overvoltage that is too high, or sustained over a long enough period, can cause bulbs to blow. For example 120V and 130V bulbs are interchangeable and the pros in using a 130 Volt bulb are: cooler burning bulb, less energy use, longer life and better handling of voltage surges. Attend this seminar for landscape lighting professionals. Low cost: LED bulb upgrades are a lot cheaper than buying all new garden light fixtures. Voltage is one of those differences – and knowing what voltage to use is important when buying any type of light bulb. Located in Sandy, Landscape Lighting Pro of Utah serves customers throughout Utah’s residential areas, including Salt Lake City, Park City, Draper and Holladay. Bulbs of this type are commonly used in automotive lighting and in low-voltage lighting used in landscape lighting The bulb may have dual filaments , acting as both a low- wattage tail light or parking light and a higher-wattage brake light or turn signal In this case, one has its contacts near the center of the base, and the other toward the outside edges, so that they cannot be accidentally swapped. If you want a smart outdoor lighting system for your garden, you could cobble together an array of smart home lighting products from various makers or use products from one brand, such as the Philips Hue outdoor line But I recommend a different route: Upgrade the bulbs in your current outdoor fixtures to LED and use an outdoor plug adapter to make your garden lights part of your home control tech. These bulbs can have a frosted, clear, or patterned dome-shaped lens that diffuses light and provides a gradual fade into nonilluminated areas. However let us imagine that you have a rather large house( or hotel) with a big lounge and although you have a couple of main lights in the room you might also have a few wall lights, to create a different lighting mood, also switched on by the light switches beside the door.

There are two areas that you should be looking at when it comes to testing: the transformer and the lights. There are 452 suppliers who sells low voltage light sockets on , mainly located in Asia. The three main and most important characteristics you must match with the replacement bulbs are the lamps voltage, wattage and base. One of the simplest types of lighting is low voltage. An 11 watt LED fixture may actually be using more like 20 watts VA. Then the wire size and length also contributes to the load on the transformer. If you are upgrading to low voltage LED bulbs, make sure you change your transformers at the same time. Check with the lighting manufacturer to determine the proper-size cable to use for your specific system. Part of our complete line of outdoor landscape lighting fixtures, parts and fittings. Even if you don’t have solar panels, lighting uses a lot of power. The Hypergiant LED landscape light is also very adjustable. You can power your garden lights from a spur off a ring circuit, via a 5 amp fused connection unit. It could be an issue prior to the switch or past the light wherever the wires go next. Low-voltage landscape lighting is a simple improvement that can make a huge difference in how your home looks after dusk and in its safety and security as well. The switch usually picks up the live for the switch at the light fixture. If your light bulb is enclosed in a fixture, you will want to pay even more attention to buying the correct lightbulb. Click on any of the base illustrations above to see a list of light bulbs that have that base. For every light fixture or application, there’s going to be a specific bulb or light bulb shape that will fit best and provide the right type of light. Hence only specific lamp holders are suitable for dichroic lights. Some LED bulbs, like the Philips Master LED range , have in-built circuitry that can deal with most (but not all) transformers, so you don’t have to change them. If you decide to replace them with LED lights, you have to make sure that the positive terminal from the battery is connected to the positive terminal of the LED. In the past, when low voltage tungsten bulbs were used, the fixtures where daisy- chained with no real attention paid to bulb brightness, color or longevity because tungsten bulbs can burn for years on very little voltage. You can dim the lights from one central point and control power to lights (but not their brightness) from other locations. Begin by placing the light fixtures in the positions where you have decided to install them. Let’s start with the Zuckeo LED landscape lights. They are by no means the only voltages that can be used to operate lighting systems or appliances. Turn off the power to the fixture and use a non-contact voltage tester to make sure the power is off. That huge efficiency difference is why you can add more lights to your system without running into limits of transformer output or wire run length when you convert your bulbs to LED. Most bulbs that are used for general purpose lighting are mains voltage. While low-voltage light fixtures, bulbs and dimmers are considerably more expensive due to the need for a transformer, the operating costs over time are typically lower than line-voltage operation if the lighting system is frequently used. The wire from the other side of the switch goes to one lead from the LED. With streaming sockets, knowledge can be sent or acquired at any time. I personally use spring-loaded speaker terminals and just tin the ends of my DC lighting wires. At the stately 1930s-something home shown here, we installed 12 Intermatic fixtures in three different areas. Likewise, not all compact fluorescent (CFL) light fixtures can be dimmed. But the regular question is “How do I safely power the lights if they are not ‘mains’ driven?”. Although several types of fixture – ballasted compact fluorescent bulbs (such as the common PL-13) use a large wedge-like base, they are designated as bi-pin or quad-pin bases. We are specializing in producing and exporting various standard mid- high range wall light switch&socket, plugs, circuit breakers, lighting and some other low voltage light socket products. Set all the light fixtures back into position, checking to make sure they’re equally spaced. You might want to verify the circuit by getting a cheap keyless socket (basement ceiling type of light) and temporary connecting it and putting in a 40-100 watt bulb. Next, connect each light fixture to the cable. They can be used for many applications throughout the home, such as foyer lights, kitchen lights, chandeliers, and ornamental fixtures. Compact, mains powered halogen and LED downlights usually have two pins sticking out the back of the cap (a bi-pin cap). Most Edison base bulbs have a single contact at the center of the base. Those fixtures have limited life spans and provide minimal protection for the socket, light bulb, or LED lamp.

Replacement low voltage dichoric lamp sockets. If the lamp burns out, corrosion can form in that light socket. A lamp with night light is often configured so that one of the two sockets is a medium-base socket, considered to be the Main Lamp (under the lamp shade ), and the other socket is a candelabra-base socket that is the night light or decorative accent light. When vibration is the culprit, switching to an LED bulb is a sure-fire fix. The top countries of suppliers are China, Japan, and Taiwan, China, from which the percentage of low voltage light sockets supply is 99%, 1%, and 1% respectively. Accent Fixtures: The unsung heroes of any landscape lighting design are the accent lights. You reminded us that those light fixtures have a lifetime guaranty and that we should just return them to Unique Lighting Systems and the fixtures would be replaced at no charge. Well lights are among the most versatile fixtures. Sure, any arrangement of batteries that provides the right voltage (about 120 V, if it’s a standard household bulb) will do. The batteries will provide dc voltage, not the ac provided by wall outlets, but the effect in heating the bulb filament is the same. The low voltage versions have a built-in electronic transformer that let you easily convert the 120 volt medium base socket in an existing recessed fixture into an adjustable low voltage light source using 12 volt MR-16 up to 50 watts; or 12 volt AR-111 and PAR-36 halogen reflector lamps up to 75 watts. Before installing your low voltage outdoor lighting, there are a few things you should do. The first thing you need to consider is your current setup. As you will read about its details, wattage of a bulb is independent of the voltage but is specified by manufacturer seperately. To make your backyard or garden pop this spring and summer, install some low-voltage lighting to illuminate fences, flower beds, and other features. Hi, it would be normal lighting cable come out of spur, but you need a 3amp fuse in your fuse spur. Thermal Protector – A small safety device wired between the junction box and the socket in all UL listed fixtures designed to turn off the lamp if the fixture gets too hot (usually caused by installing a lamp that uses more power than the fixture is rated for). The great part about the Zuckeo LED landscape lights is that they come under a 12-month warranty. Screw-In Extender and Light Converter let you use easily convert the 120 volt medium base socket in an existing recessed fixture into an adjustable low voltage light source using 12 volt MR-16 halogen reflector lamps up to 50 watts. When a landscape is designed, attention is focused on highlighting the architecture, dividing public areas from the private ones, creating unity, flow, safety, and harmony between the different elements used whether it’s plants or hard-scape. LED bulbs use about 10% of the energy of traditional bulbs – so 10w will give you the equivalent light output of an old 100w bulb, 6w of a 60w bulb, and so on. You just want a replacement light bulb , but with so many different bases (caps), shapes and sizes, it’s not always so simple to find one that fits. Fortunately, upgrading Halogen MR16 light bulbs to LED is usually a painless affair, as most LED light bulbs are now designed to retrofit to existing light fittings. We have found them mounded over fixtures that stand 8” above the grade of the landscape. Power controlled by this switch. Recently we had several of our Pulsar lights, which we purchased several years ago, damaged by our landscapers. These one-watt LED bulbs are expected to last around 100,000 hours and the lights themselves are covered by a one-year limited warranty. If you have a standard light fixture, especially one designed to use an incandescent or fluorescent bulb, you should have no trouble finding a compatible dimmer switch. They’re commonly found in outdoor emergency light, spot light, or floodlight fixtures but can also be used indoors for track lights, recessed lights, display lights, or can lights. Thinking about ‘low voltage’ garden lights, how to connect them together and then connecting them all to the ‘mains’ supply may be confusing to many people. Ordinary flashlight bulbs are designed to work with about 3V, easy to obtain with two batteries in series. These are most commonly used in integrated kitchen fittings, where space is at a premium and smaller light bulbs are a necessity. Transformers typically require a minimum combined wattage in order to operate the lighting system effectively, and without flickering or humming. Filament light bulbs are often very delicate, especially if they’re cheaply made. When purchasing a new light source , first and foremost, you must always match your light bulb to the requirements of your fixture. Landscape lighting describes a large and varied family of outdoor lighting fixtures.

Tip: Don’t bury the cable more than 3 inches or you’ll have difficulty connecting the light fixture. The bulb is inserted and removed with straight in or out force, without turning as with a bayonet mount or Edison screw , on certain bi-pin light sockets For true wedges, compression is the force that holds the bulb in, while others use simple friction , or snap into a socket with spring -loaded electrical contacts that “grab” the corners or other protrusions on the base to prevent loosening from vibration In contrast, a “slide base” (sometimes “telephone slide base”) lamp also is inserted in a socket without rotation, but has two long contacts on either side of the lamp envelope connected to the lead wires. The lights are fed by a 12-volt transformer, which you should plug into a convenient socket indoors or in your shed or garage, as you need to protect it from the weather. While the above are the main light bulbs voltage for home and garden application there are bulbs used for special application that operate at different voltage as 6v, 24v, 36v etc. Transformer (Dedicated low-voltage fixtures only) – Low Voltage recessed fixtures use a step-down transformer that converts the incoming 120V line voltage down to either 12 volts or 24 volts. That guarantee is worth repeating: At Landscape Lighting Pro of Utah, our systems are guaranteed for life. These exterior-grade fixtures are typically placed along walkways and driveways, but they’re also ideal for illuminating steps, trees, stonewalls, fences and other prominent landscape features. Just connect the positive terminal of the battery with one electrical contact of your light bulb and the negative terminal with the other electrical contact of the bulb. Hold the same detector next to the light fixture at the ceiling to ensure the power is completely disconnected to the fixture. Power efficiency: LED bulbs use a lot less power, meaning you can run many more lights with your existing transformer or get more light from the current number. For example, you might find both 5W and 6W LED light bulbs that have an equivalent wattage of 35W; both of these would be fine to replace 35W halogen light bulbs. In the past, fixtures were attached at different locations along the main wire path using clunky two- piece wire piercing connectors or the line was cut and specialty gel filled wire nuts were used to make the splice. I have a professionally installed low voltage halogen system since 2005. Low voltage halogen quartz bulbs, light color rendering property closest to the natural light and has a very good decorative effect, the bulb is fully adapted to the ordinary Low voltage light socket and the normal work of the existing mains voltage. A 120-volt light bulb can typically be screwed into an indoor light fixture and operate correctly without further complication. Most landscape lighting fixtures come prewired with easy-to-use snap-on connectors. Low voltage light fittings often need a compatible transformer ( see below ) to convert mains voltage to the correct, lower voltage. The GreenClick LED lights only come with four parts. Ballast (fluorescent fixtures only) – Dedicated fluorescent fixtures require an electric ballast to regulate the current flowing to the lamp. Fluorescent and halogen lighting are more affordable but need to be changed often. Unique Lighting not only supplies the industry with top tier products, but their customer service cannot be surpassed. Reflective Illumination LLC is a privately owned corporation in the state of Arizona and is one of the nation’s leading suppliers for LED Lighting products. Whatever you want to use them for, the best low voltage landscape lighting has a few key qualities. Although the initial cost is lower, operating costs are typically higher for line-voltage lights, unless they’re installed in low-use areas, in which case the operating cost difference will be negligible. BTW, if there is power in the ceiling box you can wire it so that the fan is “always hot” and is controlly by the pull string and the light is controlled by the wall switch. We use light bulbs everyday in our life and usually take them for granted, until we need to replace one in our home, car, appliance or office. Extender lights are available for use with line voltage halogen lamps, ceramic metal halide PAR lamps (120 volt to 277 volt), and for 12 volt low voltage halogen lamps. Laying the Cable: Start by laying the light fixtures on the ground where you intend to install them. The benefits of line voltage include lower-cost fixtures and light bulbs and easier installation. The Meikee LED landscape lights can do the trick for you. The transformers for low-voltage track lighting are connected directly to the individual track fixtures. Our gardener who installed the lighting system says it’s not the timer but is proposing adding another transformer to provide power to the section not working.

The types of fixtures available including line voltage, low voltage, compact fluorescent, and LED. Install the low-voltage light bulbs in your individual low-voltage track lighting fixtures. Many lighting retailers also sell decorative and retro light bulbs, shaped to look like rounded or skinny vintage bulbs. The LED bulbs I bought seem as though they will be fine in my current MR16 housings. This is only getting more complicated as LED technology gets ever more energy-efficient, but as long as you remember to look for the equivalent wattage, you will find the right LED spotlights. We sell light bulbs, led bulbs, batteries, ballasts, fixtures and many other lighting products, at great can choose from a wide selection of light bulbs, led bulbs, fixtures, and from all the top brands available. For example if you changed a ‘4 x 60 watt bulb central light’ to LED you would go from switching a load of 240 watts to nearer 30 watts. As for transformer size, if you do go with 10 watt fixtures on your home, then go with the larger 300 watt transformer. Splice low voltage landscape wiring with weather-proof wire nuts that have a moisture-proof grease inside them to prevent splice corrosion in damp conditions. It’s notoriously hard to get good electrical contact on batteries and bulbs by soldering wires on. The spring contacts in flashlights work much better (but even they are troublesome from time to time). To then create yet a different mood you might have a few standard lamps and a few table lights dotted around the room but also want to turn them all on with a light switch rather than spending a few minutes running around. Since the transformer is plugged in, the fixture should light up, confirming the connection is good. As with the MR16 downlights, low voltage capsule lights also need a transformer between the wall plug and lamp fitting. Nearly all fixtures with standard sockets can be dimmed using incandescent or halogen bulbs. The wattage rating of a transformer should be the same or higher than the combined wattage of the lighting system. This heat can melt the light socket as well as the insulation of the wires. These are called low voltage bulbs, and are commonly used where a mains supply isn’t available, like in cars, motor homes and boats. You have to rig up your own socket holders, but much better than buying and installing all new lighting system. For medium base PAR-20, PAR-30 & PAR-38 LED, Halogen or CFL spot or flood reflector lamps up to 150 watts. However, if you install a light fixture with three 60-watt light bulbs, you’ll need a transformer with a maximum wattage load of at least 180 watts. Low voltage LEDs require an LED-compatible driver These work in a similar way to a transformer, but aren’t interchangeable. The most common low voltage LED bulb is the MR16, which is essentially a low voltage version of the GU10. If you are replacing a halogen MR16 lamp with an energy efficient LED light, you may need to consider your home’s wiring. The Sunriver LED landscape light product seems like a good place to start but is still a little pricey. Connect the lighting track to the ceiling if you are installing low-voltage track lighting. Your knowledge on your products and design input has assisted us in improving our lighting solutions and increase our business. These energy codes restrict the types of light fixtures that you install to ensure that they are energy efficient. I am sending you this note to express my appreciation for your excellent support and products for our landscape lighting requirements over during 2006 till present. When you’re satisfied that all the light fixtures are working fine, you have to install them as required. Low-voltage bulbs tend to last longer, too. The natural energy-saving properties of LED light bulbs means that they can offer the same brightness of a halogen equivalent, but using only a fraction of the power. Now, many are more compact (smaller diameter) and offer more light, using even less power – making them almost as efficient as LED. It only takes a small amount of excessive voltage to dramatically reduce the lifespan of an ordinary light bulb and cause frequent blowouts. Then switch the power to it off and on with a wireless outdoor outlet adapter supported by your smart home system, be it SmartThings, Apple, Alexa or Google. Tech Lighting has developed a reputation for excellence in the past 25 years, built on their contemporary lighting designs and low voltage lighting systems. For spotlights, replace a 50w GU 10 with a 4w LED bulb. The rule of thumb: if your lights are being used somewhere where the wiring could become exposed, and therefore hazardous, it is always better to opt for low voltage lighting if given the choice. They are used in 80% of all landscape lighting applications. Low-voltage lighting is more expensive to buy and install, but it’s typically less expensive to operate over time.