Wiring LED garden lights along a fence
#1
01-15-16, 03:37 AM
Wiring LED garden lights along a fence
Looking at putting in some LED 12v spots along my back fence. The fence is 20m/66ft long. I'm just looking for some advice about the most efficient way of wiring this would be?
Sort of came to mind that I could use a bus bar, would that be a good way of doing it?
I would probably look at having about 10 lights.
Sort of came to mind that I could use a bus bar, would that be a good way of doing it?
I would probably look at having about 10 lights.
#2
01-15-16, 04:47 AM
How many watts of power are needed for the entire system?
For significant illumination you would want to run AC power (using weatherproof wiring of course) halfway out the fence and will probably want 10 gauge wiring for the 12 volt runs.
For accent lighting or walkway lighting you may get away with 14 gauge wiring for the 12 volt runs.
For significant illumination you would want to run AC power (using weatherproof wiring of course) halfway out the fence and will probably want 10 gauge wiring for the 12 volt runs.
For accent lighting or walkway lighting you may get away with 14 gauge wiring for the 12 volt runs.
#3
01-15-16, 05:17 AM
Group Moderator
I don't know why or where you'd use a bus bar. The first step is to find out what you need to power. Once you know how much amperage you need to move around then you can properly choose a wire size. When the time comes look up voltage drop charts for 12 volts. They will help you choose the proper sized wire so all you lights receive about the same voltage.
#4
01-15-16, 05:34 AM
The spotlights draw 10w, so that's 100w in total, just over 8 amps. I considered a bus bar, as the fixtures have pigtail wiring, they don't have a terminal to connect my own wiring.
#6
01-15-16, 09:19 AM
Group Moderator
Here is a wire size calculator. Where is gets "fuzzy" or inaccurate is your load is probably distributed along the length of the run where the calculator probably assumes the load is at the end of the wire run. But as you'll find out the voltage drop at 12 volts can be pretty steep so you'll need larger than expected wire. One trick that would help is to feed your power into the center of your run if possible. That would leave you with two 50' runs instead of one 100' run.
#7
01-15-16, 09:26 AM
I have a shed nearby, so I thought that would be ideal to install a transformer, out of the weather
#8
01-15-16, 07:42 PM
Given equally spaced lights, you want the distance from the transformer to the furthest light to be as short as possible. This would usuially make putting the transformer at the shed to be unfavorable.
For unevenly spaced lights some math is needed to figure out the best location for the transformer but in the middle of the run of lights would still be close to the best.
For unevenly spaced lights some math is needed to figure out the best location for the transformer but in the middle of the run of lights would still be close to the best.
