| With recent quality improvements in low voltage | | | | along a cable the voltage will drop because of the |
| outdoor lighting system components it is now easier | | | | resistance of the wire and there may not be enough |
| than ever to set up your own garden or walkway | | | | voltage left at the end of a long cable to properly |
| lighting system. With the right components and setup | | | | power the last lights on the cable. Having the option |
| you can save by doing it yourself and still get a | | | | of increasing the voltage to 15 or 20 volts gives you |
| quality long lasting lighting system. | | | | the flexibility to make sure that all the lights are |
| You will need four basic components for the lighting | | | | getting enough power. 10 to 15 feet total cable |
| setup; a transformer, the cables, the fixtures for the | | | | length is pretty much the limit with a single tap 12 |
| lamps and the lamps themselves. You can purchase | | | | volt transformer however with a transformer running |
| the items separately but it is also very common to | | | | at 22 volts you can often have several 100 feet of |
| find kits available at your local hardware store that | | | | cable. |
| have all the items you need included. | | | | The cables for low voltage lighting are usually 10 or |
| The transformer for these lighting systems converts | | | | 12 gauge wire. Don't use thinner wires. The voltage |
| standard 120 volt house current to a more | | | | drop will be too much. If you have lots of lights or a |
| manageable 12 to 22 volts. You will want to mount it | | | | long cable run go with the thicker 10 gauge cable. |
| in a safe out of the way location like a garage or tool | | | | Because this is low voltage you can run the cables on |
| shed that has a standard grounded 120 volt electrical | | | | the ground if they are well out of the way or in a |
| outlet you can dedicate to the lighting system. | | | | shallow covered trench. This is a huge advantage |
| Lighting transformers come in a variety of sizes and | | | | over 120 volt systems that require conduit buried |
| you will need one big enough to handle the number | | | | deep in the ground. |
| and wattage of the light bulbs it will be powering. The | | | | There are lots of do it yourself quick connectors to |
| electrical cables will also consume a small amount of | | | | connect your light fixtures to the cable but most of |
| the power so go a little over size with the | | | | them are not going to last very long. The best way |
| transformer. For example if the total of all the lamps | | | | to connect to the cable is to do it the way an |
| in the lighting system is 200 watts get a transformer | | | | electrician would do it. Use a wire nut connector sized |
| approximately 250 to 300 watts in power. You don't | | | | for the cable you use and seal it with silicon. |
| want to overload the transformer. | | | | The light fixtures and lights you can get for a low |
| It is strongly recommended that you consider getting | | | | voltage lighting system come in an almost endless |
| what is called a multi-tap transformer if your cable | | | | variety of styles, shapes and price ranges. So look |
| run is going to be more than 10 or 15 feet in length. | | | | around at all the different fixture options and have |
| This type of transformer allows you to increase the | | | | fun knowing that the rest of your setup can handle |
| voltage output by connecting to a higher voltage tap | | | | the load for many years to come. |
| coming out of the transformer. As electricity runs | | | | |