lighting
The easy way is plug & play Learning about the different aspects of garden lighting can seem daunting for some at first, especially if you have been asked by a client to provide lights as part of a service. Martin Bennett reports only can it be installed by anybody, especially with the
A fantastic starting point is low voltage (12v) ‘Plug & Play’ systems. Installing outdoor lights in this way really couldn’t be easier and with a much wider range of higher quality lights on the market currently, there are plenty of options ready for any purpose and location. In the past, Plug & Play systems were limited and mainly consisted of smaller size, lower quality decking lights with a built in LED light source. Now there is an extensive variety of Plug & Play fittings such as inground and step lights, spikelights, path lights, rock lights and more. These designs are now available in durable and stylish materials such as Marine Grade 316 Stainless Steel, Natural Copper, Solid Brass and Anodised Aluminium. For extra choice on lighting effects, light colour and brightness, it is wise to use fittings where a replaceable LED bulb can be housed. 12v or ‘Low Voltage’ garden lighting is extremely adaptable. It is powered by a transformer that converts 240v mains voltage down to a much safer 12v. Not
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simplified plug & play systems, but also is very resistant to outdoor weather conditions. Often, cold weather and heat produced by bulbs in light fittings, can cause condensation to occur in outdoor lights. With 240v mains fittings, this commonly results in the circuit tripping or shorting, however 12v fittings can withstand the effects of condensation and will continue to work perfectly. The concept behind the versatile outdoor ‘Plug & Play’ systems is a two-pin plug located at the end of cable lengths attached to the lights. This two-pin plug simply pushes into a Connector or Splitter, or indeed directly into the power source - a Transformer. Once plugged in, the cable connector is secured by a threaded cap. That is it! This means no need for fiddly wiring at all, and if an installer wishes to ‘hardwire’ in the traditional way via a junction box, the two-pin plug can be cut off and the wires stripped. Various sizes of transformer, cable lengths, and multi-splitters are available, enabling the circuit to be as long as required, and allowing numerous lights to be fitted in many areas of the garden. We encourage you to have a go with this simplified lighting system and do it the easy way – Plug & Play ! Martin Bennett is the founder of Lumena Lights. www.lumenalights.com