Basic Safety Considerations for Outdoor Lighting Problems
Like all things that carry electric current, you need to be sure that you are confident with handling basic wiring techniques before installing Kichler outdoor lighting yourself and trying to handle any outdoor lighting problems. If, at any time, you are unhappy with these procedures, then do seek professional help from an electrician – especially in some places like the UK where this is now actually a legal requirement.
Having said that, it is not hard to get this kind of installation done with relative ease and by following these simple instructions you should be able to avoid any major Kichler outdoor lighting problems.
Outdoor Lighting Problems From Inadequate Voltage
First, calculate what number of watts you are going to require to drive your lights. Do this by summing the wattage for all the lights you intend to install on this segment of wire.
Choose transformers which can meet the demands of the overall wattage. Actually, you should invest in one with a lot more total power capacity than you really need right now, to cover future requirements. For safety’s sake you also need to make sure that you don’t go too far the other way. As a guideline, don’t use a transformer with more than double your requirements for power.
Next, estimate how much wire you’ll will need and work out the guage you need. For a scheme over 200 watts, use 12-gauge. For a scheme below that amount, you should aim to use 14-gauge cable (the wire gets smaller as the numbers go up and so can carry less curent safely – more dangerous outdoor lighting problems could be caused by the wire overheating).
It is possible to use timers to control your lights or set up lights that are controlled by the amount of day light available, so they come on as it gets dark. Or, of course, you could use a simple on/off switch.
Installing the Landscape Lights
Decide where to place your transformer. If it is going to be located outdoors, it must be at least one foot away from the ground for safety purposes. The wall of your house is a perfectly acceptable place to put it.
Now run the first section of cable across to the transformer, and then using wire strippers strip approximately half an inch of the plastic insulation. Connect the stripped cables following the information that came with the transformer.
Place all your lighting out at the spots you’ve planned. Fine-tune as needed for the effect you want to achieve.
Now roll out all your cable to every single light. Leave a little spare loop of cable at every single light for attaching it.
Protect your cable with attractive pebbles or leaves and other ground cover or disguise it under vegetation. As an alternative, excavate shallow trenches. This is an ideal way to avoid outdoor lighting problems caused by more physical events, such as being caught by an unwary foot! A grass edger is the ideal tool for this, mainly because it cuts down to just the right level. As you bury it, make sure to hold the loop of cable above the surface of the ground.
In order to fix the cable to the lights, slide the connector halves onto the cable loop, and then push together until eventually they click on. If you have hooked up the transformer, the lamp ought to illuminate. If it doesn’t, take off the connectors and repeat the process.
Install all of the other lights in the same manner. In this way you should be able to get rid of almost all common outdoor lighting problems.
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