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When laying out under cabinet lights 12V system useing 10 watt bulbs and a 150watt transformer what size wire should be used to connect the circut.
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Depends on how many lights and how far from the transformer they are as voltage drop can be significant. We usually use several branches of 14ga wire routed in the wall (using wire approved for that method) with 3-4 lights on each branch.
*I assume you have about 12 pucks to light up. I would use 14/2 to the trans. From the trans I would use 16 gauge lamp cord to a ? number of terminal strips and feed lights from the terminal strips using 18 gauge lampcord. That's the way I did it.
*Should the wire be solid or stranded.What is the approved wire.
*I like to build a recessed area in the bottom of wall cabinets to house 2 tube flourescent fixtures, and just put the fixture on a switch. Great work lighting on the counter. Way easier to plan ahead for, for those of us with limited plan ahead capacity. Leaves just enough room in front of the light for a spice/medicine shelf behind the door too. Real nice detail Napier Wright taught me 20 years ago.
*i "...voltage drop would be significant..."personally find this interesting. i have seen transformer wiring for doorbells run a 100 feet. same for landscape lighting. same for sprinkler valves. many of these circuits are run with the tiny (solid) wiring resembling telephone wiring. clue me in.as long as lighting is run from terminal strips as eric described (ie. not in series), i can't see why the same (solid) wiring couldn't be used to connect lighting to terminal strips.what am i missing here?i do believe that use of lamp cord (stranded) is common.brian
*You're talking here about 12 volt, 10 watt bulbs. Solid or stranded wire makes no big difference. Generally you can have a smaller overall wire, for reducing what shows, with solid, but I used the stick-on channel for the wire, anyway, as it gave a more finished look. Using a 10 watt versus 20 watt bulb, is this more for looks than effective task lighting? Also, I use automobile incandescent bulbs instead of halogen. There's virtually no discernible illumination difference, and no burn hazard should they be briefly touched. Don't need a cover over the bulb, either. I also have a Buss automobile fuse in line after the transformer, as I know that even 12 volt DC wiring can burn. See, I once had a 1961 MGA with Lucas electrics, but that's another story. Don't know what norml was saying, but I can't imagine 14 gauge wire needed in the DC side of the setup. If this were required in airplanes, where there might be significant distances involved, they'd have trouble getting off the ground for all of the copper weight.
*Xenon impale-on lamps allow a lot of control (you can move them around) and very good quality of light - sorry to digress.Jeff
*I just installed 12 volt, 20 watt undercabinet pucks. The e-retailer suggested 14 AWG wire. Same as low voltage outdoor wire,http://ylighting.comGood Q+A area. Talks slightly about voltage drop
*Generally 14 AWG SJT, lamp cord, works well. If the runs are long or there are going to be more than a few lamps on the branch I have gone to 12AWG. If you coordinate with the cabinet guy you can save having to run the wire through the cabinets.Plan swithches to cut power to the transformer not just the fixtures.Consider mounting the trnsformer/s in the crawl space or basement and preferably with resilient mounting that will limit sound transmission. I have seen one installation that was nounted to the thin ply on a cabinet top. When it was on it hummed loudly. It sounded like a bomber coming in for a landing.