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I use several of these Malibu 120v to 12v transformrs to light my yard. But I am having a difficult time figuring out what they are costing me. My transformers are for outdoor use, but I thought a while back people were putting in low voltage interior can lights because they were in the long run cheaper to run? I want to calculate what each Malibu costs me per month.

300 watts, times the hours they run per day, times 30 days, divided by 1000, times the cost per kilowatt hour your power company charges. 8 to 18 cents depending where you are.

300x12x30 \ 1000 = 108 KWH x .10 = $10.80 per month

2008-01-27 10:46:04 by segaultney

The Malibu 12 LED Flood Light is one of the best solar lights I have come across so far, it is very bright and has two brightness settings. I#39 ...

I am going to be installing low voltage landscape lights. The fixture that was picked out is a Malibu 12 volt with an 11 watt bulb. The only problem is I'm not sure how much light the 11 watt bulb will put out. Is it okay to change it to a 18 watt bulb. I am not going to be using a Malibu transformer. I will be using a 900 watt multi tap transformer, so capacity is not an issue.

You can use the 18 watt. the 11 watt is pretty bright. Your transformer can handle it so go for it. I dont like the ones that are 4-6 watts because they look so cheap.

Good Luck.

2009-05-31 18:32:27 by Jim D

Price: $3.99

Just thinking thing over. Want to install a 120 volt AC to12 volt DC converter, as the ones found in most RV's. The 12 volt would be used power 12 volt light fixtures as one found in RV's, and Marine crafts. The 12 volts could be used with a solar panel. The solar panel would be used to charge a 12 volt battery(s), and the 12 volt battery could be used to power the lights during the night.

I thought of using resistors for each light within the low voltage lighting electrical wires to control even distribution of lighting.

The 12 volt distribution panel http://www.bestconverter.com/assets/imag ... can as a battery charger when needed. This panel is rated a 50 amps.

A few more 12 volt recessed lights http://www.swego.com/12_volt_recessed.ht ... mostly rated at 10 watts and these are xenon lights.

The electrical lines would be anywhere from 10 feet to the longest run of 70 feet. The electrical wire would be 12/2 CL2 rated for low voltage wires.

The 12 volt distribution panel will power the lights and can be used to charge a 12 volt battery when needed.

I would then add a toggle switch to shut of power to solar panel when not in use.

The reason I choose the 12 volt distribution panel because this system had the built in led lights for the blown fuse detection and the fuses are a safety feature in case things go bad with lights or 12 volt fixtures.

There for twelve of the 10 watt recessed lights will add up to 120 watts. 120 watts divided by 12 volts will equal to 10 amps. This would still leave 40 amps for landscape light or other 12 volt lights.

There are options on adding 12 volt fans, and 12 volt appliances. If needed I would add extra auxillary 12 volt transformer to power the heaver amperage fixtures .... etc...

I'm thinking this setup would pay for it self with a short time once in use.

what do you think?
"Hope this helps explain why 12 vdc systems are not economic or practical on a residential basis." please elaborate on this answer.
This will be for walkway lighting, nice and low lumens. This will be for areas that just need a little lighting.
I guess I should of added that my house will be wired for 120 volts thru out the home and outside of home. For the better lighting and lumens.

The 12 volts would be for general and walk area lighting.

Just not very realistic.
You're talking about 120W. of incandescent light for
an entire house.
It's about enough for one large room.
A refrigerator will draw about 800W. while running,
a microwave or toaster 1200-1500W.

2008-04-29 11:40:10 by Buck

Price: $20.98 $20.98

I am installing low voltage lighting and have a couple of questions: I'm working both with 4 watt and 11 watt tiered path lights. I plan to use the 11 watt fixtures on corners and at steps. How far apart should I space the 4 watt fixtures along the path? Also, can I change out the 4 watt bulbs with 11 watt bulbs if some areas need extra lighting? Is it true that I can pierce the low voltage cable and if I'm not happy with the location, that it is OK to remove the fixture and place it elsewhere (meaning the cable is really self sealing?) I have about 240 watts of lights to be controlled by a 300 watt transformer, on 12 gu cable, and the run is approximately 150 feet. Should I run two, 75 foot cables to the transformer, or have one long 150 foot cable to it?

Using only paths lights and that many path lights along a walkway is going to produce the runway affect. Do you ogle at airport runways every time you drive past at night ? Maybe you should consider a little variety in your walkway lighting design.

If you have 240 watts of lights and a 300 watt transformer, you will not have the ability to change out the 4 watt bulbs for 11 watt bulbs because you are going to overload your transformer. There is something called voltage drop on the wire.Your 12-2 copper wire has resistance just like each light bulb. When you pass a current through the wire, you produce a voltage drop on the wire due to this resistance. You typically deload a transformer to 80% of its maximum to account for voltage drop on the wire. That means that you have 240 watts available for light fixtures (300 watts x 80% = 240 watts), which is what your current total load is with the 11 watt and 4 watt bulbs in those fixtures.

The National Electrical Code only allows 12-2 copper wire to carry a load of 192 watts at 12 volts. 240 watts of lighting on one wire exceeds the capaity of 12-2 copper wire. You need to run at least to runs or use larger wire.

Putting all your lights on one 150' run means there is at least 140' between the first light and the last light (Malibu transformers recommend that lights are not closer to the transformer than 10'). This means you are going to have a significant voltage difference on your lights. The first lights will be real bright with lights getting progressively dimmer until you get to the dimest lights at the end of your run. It is recommended that you have no more than 50' difference from the first light to the last light. To maintain this requirement, you probably will need three wire runs.

Were you planning on using the diasy chain wiring technique? A better wiring technique is to use the "T" wiring technique. With the "T" wiring technique you will get a more consistent voltage to each fixture and more consistant lighting from each fixture. So plan on three wire runs using the "T" wiring technique. Good luck.

2007-05-15 21:36:00 by drbernice843

It has some light damage. It has trees, a pond, and a mountain in the background.

About $10 - 15...................

2008-11-01 16:04:44 by Lindy