LED power advise requested for wiring up 6 lights

Alexande

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May 11, 2017
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Hello all,
New to this forum and hoping I am going to find some help for a question I cannot seem to find the right answer online.

I am trying to connect my garden lights in a string of LED lights and need to determine what electric input I need and how I can best achieve it starting with a regular home power outlet of 110-120V.

Along a 60 ft chain there will be 6 LED light sources, each: 11-16V 3W MR16.
The manufacturer advises to use 12-13V AC.

Does anyone have an idea what adapter, resistance, etc I should be using to make this work?

Your experience is much appreciated!
 

archimedes

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Nov 12, 2010
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Hi @Alexande

Your post above has been approved, but was not posted in the correct subforum

I have moved it to "Fixed Lighting" for you

Please note that this subforum may see somewhat less traffic here, so responses may typically take a bit longer ....
 
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frank70

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Sep 19, 2011
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I have used similar (though not MR16 form factor) AC/DC LED bulbs in my outdoor lamp post; I'm using two LED bulbs that replace the common 1156 incandescent bulbs that I had previously used. In my case, the 14VAC transformer I use is capable of supplying well over the 4+ amps required by the incandescent bulbs, so replacing them with AC/DC LEDs was a no-brainer since both bulbs together require less than 1 amp. The AC/DC bulbs incorporate a full-wave rectifier within the bulb, so are the same (average) brightness whether powered by AC or DC. You also don't need to worry about polarity.

In your case, 6 bulbs times 3 Watts = 18 Watts = ~1.5 Amps. A 12-14 volt (RMS) transformer capable of supplying 2 amps would be entirely adequate, as would an 12-14 volt DC switching supply capable of supplying 2 amps. Switching supplies are dirt cheap these days, waste less energy in heat than transformers, and weigh less - you might even be able to scrounge a wall-wart from some defunct electronic item that will have these specs. Since your wiring extends 60 feet, you might want the voltage a volt or two on the high side to compensate for resistive loss in the wiring. Wouldn't go any thinner than 18AWG wire; I'm using 14 but that was necessary for the incandescents.
 
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