Low Voltage Lighting for Landscap

[SJGUSMC21]

When I started this adventure, I started with my camera security system first. Then I moved to re-installing and upgrading my alarm/fire/smoke system ( a HUGE shout out to Smiticans for all of his help!). Both work better then I even thought they would. The third part, was adding lighting to the out side of my house, not only as decorative, but more towards it being security centered. I have, for the most part accomplished this. The past weekend, I put in 7 pagoda style path lights, two spot lights, and one BIG spot light to light up the garage doors. In the last 6 months, I did add three dusk to dawn motion detector flood lights to the backyard, two powered and one solar (btw...it works great). Coupled along with my 3 IR lights for my cameras, honestly, at midnight my grounds look like daytime. That is good. I really want the front of my house lit up, as my wife comes home at 12:30 midnight Monday thru Friday from her job. Last night was the first test of it..and it worked and looked great. Until it didn't....

Got up this morning, and it was off. It was 0500, btw. The transformer I bought is this one. It is 120 watt and I have it set on 3, dusk to dawn automatic.

DEWENWILS 120W Outdoor Low Voltage Transformer with Timer and Photocell Sensor, 120V AC to 12V AC, Weatherproof, for Halogen & LED Landscape Lighting, Spotlight, Pathway Light, ETL Listed - - Amazon.com

DEWENWILS 120W Outdoor Low Voltage Transformer with Timer and Photocell Sensor, 120V AC to 12V AC, Weatherproof, for Halogen & LED Landscape Lighting, Spotlight, Pathway Light, ETL Listed - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

I used 80 feet of 16 gauge wire (it was a $$$$ thing between 14 and 16 gauge) and after being left on yesterday for over 3 hours, the transformer box, wire, lights and connections were not hot (no flickering, nothing). So I don't think it had anything to do with the wattage or wire. From my calculations, I am only pushing 38 watts. All of the lights are LED. So I thought maybe the motion detector light went off and turned the transformer off (very bright spot light). Light went off somewhere between 23:35 and 01:30. That is the only video recordings I have. At 0530, I reset it and the lights came on. Then I tripped my spot light, and it stayed on. So now I don't have a clue as to why it went off. Maybe it is malfunctioning (always a possibility) or I just don't know. Will give it one more night, and see what it does. Regardless, VERY HAPPY overall with my lighting. Lighting is always a good deterrent. And it looks great, IMO.

 

[master_tinkerer]

Couple ideas: Reading your power supply data says only 80% of 120 watts. So 96 watts. How did you calculate your 38 watts? I would measure power of load or turn some off and see what happens the next night. Did some other light source trigger your day /night photocell?
Try fixed time versus dust to dawn.

 

[SJGUSMC21]

Thanks Master_Tinkerer for the input. Here is how I added my wattage up. Though at first it was incorrect.

Large spotlight = 9.8 Watt
Small Spotlights= 5 watts each, times 2, = 10 Watts
Path Lights = 3 watts each, times 7, = 21 Watts

That equals 38 watts. What I didn't do is times it by 1.25, which equals 1.25 x 38 = 47.5 watts. So I should still be good.
Multiply the total wattage by 1.25 to adjust for loss due to cable distance. For the example, 240 x 1.25 = 300. The final number determines how large a transformer you need for your system. (How to Size a Transformer for Landscape Lights)

Did some other light source trigger your day /night photocell?

This I don't know yet. As I said, I did suspect this, but when I did turn on the motion detector light (very bright) it did not affect the transformer at all (low voltage lights stayed on).

I cannot manually set the time, but I can set it to come on at dusk and stay on for a certain amount of hours.

 

[BORIStheBLADE]

I would bypass the photocell and see if it will stay on through the night.

You said you have it set on the built in timer or using the photocell to control dusk to dawn?

As a Electrician for 20 years I hate photocell and avoid them. I used zwave switches I have set up to turn on and off my lights at set times..

 

[master_tinkerer]

House pictures look great, btw. As said above , put some black tape (opaque tape or equivalent) over the photocell. Still could be the culprit.
if still trips, turn off half the lights. If that works ok, borrow a VOM meter and measure AC current out of power box (maybe a transformer) if relatively heavy- a transformer. If light weight , it’s a electronic power supply.

 

[SJGUSMC21]

Roger that. I am thinking about returning it for one that has a built in timer.

And yes, I have it on Setting 3, Auto, from dusk to dawn. I did go on at dusk, and when I restarted it at 05:30, it did go off at dawn, which was around 06:25.

'power box (maybe a transformer) if relatively heavy- a transformer. '

Yeah, it's fairly heavy. I was surprised at its weight when I picked it up.

Tonight, I will put electrical tape over the photocell, and set it to '0', or on. When I wake up I will know if it is that or not.

Thank you btw, and thank you all for your help.

I am NOT an electrician, but so far, I haven't electrocuted myself, so I am good.

 

[VorlonFrog]

ESPHome and Home Assistant and about $7 of hardware makes this an easy (and accurate) automation.
(I know that's not the answer you're seeking, but it's something to consider.)

ESP8266 (Wemos D1 Mini) and BH1750 shield (ambient light sensor) and ten or twelve lines of YAML do the job.
Home Assistant is a bit more effort, but runs decently well on a Raspberry PI and 64 GB mini-SD card.

 

[SJGUSMC21]

I like your thinking, but maybe for my next project. Thank you.

 

[SJGUSMC21]

So, I covered up the photocell, and turn it on at 20:30 last night. Nope, it was off this morning. I think it went off around 01:00 or so. It is GOING back for sure.

I am going to look at a different one, one that I can add a mechanical timer to it.

I will post again when this is done. Always tinkering. And thank you for the suggestions and help.

 

[BORIStheBLADE]

So, I covered up the photocell, and turn it on at 20:30 last night. Nope, it was off this morning. I think it went off around 01:00 or so. It is GOING back for sure.

I am going to look at a different one, one that I can add a mechanical timer to it.

I will post again when this is done. Always tinkering. And thank you for the suggestions and help.

Keep in mind some timers can reset when there is an outage.

 

[SJGUSMC21]

Keep in mind some timers can reset when there is an outage.

Understood.

 

[mcapeed]

I don’t use timer on my outdoor lights, got tired of resetting with the change in daylight hours.

The simple solution is a Kasa outdoor wi-fi plug. I set it to come on 30 minutes after sunset and go off 30 minutes before sunrise. You can set it up any way you want. It adjusts daily and I don’t have to mess with it.

Power outage no problem it pulls time from wi-fi so never needs reset.

Cloudy days don’t affect it.

Other lights coming on don’t affect it.

It’s a simple solution….plug it in, connect to wi-fi, program it and forget it. I no longer come home to lights being off when they need to be on.

Been using for a couple years without issue.


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[vandyman]

I don’t use timer on my outdoor lights, got tired of resetting with the change in daylight hours.

The simple solution is a Kasa outdoor wi-fi plug. I set it to come on 30 minutes after sunset and go off 30 minutes before sunrise. You can set it up any way you want. It adjusts daily and I don’t have to mess with it.

Power outage no problem it pulls time from wi-fi so never needs reset.

Cloudy days don’t affect it.

Other lights coming on don’t affect it.

It’s a simple solution….plug it in, connect to wi-fi, program it and forget it. I no longer come home to lights being off when they need to be on.

Been using for a couple years without issue.


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I agree with using Kasa, just stay away from their led strips.
I use Kasa for 80% of my lighting and power distribution. Kasa also works well with Hubitat and Alexa.

Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug, Smart Home Wi-Fi Outlet with 2 Sockets, IP64 Weather Resistance, Compatible with Alexa, Google Home & IFTTT, No Hub Required, ETL Certified(EP40) - - Amazon.com

Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug, Smart Home Wi-Fi Outlet with 2 Sockets, IP64 Weather Resistance, Compatible with Alexa, Google Home & IFTTT, No Hub Required, ETL Certified(EP40) - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

 

[BORIStheBLADE]

If you consider a Wifi device just make sure your Wifi reaches out to these locations...

 

[mcapeed]

If you consider a Wifi device just make sure your Wifi reaches out to these locations...

Good point. I have two outdoor kasa wi-fi plugs and they are 80-100 feet from router.


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