How To Find The Best Patio Lights That Work With Without A 12V Transformer

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Patio lights can add that final touch to a good time spent outdoors – a little extra to get the atmosphere just right for a night with your friends or that special someone. Naturally then, it is worth it to spend a little extra time planning your outdoor patio lighting to give you maximum enjoyment of the evening hours.

A really good way of achieving your patio lighting goals, is through low voltage lighting. The term low voltage is actually slightly misused by many lighting stores and manufacturers – the correct elctrical term is extra low voltage, and refers to voltages from about 24v and downwards – with 12v being perhaps the most popular choice. But since every body else calls it low voltage, we will too. With all the light-sources that run on 12v, you could certainly do worse than select a 12v transformer for your outdoor patio lights. Both halogen and LED will work with 12v – just make sure the bulbs or LED arrays you want to use are specifically rated for at least 12v.

LED’s are popular as outside lights, perhaps because we often only want something to provide atmosphere and not necessarily strong light. LED’s are getting more powerful everyday, but the larghe majority of what is offered as patio lighting today is not quite on the cutting edge of LED technology in terms of light power. What it offers instead though, is compact size that can be – and often is – built into the most incredibly imaginative fixtures. This is seen most clearly with the huge variety in stringlights and patio umbrella lights – which can have shapes that range from elegant, over scary halloween styles, to plain silly. Some of these run on mains voltage, but they are available to use with 12v transformers too. One advantage of low voltage in this case, is that it enables a lot more advanced control of the light, like complex dimming or changing colors, etc. It also makes it safer for you to work with and customize as you see fit.

Halogen is also very widespread in use with 12v and other low voltages, and would be a good choice if you feel you need a bit more lighting power for you patio, or for outdoor garden lighting. Garden lighting might sometimes require a bit more output, since it is often used to accent things like large trees, buildings and fountains. You won’t get floodlights of several hundred watts with low voltage halogen, but if you plan it right, you could still go far.

In short, if you want patio lights at low voltage, then choose either LED or Halogen. LED, if you don’t need too much power but want dynamic control of colors and levels – halogen, if you need that bit more power. Between the two types I am sure you will find the perfect solution.

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Category: Patio Lights