Cable Lighting Kits: Comparing The Different Options

Cable lighting kits are available from many sources both off and on the internet. Before you buy a cable kit, you would be wise to do research into the different options. A look at just a few of the kits will help you to see the point.

Tiella Lighting

Tiella Lighting’s Cable Easy kit claims to come with all the items needed to install a 20 foot section of cable lighting. It does include the cable in two 20 foot sections. It has both turnbuckles and anchors. A 12 volt, 100 watt transformer is a part of the package, too. The transformer is a surface mount kind, and the junction box you attach it to must be provided by the electrician.

As far as the fixtures go, Tiella’s kit includes five heads, five shades for them, and five lamps to screw into the heads. The lamps are 12 volt 20 watt and can be dimmed easily. It is suggested that you do not alter the plans by adding more lights as that will change the voltage and current requirements.

The entire kit is shipped as one complete package. It is said to be a kit that covers all the bases. However, it does not include a canopy for the transformer. This is strange, seeing that the kit takes care of all the other necessities.

Solairco Cable Lighting

There is another cable lighting kit that is sold by Solairco. It is the stepped frost mini spots on straight bars kit. The contents of the kit are the three mini spots and three bulbs, a plug-in transformer that is 12 volt but only 60 watt, the mounting hardware, and the cable. The cable supplied in this kit is only 33 feet long, so you cannot have a run much over 15 feet, considering you have to use half for each cable.

This kit is meant for use as a plug-in circuit rather than a hard-wired one. This is advantageous if you are putting it up temporarily, but it might not be the best idea for a permanent fix. There is an upgrade kit, but its transformer stand off connections come standard with some other kits.

Star Cable Lighting

Star Cable Lighting has two kits that are similar to each other. They both include 40 feet of cable and mounting hardware. The basic cable kit includes three 50 watt halogen bulbs along with your choice of fixtures. This is somewhat unusual, as many kits come with a predetermined type of fixture included.

Star’s other kit is a five-light kit, so it includes five fixtures of your choice with five 50 watt halogen bulbs. While the basic kit has a 150 watt electronic transformer, the five-light kit has a 300 watt transformer.

With all the cable lighting kits available, it can become difficult to make a decision. With research, though, you can find out the differences between the various kinds of kits. They are really not all the same, and you will have a lot to consider when you get all the facts.