Low Voltage Cable Lighting: Important Installation Details

An Eye for Detail - Small Parts of Low Voltage Cable Lighting Systems

When you think of a low voltage cable lighting system, you probably think of the fixtures first, and maybe the cables. The truth is that there are several small parts that are used in the installation of these systems. They are all needed for your cable lighting to work right.

Cable

The cable used both for the main conductive wire and for the support of the cable system is a particular type of cable. If you do not get 10-gauge, tin-plated cable that has been reinforced with Kevlar, you do not have the best cable.

If you run across support cable that is made for aircraft cable, turn it down. It will not work for this application. You will probably use cable that is bare. In cases where the cable will go through a wall, on its way to a remote transformer for example, or touch anything else that cables do not normally touch, you can use insulated cable.

Turnbuckles

You may have heard this word and did not know what it referred to, or you may have heard it used for different industries. What is a turnbuckle that is used in cable lighting, then?

A turnbuckle is the component of the lighting system that attaches the cable. The cable can go through the turnbuckle to the wall or the ceiling. It also has the ability to make the tension on the cable tighter or looser. It does this by means of a screw motion that expands or contracts it. Turnbuckles are important components to be used as power feeds when as mountings often go through walls.

Anchors

These parts may be used in place of turnbuckles. They are inferior in many cases because they do not adjust for tension.

Isolating Connectors

The purpose of isolating connectors has to do with the fact that low voltage cable lighting systems can carry only a certain amount of wattage, 300 watts in most cases. If you want a very long cable, you cannot spread the current along the long cable.

That is where isolating connectors come in. They connect two sections of cable, but they do so in an interesting way. They interrupt the flow of current and allow the voltage to build back up to appropriate levels to power the lights on the next section.

Vertical Supports

Vertical supports can be anywhere between two inches and twenty four inches long. They are usually made of rigid metals, or they can be made of flexible materials for difficult ceiling surfaces.

There are two main reasons to use vertical supports. One is when you run cable for over 20 feet. You need the supports to keep the cables from drooping too much and possibly falling down. The other case is when you are placing heavy pendants on your lighting system. The extra weight must be supported.

You will need to know about these little details in order to properly install your low voltage cable lighting. They do not seem very important until you try to install the system without them. Do yourself a favor and do not try to cut corners when it comes to the details.