Quick question please.
Quick question please.
(OP)
I have a bare house and want to create a 12v lighting scheme for the whole house.
My thoughts are a 12v power source eg batteries connected to a traditional distribution board.
Install traditional circuit breakers and wire a series of 12v LED down lighters and switches the same way you would wire a normal house except in radial rather than ring main.
The 12v power source would be charged by either a wind turbine or a solar panel with the charging controlled by a standard charger unit that you get with wind turbines or solar panels.
Does this sound like an idea that could be installed?
This may be a really stupid question due to limitations of 12v DC of wire distances etc, I really do not know and when I google for info all you get from the internet now a days is just people trying to sell their system as the only way you can do it. It may be me being simple but this system appears to be possible. I was thinking of 12v LED down lighters MR16 units and then a traditional wired system.
Cheers in advance
My thoughts are a 12v power source eg batteries connected to a traditional distribution board.
Install traditional circuit breakers and wire a series of 12v LED down lighters and switches the same way you would wire a normal house except in radial rather than ring main.
The 12v power source would be charged by either a wind turbine or a solar panel with the charging controlled by a standard charger unit that you get with wind turbines or solar panels.
Does this sound like an idea that could be installed?
This may be a really stupid question due to limitations of 12v DC of wire distances etc, I really do not know and when I google for info all you get from the internet now a days is just people trying to sell their system as the only way you can do it. It may be me being simple but this system appears to be possible. I was thinking of 12v LED down lighters MR16 units and then a traditional wired system.
Cheers in advance





RE: Quick question please.
You must be in the UK or somewhere with similar wiring concepts.
In North America, you would almost certainly be forced to install a normal, AC powered lighting system to pass Building Code and Electrical inspection. So any low voltage DC LED system would have to be a extra parallel lighting system.
You should beware of using non-approved wiring within the walls. Building and Electrical inspectors would look very closely at any unusual wire type, and then start quoting flammability standards.
You'd also need to pay attention to DC circuit breakers to protect the wiring, and then you'd run into issues with them being unapproved.
All that said (written), there are LV DC LED light fixtures, but they're typically powered by AC from the line.
RE: Quick question please.
Check at west marine for "circuit breakers" and "distribution panels" to see what I mean.
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Quick question please.
Wiring is for my project in France and I want to put all the lighting inside the house on 12v DC and have them charged green e.g. solar/wind. this way all the lights are off grid and when we get power cuts (quite frequent) then we still have lights through the house. Once all the lights are in and working I would then install the sockets etc on a separate system completely with no chance of cross over etc. These would be powered from grid with a full isolation switch to cut off grid supply and power by generator if required (no chance of generator feed going into incoming supply due to isolation switch
I have been looking at 12v LED lights which are MR16 fittings.
The wiring would be done with 1.5mm solid singles in conduit to French regulations and radial circuits.
I was also looking at acquiring some massive batteries which are being replace from a power station, they were standby batteries in case of emergencies but they are being replaced (but never used but replaced to comply with regulations). They are 0.5v DC batteries and I was thinking of getting 24 of them to make my 12v DC source.
Cheers for the answers guys, make a change from you do not know what you are talking about so employ us to sort out your problem.
Regards
Dickspanner
RE: Quick question please.
RE: Quick question please.
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
http://mmcengineering.tripod.com
RE: Quick question please.
If you check out some "off-grid living" websites, they will have ideas as well, this is not uncommon in that realm.
"Dear future generations: Please accept our apologies. We were rolling drunk on petroleum."
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RE: Quick question please.
This is my second time to type this link into an eng-tips forum in all my years here, and the first time was yesterday.
http://motherearthnews.com
There have been a number of relevant articles over the past few years. If my memory serves, there have been lighting with LEDs, solar, wind, paddlewheel-in-the-creek, and others.
Best to you,
Goober Dave
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RE: Quick question please.
RE: Quick question please.
RE: Quick question please.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Quick question please.
Caravans and boats in the uk for the most part have 220/240 volt power supplies for use in caravan parks and marinas.
A built in charger charges an internal battery pack for use off line, some caravan units also charge from the towing vehicle .
Some businesses in the UK have 12 or 24 volt emergency lighting systems for use during power cuts, this wiring is completely separate from any mains wiring except for a feed to the battery charger and a relay that keeps the system de-powered while the power is on.
Hope this helps.
B.E.
The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor
RE: Quick question please.