What Size Wire For Landscape Lighting

A good rule of thumb for selecting proper wire size is determining your wattage.

What size wire for landscape lighting. 3 What wire gauge size will I be using 182 162 142 122 or 102. Voltage drop is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to wiring low-voltage systems. Do You Need a Special Transformer for LED Landscape Lights.

Most transformers will usually fit into the 150W 900W capacity range. The wire comes in different sizes such as 8 10 12 14 16 and 18. So if you have 12 volts coming out of the transformer the voltage drop equation tells us the voltage will be reduced by 168 volts to 1032 volts.

These calculations are similar except amperage levels wire sizes and run distances are much lower. As a great rule of thumb never mix wire sizes. Besides the gauge size plays a huge role when calculating the maximum voltage drop.

The only wiring method that can get equal voltage to every fixture is an equalized hub method of wiring. 10000 or less. To bury the wires where they cross the lawn use a flat-nosed shovel to cut a slot and fold back the sod.

We recommend 12-gauge or 10-gauge wire for long distances. So voltage drop is a non issue in most landscape lighting systems using Kichler LEDs. House current which is usually 120V experiences a reduction to around 12V 20V by a transformer.

The lower the gauge the thicker the wire will be. In order to be fully prepared for installing an LED landscape lighting system youll need to know how to plan for it. A thin 2-conductor cable is enough to power small not too bright landscape lights.