wardrobe lighting

Hello. I am looking into placing four lights over four doors of a wooden wardrobe . It is an IKEA wardrobe and it comes with four separate lights connected to four transformers which each need to be connected to a plug. My main concerns are circuit-wise:

- managing to turn on all lights if any of the doors open (would be nice to have only the above light to turn on but let's keep it simple)

- security \\ power usage issue: where to interrupt the power with the switch which is controlled by the door? If it is positioned "before" the plugs and transformers the circuit going around all doors of the wardrobe will be high voltage (security issues), while if I position it after the transformers, could four 12 v transformers permanently connected to the power line lead to excessive power wastes (not to say I would need four switches arghh!)

- would it be best to have a single transformer for all lights (would it work?)

- any other issue I have not foreseen

- should I study some book on electric circuits? (of course)

Thanks for your help.

stonefist

Reply to
bucodav
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Not a direct answer, and you say you've got the 4 lights anyway, but have you considered this kind of thing...?

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I don't know how long the batteries last, but presumably re-chargeables would be fairly economic.

Reply to
Martin

thing...?

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well, i already have round lights and round fittings :-)

Reply to
bucodav

The transformer will burn out without a load, so switch the mains voltage side. (NB 230v is considered to be low voltage and 12v extra low voltage)

You can buy mains voltage cupboard switches. It is up to you if you want to fit 4 switches and do the nessessary wiring and work.

I used a ceiling pull switch on my brothers built in wardrobes

Adam

Reply to
ARWadsworth

You're far more knowledgeable than me on this stuff, Adam, but why would the transformer burn out? Surely, the current consumption when not on load is far lower - and we've all (I assume) left numerous chargers etc. switched on with no load and no failures? That said, I do agree that leaving them on permanently is wasteful and to be avoided.

Also - I'm particularly interested in any suggestions (model / supplier) for cupboard switches. I've hunted all over (and even posted here a few years ago) but drew a blank - except for one, which I stupidly purchased before realising that, though rated for mains voltage, lacked (IMHO) adequate insulation.

Reply to
Martin

Many (not all) transformers need a load to be present to give the correct output voltage. If there is no load then the output voltage rises. try pasting "transformer open circuit group:uk.d-i-y" in an a google groups search for more details than I could ever supply

I will see if I can find you a link for some after the weekend.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadsworth

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