Can you wire a 12v transfomer into a lighting circuit?

You can almost certainly connect it to a lighting circuit as long as the circuit has some spare capacity. The one vital missing bit of information is how much mains current does the transformer draw. [Or how many watts of power does it use, if this is easier to find?]

On 23 May 2006 11:43:36 -0700 someone who may be "htmark98" wrote this:-

If it is a transformer with a plug moulded onto the end then this needs to be plugged in somewhere. You could always replace the transformer with a suitable one you can wire in, though this will make things more expensive.

If the transformer has a mains cable with a plug on the end then you can cut this off (dispose of it properly to avoid children finding it and sticking it in a socket) and wire it into a suitable circuit.

Thanks for the help so far guys.

Here is a picture of it on the website

All i can find is it's a 12v transformer. Like i said havent got access to sockets outside and would like these to run with my decking post lights if i can and control them from outside.

Probabaly better off getting a new transformer and wiring it in, but in principle of course you can hard wire it to the lighting circuit.

The transformer looks like the type designed to plug into a 13A socket. Does it have 3 pins on the back like a 13A plug? If so, it should really be plugged into a power outlet. You could, of course, wire a 13A trailing socket into a lighting circuit, and plug it into that - but that would be potentially unsafe, and probably illegal - because some fool might subsequently plug an electric kettle into it. If you *really* want to do that, tape it up so that it can't be unplugged, and hide it away in the roofspace or somewhere.

The alternative is to buy a different transformer which has a mains lead rather than a moulded plug on it.

Have you actually bought it? There is some inf on the transformer (which I can't read from the image you posted) which almost certainly specifies the input and output voltages and currents. What does it say?

Hi Roger no havent bought it yet.

Have asked them the voltages and getting back to me.

How much would a new transformer cost me?

Thanks for your help Mark

Hi Here is the reply i got

Some kits have different transformers in.

All transformers are 230-240V Input All are 12V Output some are 200mA and some are 1250mA, pretty much what you do with them is totally upto you, but, for warranty purposes we can only say

----- I was looking at adding 5 lights per run but cannot do that it seams Thanks Mark

Best to see if the kit can be swopped for one with a 'hard wired' rather than plug in transformer.

Only a few quid from Maplins. But you'd need to know the spec, in order to buy an appropriate one.

Assuming that the 200 and 1250mA are the currents at 12v, the mains current required will be almost negligible.

How much current does each lamp require?

If you're going to buy a different transformer, getting one with an output of 2A (2000mA) or more should enable you to run all five lamps off it.

Don't forget that if you are planning to have the transformer outdoor it must be waterproof to an appropriate degree. The same applies to any sockets you install outside - assuming you don't want to be resetting the RCD every time there's a light shower.

An alternative is to plug the transformer into a trailing cable socket and then enclose both of them in a suitable box.

John