I want to use solar to light a backyard gazebo, via a solar panel on its roof, a 12V storage battery and some 12V LED fixtures. Unfortunately, I see that your low voltage lights are supposed to run on 12V AC from a transformer. (The fixtures in the solar light kits aren't suitable for my use.) Can someone explain how those solar lights differ from the 12V AC lights (type of bulb, wiring...) and whether it's possible to adapt your fixtures to use in this kind of a DC solar setup?
Just a layperson here. While it may be possible to retrofit either type of fixture to work with your own solar setup, I'm pretty sure that if you were to modify or attempt to power a fixture in a way that VOLT didn't intend for it to be used, you'd probably void the product's warranty.
While in theory it should work with DC, we have not specifically tested for how DC will affect our bulbs or boards in regards to longevity - doing so would void the warranty as well as Meso mentioned. If the path lights and spotlights in the solar kit aren't useful for your application, have you by chance seen our solar deck lights? The VOLT® Solar Deck Light Brass could look beautiful on your pergola posts and you wouldn't need to mount a separate solar panel.
Thanks, both Meso and Evan. I like those deck-style solar fixtures for the posts! But It's a roofed gazebo, not a pergola, and I'm also hanging a pendant fixture inside, which gets no direct sunlight. So I'd need a solar panel in any case, which makes it more sensible to power everything off one panel and one timer / switch. In looking around, I noticed that some other manufacturers do market lights for 12V DC, or AC / DC. So even though I like the quality of your fixtures -- particularly the integrated LEDs -- I may need to look elsewhere.
