At what lengths should I upgrade the wire gauge for a home run? 40 ft - 14/2? 80 ft - 12/2? 120ft - ??? is there a chart available?
I believe there’s a transformer installation guide pdf linked to every transformer on VOLT’s product site. These docs include a flowchart to help the consumer plan wiring and lighting plan layout. To some extent wire gauge choice will depend on your transformer capacity and wiring technique. But generally speaking, if your longest run is 200ft or shorter, 12 gauge should be just fine. FYI (and I still occasionally get these mixed up myself), wire gauge size is counterintuitive. The higher the number, the thinner the wire gauge. HTH https://volt-product-docs.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/is-clampconnect-ver1.pdf
The answer to your question is dependent also on the total wattage you plan on using, but I suggest studying "How to Plan Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting" under the Learn/All Videos. The written text under the video has great info to consider and it was very helpful for my project(s). As reference, I went with 12-gauge, with my longest run being approximately 135'. I'd say added benefits of going "thicker" is that it allows expandability with lower risk of voltage drop (ex. I always think I'm done lighting the yard, then find that there's one more tree/bush to light up...maybe it's an addiction now) and it's more forgiving (ex. I've accidentally hit it with a shovel & pitchfork and it survived without knicks). Excerpt: Calculate the cable gauge and length needed to reach the transformer: The lower the gauge, the thicker the wire. Systems that don’t have super-long wire runs (over 150 feet) can typically use 16 or 14 gauge wire. For longer runs, use lower gauge wire to prevent voltage drop. You will need about 100 feet of 12 gauge cable for every 100 watts. More specifically, multiply the amount of wattage per zone by the cable length in feet. For example, if you have 120 watts, and 75 feet, that equals 9,000. If the total is less than 10,000, use a 12 gauge cable. If the total is between 10,001 – 15,000, use a 10 gauge cable or split the zone into two smaller zones.
Hello, If I may tag along on this. I am confused with the gauge/wire. It says you can order the light fixture with a 4’ or 25’ feet wire. What is the gauge on these wires? I plan on installing the light using a daisy chain so I will have one run between the transformer and the first light fixture and then I will connect them to each other. Thanks !
It should be 18 gauge. If you look under the specifications tab for each fixture model, you should find the gauge info there.
