I am building a new patio and freshly landscaping my backyard. I am looking for help on determining the optimal wiring configuration for the path lighting and hardscape lights I am planning to install. attached is a picture of how I was planning to wire it. My transformer is 150W. I have 12 - 3 inch hardscape lights and 7 - 6 inch lights, plus 3 path lights. The heavy yellow wire is the power wire. The transformer is about 25 feet from the patio and the patio is 40x25. Any help or suggestions is appreciated. Also, help regarding connections would be appreciated - for example I was planning to use 2 of the 8 way pro macro junction connectors for the 6 lights under the steps coming out of the house.
Hi, Mike. Fellowing lighting enthusiast here. This looks like a solid plan. Just a few tips/observations. First, if it's in your budget, I highly recommend that you either go with one of the Pro Junction hubs for your wire connections or start out with one and then switch to the direct burial type later. The direct burial connectors allow you to make sure everything is correctly connected before you snap them closed. But if you're like me, you'll probably end up doing some tweaking of lighting positions and you might even decide you want to use some different size fixtures or some different types of fixtures altogether in certain locations. Unlike the direct burial connectors, with the above ground hubs, you'll be able to give yourself some breathing room in case you want to make any changes later. Live with your lights for a while and think about what you like, don't like, or perhaps didn't consider before installing. Once you're confident you like your layout and choice of fixtures, you can then switch to the direct burial. Just to re-emphasize, I've had no issues with my lighting system whatsoever and have all of my original bulbs/lamps. Nor do I anticipate that you will. My point is primarily about making sure you're totally happy with how everything is set up before you decide to bury everything. Having said all that, if you decide to just go for it, I'd highly recommend that you go with 6 of the 3-way connectors rather than two of the 8-way connectors. And that's for the reason I mentioned earlier. If you need to address an outage or otherwise troubleshoot, it'll be easier if each cable has its own connector. Alternatively, you can go with another type of direct burial wire connector. The only other thing I wanted to suggest is that before or while you're getting used to your installation, give some thought to whether you might want to do any kind of zoning or other automation either now or down the line. In my case, I like having the ability to shut off some of my lights at bedtime while leaving others on. Maybe you'll ultimately decide you just want a set it and forget it system. But I always encourage others to be thinking down the road to how you'll use your house and yard. Maybe you'll want some wall lights on all the time while others only sometimes. If you end up really liking your results (and I think you will), you may find yourself later wanting to get more creative and expand your system. HTH
