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Questions tagged [low-voltage]

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Electrical systems with voltages significantly lower than mains wiring. Examples include ethernet, telephone, cable tv, and alarm systems.

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35 views

Does code allow for in-wall mounting of low voltage transformers?

I am asking if NEC code permits for in-wall (gang box) mounting of low-voltage transformers and power supples, and if so do these product have a name or term? My use case is low-voltage electronics ...
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32 views

Best way to add low voltage outlet to wall that has blown in insulation on the other side?

I want to add a wireless AP and plop it on top of the cabinets in my kitchen; thing is the wall I want to add the low voltage outlet to had blown in insulation on the other side. (The ceiling is ...
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66 views

Help debugging this circuit, voltage across lights drops to half unexpectedly. Diagram in post

I fitted a PIR sensor at my parents' to turn the bathroom light on and off automatically last week but the lights are very dim. On inspection, there is only half of the potential difference across the ...
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1answer
84 views

Classy way to hide unused low voltage cut outs or should I just drywall over and paint?

In a home I recently purchased, there are a lot of cut outs for low voltage in places I do not plan to use. The wiring is there in some cases, but I don't plan to use many of these locations. They are ...
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1answer
31 views

Replace MR16 Low Voltage Lights with Standard fixtures

I regret having MR16 low voltage lighting (recessed can fixtures) installed in our home remodel. It covers more than half of my house. I would like to convert to recessed fixtures that are 120V and ...
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81 views

What type of quick disconnects for 18ga to 12ga low voltage wire connections?

I'm powering an 18ga 24V DC submersible pump for a water fountain in the yard using a 110V AC to 24V DC power supply (18 ga). I'm planning to use 12ga stranded low voltage wire (max.30V) from the ...
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1answer
79 views

Insulate back of high and low voltage gang boxes in attic

We just finished building a home, and I prewired an equipment closet upstairs for handling all of my networking, home theater and whole home audio equipment. It looks like this: All the single and ...
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1answer
31 views

Can I add copper wire led lights to existing 12V Landscape Light Transformer

I have an existing 12V low voltage landscape lights set on a transformer. I have a 66ft copper wire LEDs that came with a 5V adaptor. Does this have to be plugged in separately; or can i connect it ...
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1answer
76 views

What's the proper way to bond metallic signal wiring raceway?

I have a stud cavity through which I need to run some signal wiring that's sensitive to ingress noise. An industry-standard recommendation is to run the wiring in properly bonded metal conduit (...
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1answer
86 views

Low-voltage LED Light string flickers when turned on, flickers go away after 2 mins

We have several low-voltage LED light strips in our light-up cabinets in the kitchen. They have all worked fine for 3 years. One of them has now started to flicker for a couple of minutes when turned ...
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1answer
105 views

How can I use a 15A momentary switch (switches) to replace my multi-button wall-mount garage door opener?

My wall-mount garage door opener was pretty beat up when I moved in and has only gotten worse to the point the open/close button is cracked and is difficult to operate for my kids. I would like to ...
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3k views

How big a hole can I drill in a top plate?

I've got a 2nd story home theater room under construction. The framing has been done, but I'm going to be doing the wiring myself. I want to pass some conduit up into the attic space over the room for ...
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532 views

Can I put a low-voltage transformer in the attic?

I'm planning a low-voltage monorail light system, fitted with 10x 7.5W 12V AC LED light heads. The manufacturer provides a "remote electronic transformer", and the installation instructions call for "...
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861 views

How to connect router to patch panel in new home

I recently moved into a new home (new build). Comcast installed my internet, but was of no help getting my ethernet working. My builder told me the modem needs to be connected in here and then the ...
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4k views

Why can't I (or: shouldn't I) run a power cord through a wall?

I would like to wall-mount my TV and have the wall be as clean as possible. I found this box and my idea was to mount this on the back side of that same wall , then run the power cable (and other ...
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3answers
248 views

What's the purpose of this bundle of small wires in my closet?

I recently bought a house. In one of the closets, there is a small room with a bunch of wires, connections, etc. I'm in the process of figuring out what exactly is going on to see if I can use any ...
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142 views

Power options for alarm keypad

I'm installing an alarm system and I'd like some help figuring out the best way to provide power to the keypad. The keypad uses a micro USB cable for power. I want to mount the keypad on one side of ...
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1answer
63 views

Running Satellite cable from wall plate, under carpet to opposite side

I want to route my satellite cables, which are currently poking out of a media plate on one side of the room, to their destination on the other side. The challenges that I face are: Routing the ...
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1answer
983 views

Can I install a device transformer in a junction box to keep it behind the wall surface?

I'm in Oregon, USA, and trying to figure out a code-compliant way of hiding a wall wart (AC/DC transformer) behind a small device (about 3"x3"; if it matters, the specific device is a smart garage ...
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86 views

Landscape lighting system only puts out one volt

I've installed low-voltage (12V AC) lighting systems in my front and back yard. They're set up separately, but both use the same model of transformer and lights. I set this up in May 2017, so it's ...
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28 views

troubleshooting why tempstar PHF042 LV control fuse would intermittent every 7 days

I'm a commercial Electrician I'm at a job and they have trouble with their heat pump. Seemed simple enough, they had swapped out stats hot and presumably shorted the LV leads - I found an open 24vac ...
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1answer
686 views

Will a 3 inch (8cm) separation between CAT6 cable and 120V HV cable cause problems for 10-Gigabit Ethernet?

I recently had an electrician wire my house with CAT6 Ethernet cable and install a couple of outlets in my unfinished basement. I recently noticed that there is only a 3-4 inch (8-10cm) separation ...
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1answer
334 views

Proper craftsmanship to mount Wi-Fi AP and ethernet cable to ceiling?

I'd like to add a ceiling-mounted Wi-Fi Access Point to the upper floor of an already existing house (USA, wood studs, built 1998). I have access to the attic above and would run Category 6 ...
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1answer
60 views

Manual and Remote Switches - 12VAC low-voltage landscape

I have a 110V/12VAC (USA) transformer for common landscape lighting. We have 3 "zones" that I'd like to turn on/off as desired, two for lights (all LED at the moment) and one for a pond. My plan for ...
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1answer
43 views

Security System Sensor Wiring Questions

I just disassembled my wired security system to hook my sensors to a konnected board to self manage through Smartthings. Inside the panel box cover is a listing of the zones. Basement Door Basement ...
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483 views

12 Volt DC wiring in existing home for under soffit LED lights

I am toying with the idea of putting in down facing LEDs under the soffits in an existing vinyl sided home. I have an old 300 W landscape lighting transformer I wish to use for this. What kind/gauge ...
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281 views

Smartify 50s low-voltage lighting system

I bought a house with a low-voltage lighting system, where the switches have low-voltage wires that power relays that actually power the full-voltage lights. I want to find out if I can take advantage ...
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2answers
57 views

Can I use an over-rated transformer for a low-voltage lighting circuit?

I am trying to do a simple low voltage lighting design. I intend to use 3 18w incandescent bulbs just to light a small area. I want to know if there is a problem using a 120w transformer for this or ...
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114 views

to Calculate the capacity of Voltage Stabilizer required for Home use

wanted to calculate the capacity of a voltage stabilizer for home use, Refrigerator has its own inbuilt voltage stabilizer, please tell me shall i have to include the refrigerator to calculate the ...
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2k views

What should I leave in the walls to allow me to fish future wires?

I'm working with a builder, and I did all of my own low-voltage wiring to open low voltage single gang plates. I have some runs that I want to be able to fish future wires through. Some of my runs ...
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1answer
89 views

Electrical Circuit low voltage [solved]

Let me start off by saying, I'm lost lol seriously. Ok I'll try my best to explain my situation here. I have 5 outlets on a 20 amp breaker with 14/2 wire All 5 outlets read around .57 to .76 voltage....
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141 views

Coax and cat6 close to the main power trunk

I want to run coax (for a cable modem) and cat6 (for a phone connection) from the garage (where my cable and phone boxes are located) to my basement. The garage wall is not drywalled, so I can run ...
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1answer
79 views

can i use a transformer to run an american steam cleaner ( 120v/60hz) on a 220v/50hz

i recently purchased a steam cleaner ( sienna Luna plus) willing to use it in Algeria, but it is designed to be used in the US , the only way i found to transform 220 v 50 hz to 110 v ( i think ...
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180 views

What is this unit attached to my house, and what do I replace it with?

I am trying to figure out what this thing is. I assumed it's a bell ring transformer but then it has four terminals on it. Any help is appreciated!
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3answers
91 views

Can I double-feed a low voltage DC system?

I am trying to make some lighting resilient to breaker trips. (I.e. You trip the breaker and the lights don't go out.) Naturally it's all LED, and I am favorable toward low voltage DC lighting. ...
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1answer
216 views

Running low voltage wiring around HVAC equipment

I added a bypass humidifier to my forced air furnace. The control panel is mounted to the return duct, and the wiring runs from the panel into the furnace fan compartment. Wires run from the water ...
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1answer
1k views

Goodman Model GPC1242H41CA Blowing Low volt fuse ONLY when heat is turned on

Good Afternoon from Florida!! I have a two year old Goodman Model GPC1242H41CA package unit that has heat strips, I had a short that eneded up causing me to replace the transformer and the control ...
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2answers
801 views

Can I wire my under cabinet lighting in parallel?

Not sure if this is the appropriate place, or something like DIY. I have purchased 6 of these light bars from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074NX7H1K/ The power supply is 6A and each bar ...
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2answers
903 views

Hormann garage door opener automation with Loxone

I own a Hörmann Supramatic 3 garage door opener and in my house I've also set up Loxone home automation system, so I decided to connect the opener to the automation system, so I can control the garage ...
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1answer
1k views

How to attach a security camera to an existing box?

Our house was wired for security cameras, when we moved in, and I'm now getting around to install the cameras on some of the corners. However, the cameras and the separate mounts on sale today all ...
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95 views

Please help identify thing wired into my home alarm

Wired into my alarm panel per the enclosed photo is a small black-wrapped device wired to the 12V+, - & Earth. What might this be for - voltage stabilisation, noise reduction, ...? Grateful for ...
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594 views

Voltage Drop between W1 and Rc wires

I recently converted from Oil to Gas. One of my zones is no longer working post conversion (it was working, then nothing worked, and then after they replaced a defective unit on the boiler it didn't ...
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2answers
82 views

100 volts measured in fuse socket!

Just endured hurricane Irma here in S. FL. FPL finally turned the power on (and off a couple times) after days of outage. Now, one section of my kitchen is out while rest of house is on! checked the ...
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2k views

What's the “correct” way to install LED drivers for accent lighting?

I want to install LED strip lighting behind crown molding in my office. In my particular install, I'm using 3 strips of SMD 5050 RGBW LEDs, which draw about 72 W per strip. From what I can gather, ...
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3answers
139 views

Is it permissible to install a low-voltage fixture over an existing ceiling box?

I inherited an installation of several wired AC smoke detectors. They're three-wire units (AC hot/neutral, plus an interconnect wire). At some point a previous installer removed one of the detectors, ...
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73 views

Can an RCD protect against transformer failure?

I want to install LED lights in a pool. The original transformer outputs 12V 6A. Now I don't trust my life to a cheap transformer so I want to go sure. Yet I also don't want to spend more money than ...
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1answer
667 views

Control 12V LED circuit and 120V power supply from one switch

I want to have two switches (preferably in the same box) that control two separate runs of LED lights, both powered by a single Allanson power supply: I plan to switch the lights by breaking the 12V ...
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1answer
89 views

Low-voltage cabling through ceiling? Up to code?

I'm making a CCTV / Router "space", and was thinking of just drilling a hole in the ceiling and installing a gang box on the attic side of the ceiling. Are there any codes that refer to this kind of ...
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950 views

How do I run ENT to an old work box?

I have an existing low-voltage old-work box similar to this which I am using to provide a cable TV outlet: I would like to run more cables to this location, namely, phone and CAT6. I do have access ...
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166 views

Is it ok if I pass through a RJ11 (Phone line) cable outside and leave it while it is raining?

I'm stupid and paranoid 😂 but just to make sure, is it safe to leave a phone lines (rj11 I think) outside while raining, the front and end BIT is inside the house (forgot what it's called, the bit ...

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