- Joined
- 27 Jan 2008
- Messages
- 23,626
- Reaction score
- 2,661
- Location
- Llanfair Caereinion, Nr Welshpool
- Country
The problem is so many types of power supplies, and so many types of lights.
So the power supply can be 50 Hz AC, kHz AC, mark/space DC, smooth DC voltage regulated, or current regulated. Plus of course a range of voltages. We have a range of names, transformer, electronic transformer, driver (current regulated) driver (voltage regulated) drivers do tend to be DC.
With the lights we have simple current limiting resistors, pulse width modulated drivers, and capacitors the latter only works with on frequency AC. Plus the specials with smart controls.
I am a lazy guy at heart, so use solar powered garden lights, but once I get hand rails fixed will be looking for some form of lighting to guide me from car to house.
When living in Hong Kong we had lights galore, and I was surprised how the survived the monsoon rain, but they did, in UK Blagdon did a range of garden equipment designed to get around the Part P law, as pre-assembled it did not need registering with the LABC. And in the main the idea of pre-assembled units which plugged in became popular before England relaxed the law. Using petroleum jelly on the connectors these worked well, with very little water ingress if any, and are still required in Wales.
There is a tendency to look at English rules, and forget Scottish and Welsh are different. I know of electricians caught out thinking they were working in England, when in fact in Wales, the Marches as it is called, between England and Wales, is easy to make a mistake, lucky when Colvid came in the local pub with one bar in England and one bar in Wales had closed. But boarders running up centre of high street don't help.
So the power supply can be 50 Hz AC, kHz AC, mark/space DC, smooth DC voltage regulated, or current regulated. Plus of course a range of voltages. We have a range of names, transformer, electronic transformer, driver (current regulated) driver (voltage regulated) drivers do tend to be DC.
With the lights we have simple current limiting resistors, pulse width modulated drivers, and capacitors the latter only works with on frequency AC. Plus the specials with smart controls.
I am a lazy guy at heart, so use solar powered garden lights, but once I get hand rails fixed will be looking for some form of lighting to guide me from car to house.
When living in Hong Kong we had lights galore, and I was surprised how the survived the monsoon rain, but they did, in UK Blagdon did a range of garden equipment designed to get around the Part P law, as pre-assembled it did not need registering with the LABC. And in the main the idea of pre-assembled units which plugged in became popular before England relaxed the law. Using petroleum jelly on the connectors these worked well, with very little water ingress if any, and are still required in Wales.
There is a tendency to look at English rules, and forget Scottish and Welsh are different. I know of electricians caught out thinking they were working in England, when in fact in Wales, the Marches as it is called, between England and Wales, is easy to make a mistake, lucky when Colvid came in the local pub with one bar in England and one bar in Wales had closed. But boarders running up centre of high street don't help.
