# Exterior lights color changing



## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

WronGun said:


> Can anyone recommend anything as far as color changing flood to either uplight or downlighting a building ?
> 
> I see lots of cheaper china stuff and bulb applications but no actual fixtures.
> 
> ...



Look at low voltage well lights. Works great. No need to downright. You just aim them at the eaves and it works great. RGB is out there but mostly Chinese brands at best. They all use exactly the same chips.

The biggest hassle is that LEDs are inherently DC because they are diodes. I tried to find a simple transformer/timer/rectifier but have had no luck. I’ve been using Kiwi transformer/timers for 12 VAC feeding to a 12 VDC rectifier which is not as clean as I want but works very well. On #12 at about 3 W per fixture pushing DC you are limited to a hundred feet or so, so expect multiple smaller controllers instead of one big one. No easy/reasonable away around this except running larger gauge that is hard to find in landscape wire types.


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## WronGun (Oct 18, 2013)

I was looking for something on the higher end side. I suppose low voltage would be ok. 

This is for a new commercial building to light downward 6 canopied entrances (one big tenant space) 

I’ve seen a bunch of the landscape lighting options.


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## JoeSparky (Mar 25, 2010)

paulengr said:


> No easy/reasonable away around this except running larger gauge that is hard to find in landscape wire types.


Who says you need to use landscape wire? If UF is rated for 600 volts max, then it's also rated for 12 volts.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

I've used this brand for undercabinet lights:

https://www.colorkinetics.com/global

Higher end stuff from Philips. Not sure if any of their stuff is in a form that you need but it works. I get it from :

https://www.farralane.com/architectural/outdoor/building-wash.html


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## VELOCI3 (Aug 15, 2019)

https://www.hubbell.com/kimlighting/en


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

JoeSparky said:


> Who says you need to use landscape wire? If UF is rated for 600 volts max, then it's also rated for 12 volts.


That's true, UF is a lot cheaper per foot in larger sizes too, even with a ground wire in there. 

I guess there's also nothing preventing you from paralleling low voltage landscape lighting wire. I didn't look at it real hard but I think 3 #12's beats a single #8 at voltage drop, for about the same price for landscape lighting cable. 

Another thing to consider - would you rather splice solid or stranded? And, everybody hates stripping UF.


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## aron.l.bates (Jun 5, 2020)

When you compare it to a spray surface, where the entire structure is painted, you'd probably want a surface that had a green or orange hue. Black would be the single darkest color, perhaps, for the uplight. That's just my color wheel, though.


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## VELOCI3 (Aug 15, 2019)

splatz said:


> That's true, UF is a lot cheaper per foot in larger sizes too, even with a ground wire in there.
> 
> I guess there's also nothing preventing you from paralleling low voltage landscape lighting wire. I didn't look at it real hard but I think 3 #12's beats a single #8 at voltage drop, for about the same price for landscape lighting cable.
> 
> Another thing to consider - would you rather splice solid or stranded? And, everybody hates stripping UF.











I believe XHHW is direct burial rated


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

VELOCI3 said:


> (310 reference snipped...)
> 
> 
> 
> I believe XHHW is direct burial rated



But since the low voltage lighting power supply is Class II, the chapter 3 rules don't apply, right? Same reason flying splices are OK with say speaker wire.


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