48 volt yard lighting

[bluedog225]

I’d appreciate some help thinking this through. My place is off the grid with solar, batteries, and an inverter.

I’m having a couple of long trenches dug. One for a water line along the road and one the other way for a septic system.

I can get 500’ of low voltage direct burial wire (12/2) for around $250. I wouldn’t mind some outdoor lighting along the road and out in the yard. I also have a pretty good battery bank for my solar system at 48 volts.

I see there are various LED light options that can handle a pretty wide range of voltage. E.g.: 10-60 volts DC.

Is there any downside to running some “low voltage” 12/2 down the trenches to use for 48 volt lighting run directly off the battery bank? I’m thinking copper is copper even though this is not the intended use.

I can’t think of a reason this create a hazard. I’m out in the country and there are no inspections.

Thanks

 

[pembol]

Agreed - copper is copper. Only think I can think of is to make sure you have a some overcurrent protection on that line - a battery bank can source an enormous current. You could also us a 48V to 24V or 12V DC-DC converter if you wanted to use a more 'standard' voltage and have a wider range of lights available.

 

[The Cobbler]

I would look at 12 volt lighting , as well, put the wire in a conduit to protect it and make replacement easier

 

[theoldwizard1]

Voltage drop equals current times resistance (V=I*R). More light means more power (current) so more voltage drop. Go with 24V or 48V.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You could also us a 48V to 24V or 12V DC-DC converter if you wanted to use a more 'standard' voltage and have a wider range of lights available.

Voltage converters loose power.

 

[walta]

As far as selecting fixtures goes the devil is in the details and you did not give us the details.

It is ease to build low-cost LED driver circuits that operate over a large voltage range but use lows of power and not make much light. High efficiency circuits cost more to produce and less to operate.

Dividing the number of claimed lumens by the number of Watts used can weed out some of the trash. It has been 6 years since I was looking for fixtures but less than 75 lumens per Watt was out of consideration for me 100 was my target. 200 has recently come to market but I am not sure the bulb can last long enough to recover its high cost.

Walta

 

[bluedog225]

Random example.

100 lumens per watt claimed. RBI knows in reality.

9 bucks

 

[pembol]

Voltage converters loose power.

True, but half decent DC-DC converters are > 90% efficient, and 12V opens up a much larger range of landscape lighting, likely to include more efficient fixtures.

 

[walta]

My I had a very different idea about what you wanted. I imagined a dozen lamps a long the edge of a driveway and it seem your plan is to light up the prison yard. LOL

Consider putting 48VDC lamps in standard fixtures.

https://wattalight.com/collections/all-48v-dc-bulbs



Or putting pairs of 24V lamps in series.





Walt

 

[bluedog225]

Thanks all. I thought I’d mentioned that the place is prison themed.

My biggest concern was whether a 48 V line instead of a 12 V line would present any safety issues or electrical issues I hadn’t thought of.

Agreed there will be many more choices and styles in 12 V lighting.

 

[alfredeneuman]

My biggest concern was whether a 48 V line instead of a 12 V line would present any safety issues or electrical issues I hadn’t thought of.

Unlike 12V lighting at 48V you'll need to wire it like a higher voltage circuit.
48V direct burial cable must be buried at 24", PVC conduit at 18".
I think the burial depth for 12V Malibu Lights is 6"