Low Voltage Track Lighting: What You Need to Know
I thought it would be simple to find track lighting for our kitchen, but that was before I learned there were so many options: low voltage track lighting, line voltage lighting, transformers, conductor boxes, cables—you name it! The only transformers I'm familiar with fight evil space robots; I was lost.
So, I turned to my trusty friend the internet and let my fingers to the walking. I tried every word combination imaginable in my queries: low voltage lighting, track lighting with low voltage, low voltage track lighting. I perused the items I found on every page and the information contained within them. I knew what I wanted: attractive lighting that would easily install in my kitchen but would not eat up a lot of energy.
The friendly folks at eHow.com recommended lots of bright ideas: take photos, measure, sketch out a plan. From various sources ranging from Popular Mechanics to Wikipedia entries, I learned that line voltage refers to the voltage running through the wires of the house—the same voltage you would expect from an electrical outlet. This varies from place to place. I was somewhat surprised to see that the voltage used in North America was somewhat less than elsewhere in the world. Plus, each track has a nickname—typically one simple, capital letter. Each letter was the same as the first in the name three companies which have historically produced track lighting.
Interesting trivia aside, I found that low voltage lighting, while often requiring a transformer, offers a wide array of beautiful contemporary options. The tracks were as close to art as the pendant lights dangling from them. This was the choice I had been looking for!
I selected an eye-catching low voltage track light with bell-shaped pendants hanging from a decorative track. The track, itself, was bendable to suit my lighting needs, and it came in the form of a kit that contained everything I needed—even one of those forbidding transformers I had worried over before. (They weren't as scary as I imagined.)
With the aid of some mechanically inclined friends, and my undemanding lighting kit, I now have beautiful, decorative, and functional light in my kitchen. I even get compliments on my unique lighting choice. I'm glad I opted for low voltage track lighting!