
← Green Architects' Lounge12 aug · 43 min
Low Voltage Lighting is the Future
Chris and Phil dig into low voltage lighting, the quiet infrastructure shift that could change how every future house gets wired. They walk through why LED lights barely need any power in the first place, how moving the transformer back to the panel eliminates the failure-prone converters buried in cheap fixtures, and why copper scarcity and rising costs are pushing this technology forward faster than expected. Along the way they cover class two wiring rules that let non-electricians self-perform, wireless relay switches that skip three-way wiring entirely, real numbers from a project where a lighting budget dropped by more than half, and the honest downsides — limited fixture choices and an industry still catching up. It's a practical primer for architects, designers, and builders who want to understand where residential electrical is headed before their next project. Phil also confesses to a near-miss with an old-school low voltage transformer that nearly torched his attic.