Low Voltage Outdoor Lighting

[Val Kosmider]

I am installing low voltage lighting along the driveway. 12 Volts. LED. Transformer will be at the front end of the string.

The mailbox post at the top of the driveway has a 120 Volt fixture on top of it. The wiring from the low voltage transformer and the 120 volt run to the mail box are side by side.

I have read up on the code, and read a number of web comments that the low voltage cable and the 120 Volt cable can/can not be run in the same 3/4" conduit. It seems to be a gray area, and both sides are polarized (like which way does the three prong outlet get installed....ground UP, or ground DOWN?).

Does anyone have any experience running both the 120 Volt and low voltage wires in the same conduit? Or otherwise?

[Rich Riddle]

You might want to read this link:

http://inhabitat.com/design-center/low-voltage-safety-understanding-class-2-compliance/

High-voltage (120 VAC) is class 1 and Low Voltage (12 VAC) is class 2. Some areas don't like the mingling of both including sharing the same conduit. However, most areas don't have any requirement for low-voltage wiring to even be at a minimum depth or in conduit. I kept them separate when installing a new system but many would call that overkill. I would always rather be safe than sorry.

[Dan Hintz]

Mixing the two in the same conduit is a hazard... don't do it.

And ground prong up/down is your choice... no rule that specifies one way or the other. In some areas the builders loved to put them prong up (like in my house). I've slowly been making them prong down as I replace circuits.

[Curt Harms]

Mixing the two in the same conduit is a hazard... don't do it.

And ground prong up/down is your choice... no rule that specifies one way or the other. In some areas the builders loved to put them prong up (like in my house). I've slowly been making them prong down as I replace circuits.

Same here. I read an idea that made a lot of sense to me. If the outlet is hot all the time, ground down. If it's switched, ground up.

[John Huds0n]

All the outlets in my house have the ground prong down but out in my shop in certain areas I have the prong up. The reason is in case the plug in not fully plugged in, if *something* was able to somehow fall onto the exposed hot prongs, it could cause a short, fire, etc. With the prong up, the ground prong is now the tip of a triangle and it is supposed to deflect any such items

[ray hampton]

I noticed that the ground pin is on the side at some hospital or doctors offices, and the pin switch from left side to right side