Photo courtesy of Derek Warren of Natural Environment
Installing A Powercenter
A 12 volt PowerCenter takes the output from the line voltage and reduces it to 10%. If the outlet is putting out 120 volts, it reduces the terminal blocks to 12 volts. It is important to check the voltage at the outlet as I have seen outlets as high as 140 volts, which means you will have 14 volts in your terminal blocks, creating premature lamp burnout.
At this point (continuing from a previous post, Installing A Basic Lighting System) you will have completed fixture and wire installation with the wires at the location where you are going to install the PowerCenter. It is best to install the module you are going to use to control on/off times before mounting the PowerCenter. When installing the timer, be sure not to have the PowerCenter plugged in as the timer runs off the 120 volt side. Once this is done you are ready to mount the PowerCenter. Be sure the location you choose is close to the outlet as the cord is not very long.
If the location is not by the house, I prefer to use a 4x6 wooden tie. If this is the case, be sure to have it out of the ground enough to have the PowerCenter at least 12 inches above grade. If your outlet is on the house you can either use a 4x6 or (in most cases) mount it directly to the house. The only time you shouldn't use the house wall is if you have aluminum siding as there is vibration when the PowerCenter is powered up.
The first thing to do is make marks where you are going to put the screws. Nightscaping® PowerCenters come with a template. It is important to use a level as there is nothing worse than to have a PowerCenter mounted crooked. What I find best to use is a torpedo level and make marks using the template. If you end up not having the PowerCenter exactly level, one trick is to use a security screw to make a slight adjustment.
Next you will be inserting the wires. Nightscaping® PowerCenters come prepared to add conduit to run the wires through to make a very clean installation. If not using conduit, what you can do is use black electrical tape and bound the wires together going into the ground. Once you have all the wires inside the PowerCenter, you are going to strip the wires. It is vital when doing this not to strip any of the copper strands as this will give you extra voltage drop to the fixtures. Each of the wires should be marked in some way so you know the load on each wire. Each terminal block in a Nightscaping® PowerCenter that is 250 watts or larger can handle 250 watts. One thing that is important when doing your installation is to not have 100 watts on every run because then you won't be able to have three wires in any one block. Nightscaping® PowerCenters come with duel terminal blocks so you can put wire runs in two sides adding up to 250 watts. However, you can have all 250 watts in one side of the block. After you have calculated which wires are going where it time to insert them. Be sure the PowerCenter is not on at this point. When inserting the wires it is important not to have the rubber casing inside the block. As you tighten the terminal screw you must be sure it is very tight. You should tighten it by hand as much as possible, then tug or pull on the wire and tighten it one more time. You will usually get a ¼ to a ½ more turn.
That's it, it's time to plug in the PowerCenter and hope you installed everything correctly and all the lights come on. Check that every fixture is working, set the timer if you haven't already, wait for it to get dark and enjoy the beauty you have created.
Bob Schmid
Nightscaping® Mid Atlantic States
215 Glenview Court
Marlton, NJ 08053
Phone# 609-760-3181
Fax# 856-810-8407
Photo courtesy of Derek Warren of Natural Environment
Being born and raised in New Zealand, Derek Warren has always been conscious of his environment. He spent some 15 years in the Landscape Design Build field in his home country before picking up his bags and moving to the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia.
In Tahiti, Derek and his wife developed a company that catered to the landscape needs of the Island in both commercial and residential settings. While working at luxurious resorts in Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora, Derek and his wife also developed a fabricating plant that manufactured brick, tile, and pavers for interior and exterior use in homes and hotels.
After 10 years Derek and his family moved to the Washington DC area where he worked as a landscape architect. This is where he came in contact with Nightscaping® at a landscape trade show in Baltimore, Md.
Impressed by the quality of our product, he decided to attend a Nightscaping® seminar. After this he began making Nightscaping® an integral part of every design and installation his company sells.
As a landscape Architect he was impressed by the whole package that came with his relationship with Nightscaping®. Derek says, "The quality, service, friendliness and help provided whenever I need it, has made me truly a loyal and committed partner with Nightscaping®. What Nightscaping® provides me with as an architect and contractor is unsurpassed in the industry."
Being in a position where I work with hundreds of contractors, I can say without hesitation that Derek is one of the most creative people I have ever met. His inclusion of lighting in his landscape designs is unsurpassed and I am proud to have him as part of the Nightscaping® family.
Derek WarrenImpressed by the quality of our product, he decided to attend a Nightscaping® seminar. After this he began making Nightscaping® an integral part of every design and installation his company sells.
As a landscape Architect he was impressed by the whole package that came with his relationship with Nightscaping®. Derek says, "The quality, service, friendliness and help provided whenever I need it, has made me truly a loyal and committed partner with Nightscaping®. What Nightscaping® provides me with as an architect and contractor is unsurpassed in the industry."
Being in a position where I work with hundreds of contractors, I can say without hesitation that Derek is one of the most creative people I have ever met. His inclusion of lighting in his landscape designs is unsurpassed and I am proud to have him as part of the Nightscaping® family.
Natural Environments
PO Box 9792
Silver Spring MD 20916
301.370.8321 Cell
301.774.4831 Fax
kawapacific@hotmail.com
Redlands Daily Facts, February 22,1967
What Redlands Makes...Makes Redlands
This week, GERRARD'S is proud to solute a real REDLANDS success story...BILL LOCKLIN and LORAN LIGHTING FIXTURE COMPANY. Barely three years old, NIGHTSCAPING, a copywrited discriptive phrase, is known in every major marketing area in the United States and in foreign countries.
LORAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY is strictly a local company with 40 local stockholders and a local Board of Directors.
LORAN, INC. is a leader in the development of low voltage lighting fixtures. For the yard, garden, plants and even garden pools, NIGHTSCAPING lends the romantic and interesting highlights for every home and business use. LORAN stresses the importance to the effect of lighting rather than the fixture itself.
Starting from nothing three years ago, LORAN has developed an important payroll total to the local scene. Growing at a rate of 55% increase per year, it appears that LORAN has a bright future. NIGHTSCAPING is constantly researching new design as well as new marketing fields.
We are proud to feature this interesting REDLANDS company at GERRARD'S CYPRESS CENTER this week. We salute them as good citizens and good neighbors. We wish them the brightest future, which they richly deserve.
You will enjoy browsing through the exhibits at GERRARD'S CYPRESS CENTER which will show the leading items made at LORAN, Inc.
As a door prize, two customers of GERRARD'S will walk away with complete sets of these lighting fixtures for their homes. Drawings will be held next Thursday morning at 9AM.
Redlands Daily Facts
Wednesday, February 22, 1967
*Gerrard's Grocery continues to thrive in Redlands since 1933.
Photo courtesy of Derek Warren of Natural Environment
Connie's Corner
When I was growing up in the hills of eastern Kentucky, my momma would always ask me if I had washed behind my ears before I went out in public. It is a good piece of advice for when you are going out to make a client visit. Take the time to look clean and presentable. And...if you have taken the time to wash behind your ears, then you surely will look professional and presentable.
