DIY

The rules govern how far a fixture must sit from the area where clothing and boxes are stored, and which fixture types may be installed at all.

Bathrooms are divided into regions around the tub and shower where only certain listed fixtures may be installed, and ordinary ceiling lights are not among them.

Freezing temperatures rarely kill an exterior luminaire; water reaching the electrical compartment through a failed gasket or the wrong mounting orientation does.

A rated life figure describes when output has fallen to a stated fraction of the original, not the moment the fixture stops producing light altogether.

A correlated color temperature figure describes one axis of appearance, and lamps sharing it can differ noticeably in tint and in how they render colors.

Light that pulses faster than the eye resolves can still make rotating machinery appear stationary, which is a genuine hazard in a shop or a garage.

Phase control, low-voltage analog signals and digital addressing are different languages, and a driver responds only to the one it was built to understand.

A supply running at its rated maximum has no margin for cable losses, future fixtures or the inrush that a run of electronic drivers presents at switch-on.

When fixtures nearest the transformer are bright and distant ones look yellow and weak, the cable is losing voltage along its length rather than the lamps failing.

The small transformer feeding a run of low-voltage fixtures needs ventilation and access, and hiding it inside a sealed cabinet shortens its life considerably.