Outdoor smart socket for low voltage garden lights

by **sfrazi** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:09 pm

I am looking to buy some low voltage garden lights which come with a plug. I already have a standard waterproof outdoor socket to plug these into.

What I want, though, is to be able to control turning these on through my iphone, similar to smart sockets you can get which can be controlled through wifi.

Do a similar version of these smart sockets exist for outdoor use?

Thanks

by **diydoctor6** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 12:06 pm

Sounds fancy!

I'm Google something like "iphone controlled outdoor lights" - there seems to be lots of suggestions

This company is an advertiser with DIY Doctor and create some amazing lighting effects - you could try them: http://www.starscape.co.uk/. Otherwise, trust in Google!

by **ericmark** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 12:53 am

I would agree but remember low voltage = 50 ~ 1000 Vac up to 50 Vac is called extra low voltage however many lighting manufacturers don't seem to follow the international convention. So you need to read carefully.

Extra low voltage comes in three flavours. SELV must NOT have an earth, PELV must have an earth, FELV can be either. The problem is where LV and ELV wires run together the LV and induce a voltage onto the ELV cables they should be a meter apart. With PELV the earth link means no real problem but with SELV (S stands for separated) you can end up with nasty voltages on the isolated cables.

In Wales it needs LABC notification, but not in England under Part P building regulations. You need to be careful what you select.