High-wire highlights - cable lights

Sunset, Feb, 1995 by Peter O. Whiteley

Low-voltage cable lights bring contemporary accents into any room

Like the high-wire acts that draw our gaze upward at the circus, a family of dramatic new lighting fixtures performs its overhead artistry on tensioned cables. Rather than balancing precariously on a single wire, the lights attach to pairs of cables or slender rods suspended from ceilings or walls. These low-voltage cable lights have illuminated shops and show-rooms for several years; now they're gaining popularity with homeowners.

Minimalist, futuristic, fantastic, or whimsical, the diminutive fixtures are designed to be noticed. Precisely machined metallic parts lend some the look of miniature satellites. Pendant-style fixtures clad with metal, glass, or fire-resistant "parchment" shades dangle gracefully from the ceiling. One company makes fixtures in the forms of angel wings and of little men who stand astride the parallel wires.

Like their track-mounted cousins, cable lights are best suited for what lighting designers call "accent lighting": directional lighting that focuses on specific architectural features, furnishings, or pieces of artwork, or that creates a dramatic mood when the other lights in a room are dimmed. But they are also useful in helping to meet the overall lighting needs of a room or to illuminate work areas. Their high-tech appearance seems most appropriate in rooms with a spare, contemporary look. They work well in high-ceilinged spaces, where the twin wires can zig and zag across the room. In rooms with lower ceilings, it's better to run the wires close to the walls or above areas where there is no foot traffic, such as over a counter or dining table.

If you have a room with no ceiling-mounted fixtures or with only a general overall ambient light source, consider adding this type of system. If you look at the cost of the system alone, the cable lights seem more expensive than the typical overhead recessed light fixtures. However, they are usually less costly to install and use. Because all of the parts can be surface mounted, you won't have to open up walls or cut holes in ceilings. Some manufacturers offer basic kits that can be installed by homeowners; more elaborate systems require professional installation.

CABLE SYSTEM COMPONENTS

The basic components of a cable light system break into four categories: fixtures, power source, cables, and hardware.

Depending on design complexity, low-voltage fixtures range in price from about $45 to more than $200. At the heart of each fixture is the light source: a quartz halogen lamp, about the size of the end of your little finger. These bulbs emit a brighter, whiter light than standard incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. In most fixtures, the bulb is contained in a multifaceted, bell-shaped housing that reflects, directs, and focuses the light. The most popular model, the MR16, is available in 20- to 75-watt versions and in beam spreads ranging from very narrow spotlights to floodlights. Cost for an MR16 is about $11.

Transformers convert standard 120-volt power to the 12 volts required by the cable light systems. They are offered with capacities that commonly range from 250- to 500-watt loads. Prices vary with capacity: one manufacturer sells a 300-watt transformer for about $330 and a 500-watt model for $480. The size of the transformer limits the total wattage of the lamps hooked up to it. For instance, you could use as many as six 50-watt lamps or 15 20-watt lamps with a 300-watt transformer.

A transformer can be in the same room as the lights it serves or placed in another area of the house. The choice is mostly an aesthetic one, though there is also an issue of noise: some transformers make a low buzzing sound when a dimmer is added to the system. For remote locations, it is important to have a line the correct size to bring power from the transformer to the cables; undersize wires can pose a fire hazard. For added safety, a transformer should have an internal circuit breaker or be fused on the transformer's secondary (or fixture) side. Consult with a professional lighting designer or a licensed electrician to size the system and choose the appropriate transformers.

Most cables are tin-plated copper wires that are bundled around a core of synthetic material called Kevlar, which prevents stretching. Cables cost about $2.50 per foot. The cables run in parallel pairs spaced from 1 to more than 6 inches apart, depending on the figures used.

The amount of hardware that supports and tensions the cables varies with the complexity of the installation. A straight run requires a pair of anchors at one end and a second pair with adjustable turnbuckles to draw the lines tight at the other. For straight runs of more than 25 feet, you must add midspan, ceiling-mounted support brackets.

Things get more interesting once you start changing direction or adding more than one circuit. Wall- or ceiling-mounted brackets or metal wands let you weave the cables through overhead space while maintaining the required spacing. Line separators (or insulators) allow a pair of cables to have more than one circuit or transformer hooked to it.