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The Daring Dufas[_8_]

On 2/13/2014 1:25 PM, wrote:
On Thursday, February 13, 2014 10:55:12 AM UTC-5, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
On 2/11/2014 9:43 PM, JIMMIE wrote:

My house lighting is all LED total wattage with all on is less
than 100 watts. What I want to do is to be able to connect my
light circuits to the UPS during emergencies like this ice storm
that is coming up. Not worried about heat or the fridge, I have
gas heater backup and not enough in the fridge to worry about.
Are there approved ways of connecting in the UPS that does not
involve adding a transfer switch. I was thinking about doing this
with outlets and plugs so I could unplug the light circuit and
plug it into the UPS.

Jimmie

The easiest thing to do is to run a low voltage lighting system
using a 12vdc power system and battery charger. A relay to switch
on the 12 volt LED lights when the power fails is simple to
implement and with a proper low current fuse is quite safe. I
bought a little 48 LED light panel meant to replace an automobile
dome light from Amazon to play with and it and it puts out a
surprising amount of light. The LED panel measures 1-1/2" X 2-5/8"
and has double stick foam on the back so it can be mounted easily.
I imagine you can make your own panel using 4 to 6of them and light
up a room very well. I haven't measured the current draw on it but
I found it is quite bright off a 9 volt battery. Low voltage wire
such as telephone wire installed with a stapler could be used to
wire rooms for emergency light using the little modules. ^_^

I think you'll find that telephone wire is probably not rated for use
in a low voltage lighting system in a house. There is NEC that
applies to those types of installations too.

Jesus H Christopher! It's a DIY project not wiring the Smithsonian!
Telephone system cable caries 48vdc talk battery and 90vac ringing
voltage. It's not high current and neither is the power required by the
12vdc LED modules. The OP could use thermostat wire which is rated for
up to 300 volts. He can install his low voltage lighting, measure the
current draw then install a proper fuse to protect the wiring which will
prevent the magic smoke from escaping. o_O

TDD