Low Voltage Transformers Rotating Header Image


A low voltage transformer is a unit which is designed to transform high voltage into amounts lower than 30 volts. The usual models of low voltage transformers take in 120 volts which get transformed into just 12 or 24 volts. There are a wide variety of applications to which a low voltage transformer can be used ranging from powering doorbells, outside lighting, track and pool lighting etc.

There are two different types of low voltage transformers: electronic and magnetic. The most common in the electronic low voltage transformer because it’s cheaper, they are small and they have a life expectancy of 5 to 6 years. However, electronic transforms tend to be quite noisy during the periods of time that they are active.

On the other hand, the magnetic low voltage transformer has two main unit types: stack laminated and toroidal transformers. A stack laminated low voltage transformer is almost as cheap as an electronic one, but it has a longer lifespan which reaches 15 or 20 years. And as an added benefit they are much more silent so they can be used closer to living areas as they are not disturbing.

Toroidal low voltage transformers, are the most efficient of them all running with 90 or 95 percent efficiency levels and they also have the longest lifespan, which reaches 25 years. Their downside is that they are the most expensive of all low voltage transformer types but on the long run the purchasing investment gets covered by the lower amount of electricity they use due to their higher efficiency levels.

Here are some tips to use when looking to purchase a low voltage transformer:

  1. Make sure you know exactly the power output you need for your fixture. Read the inscription on the light bulbs or in the users’ manual of your unit. If you don’t get this right you will either get too much or too little power form your transformer, either case being detrimental to the good functioning of your fixture.
  2. Verify that the low voltage transformer you want to get supplies exactly the power you need. This information should be provided by the seller or it should be written in the products’ description either on the box or on the website you’re visiting.
  3. The most low voltage transformers supply AC voltage. However, if you need DC voltage then you have to get what’s called a ‘power supply’, which basically is a normal transformer with some extra electronics. Moreover there are bipolar and unipolar units so make sure that you purchase the right one.
  4. If you plan to use your low voltage transformer to power up some lights and you whish to have the possibility of dimming them down, then you should check that the unit you want to purchase has this ability. Not all the low voltage transformers allow for fluctuating power outputs.