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Buying guides

How to choose equipment without mistakes.

Nine short guides with formulas and tables: breaker and cable size, inverter and battery, illuminance standards, power supplies, LED strip, colour temperature, outdoor lighting, track systems, car…

9 guides41 min read

01Start here5 min read

Circuit breaker and cable cross-section: how to choose

A breaker protects the cable, not the appliance: so its rating is chosen for the cross-section of the circuit, not for the power of the load. Below: curves B, C and D, a conservative “cross-section — breaker” table for copper wiring, 30 mA RCDs for damp areas and an example switchboard for a flat.

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025 min read

Backup power: how to choose an inverter and a battery

Sizing backup power comes down to four numbers: the load power, the starting current, the hours you need and the system voltage. Below: a table of typical loads, formulas for the inverter and the battery in Wh and Ah at 12, 24 and 48 V, LiFePO4 compared with gel, and an example for a flat over 8 hours.

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036 min read

Industrial lighting: illuminance levels and calculation

Lighting for a workshop or a warehouse is calculated from the required level in lux, not from “watts per metre”. Below: typical levels under DBN V.2.5-28 (the Ukrainian lighting standard), the utilisation factor method with its formula, choosing a luminaire by ceiling height, IP and IK requirements and a worked example for a 30 × 18 m warehouse with an 8 m ceiling.

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044 min read

Colour temperature: 2700–6500 K room by room

Warm or cool light is chosen for what the room is used for, not by taste. Below: the kelvin values for the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, children’s room, study and garage, the rule of one colour temperature per zone, and why 6500 K in a bedroom keeps you awake.

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054 min read

LED strip for the kitchen: lumens, IP, profile and power supply

Worktop lighting usually goes wrong in three ways: the strip is too weak, there is no profile, the power supply has no headroom. Below: lumens per metre, IP by zone, the power supply formula and a worked calculation for a 3.2 m worktop.

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064 min read

Outdoor lighting: IP, materials, solar or mains

An outdoor luminaire works in rain, frost and heat. Below: which IP rating a porch, a façade and a pond need, why cast aluminium beats plastic, how long a solar lantern shines in winter and when it is worth running a cable after all.

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074 min read

LED headlight bulbs: H1, H4, H7, HB4, CAN bus, projector or reflector

An LED bulb in place of a halogen one gives either clean white light or a blurred patch that dazzles oncoming drivers. The outcome depends on the base, the geometry of the LEDs and the type of headlight optics. Five selection steps, and an honest word on legality.

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084 min read

Track lighting: magnetic or single-phase track, sizing a room

A track replaces a chandelier where furniture gets moved around and light needs to be directed. Below: how a 220 V single-phase system differs from a 48 V magnetic one, and how to work out the luminaires and the driver for a 20 m² living room.

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095 min read

LED power supplies and drivers: voltage, power, IP

Half of all “burnt-out strips” come down to the wrong power supply. The difference between constant voltage and constant current, power with a 20 % margin, the housing for the mounting location and when it is worth paying for Mean Well.

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