How to wire halogen lighting?

You first need a fixture.  It can be a track or wired independently.  The fixture can include a transformer so that the track takes standard line voltage.  Or you can

get tracks and fixtures that run on 12 Volts, and the people that make the tracks and fixtures will also have the necessary transformers.  But they are just light bulbs, so you can roll your own power supply if you give proper consideration to the voltage and current required (the current can be substantial for a track full of 50 Watt lamps).

Also keep in mind that halogen lighting runs very HOT.  Because they are so small,

the heat generated is concentrated into a small space.  A 50 Watt halogen can easily catch things on fire under adverse circumstances.  If you're not on a tight budget, consider LED lighting.

-Mark

Thanks for the reply.

As far as a fixture--I don't own my home, and move with some regularity, so I can't alter the room and I have to be able to take the fixture with me when I go. Money is tight, so I would rather make my own, if practical. I'm envisioning a sort of open framework (perhaps made of conduit?) that I could attach the sockets to. It would be installed above the layout with some space between it and the ceiling to allow heat to dissipate. How far below the ceiling is something else I need to find out, since (as you point out) the halogens get darn hot, and these dissipate most of their heat through the rear.

Those bulbs look like standard MR-16 halogen bulbs.  I have a lot of those around the house, mounted on tracks.  Each fixture has its own transformer so they are a bit bulky.  A track may be easier to install rather than individual fixtures since you don't own the place.  BTW, the whole lamp fixture will get wicked hot, not just the back.  I've burned myself many times when aiming them.

There are lots of sources for MR-16 fixtures and tracks.  In NYC there's a lighting district in the Bowrey that has many stores with surprisingly good prices.

Here's a cheap head for 12 V MR-16 or 120V PAR-16 bulbs

And you'll find better pricing for the bulbs on Amazon than the link you

provided at $5 each.

It would probably be cheaper to use 120V PAR-16 bulbs rather than pay for a transformer to feed 12V to the lamps.

-Mark

The MR 16 and similar designed lamps are focal point lighting.  Example: To high- light the single rose in the center of a table for two on that special night out.  It usually takes a combination of spot lights and flood light to completely illuminated a display, which lends to track lighting, where units can be moved and adjusted for specific effects.   MR16 as well as being hot also have short life because of the heat.  I use a combination of PAR 16 60 watt 130 volt and PAR 20 50 watt 130 volt lamps for illumination.  Fixture cost was considerable less, when you are not buying a transformer per fixture.

The recessed can lights are 50 watt  R20. The track light head shown in the first picture  is a 50 watt PAR 20.

The smaller head open bulb fixtures, last picture, are the 60 watt PAR 16 which is a pretty good spot light with out getting into the MR16 low voltage systems. The shaded enclosed fixture houses 50 watt PAR 20.  In general every other track head is a flood or a spot.

Thanks for the help. I may end up going with line voltage after all. Regarding the transformer, though, could I not use a PC power supply? There are 1000 watt PSUs, such as this one, out there, and the price is not that bad.  Just trying to understand what is possible so I can make a good decision.

You could use the regulated 12VDC supply from a PC power supply, but keep the amount of current in mind.  50W at 12 V = 4.16 A per lamp.

(V*A=W, W/V= 50/12 = 4.16 A)  So a power supply with a 15 Amp 12VDC supply could only run three lamps.  Plus, some PC power supplies don't like to run with imbalanced loads (they have complicated DC switching circuits inside)  Early switchers wouldn't run at all with no or small loads on some supplies.  If you had an original PC AT without a hard disk, it had a power resistor where the disk went so that the switcher would function properly.  Remove the resistor and the computer wouldn't start...

So you'd be limited by the power supply for more than a few bulbs.  You'd want a load below the rated output to keep things safe, too.  But light bulbs don't need DC, and they don't need a regulated supply.  Really all you need is a transformer.  Just get one that has the VA rating that you need for all your lamps, plus a margin for safety. 12VAC transformers are plentiful, and not expensive, but you'll then need to do the

wiring yourself.  And if you find a nice transformer, you can always get more than one and run the primaries in parallel (no need to parallel the secondaries, just split up the load appropriately).

-Mark

GACK!  I just checked your link. DON'T SPEND $100 for a power supply!

Here's a suitable transformer for almost 1/4 the price.

Plenty more choices if that one isn't right.

-Mark

Well, it should be 1/4 the price, since it has 1/4 the power output.  24V @ 10A is 240 watts.

Why not use 120 volt track lighting. Mount the track on the bottom of a piece of 3/4 inch conduit and mount the power connector on a box that is also mounted on the bottom of the conduit. Wire an extension cord into the box and you have a portable lighting track. You would still have to hang it from the ceiling but that could be done with only a couple of holes. Total cost for 3 lights complete, less than 50.00. If you find a track light kit on sale you could buy 2 kits and wire them up for 70.00.

Ron

And the OP was going to use all 1000 Watts?  That would be an awful lot of light and heat.  And I don't believe those specs for one minute.  Re-purposing a PC power supply like that under high loads could cause all kinds of unknown problems, and as I stated, there's no reason for a regulated supply for light bulbs. Maybe if I had an old PC power supply lying around and wanted to power a couple of bulbs, but I would not go out and buy an expensive one.

Heck, if he's in love with 12 V bulbs, get 10 of them, wire them in series, and

then you can hook them up to 120 Volts directly, "Christmas tree" style -no transformer needed.

-Mark