Chapter 3
To Wire Or Not To Wire
Table of Contents
One of the
things that need to be decided early on in the construction process is whether
or not to electrify our house. Lighting can bring a feeling of realism and
warmth to your mini creation. It can mean the difference between a so-so
project and a work of art.
One of the
beginners first thoughts may be "no way man, I'm having nothing to do with
electricity. That stuff can zap ya big time." Fear not! Lighting can be safely added to your project,
and you can do it yourself. That's right, you can do it!
Probably the biggest problem
you will encounter is the expense required to light a dollhouse. The cost of
lighting fixtures can add up very quickly. The wiring itself, however, is not
that expensive. Before ruling out lighting because of the expense, consider
that ... you can always add the fixtures as money allows. However, it will be
much more difficult to add the wiring later.
Oh good you're
still reading! So, you must have
decided that wiring is the way to go. You'll be happy you did. Of that we are sure. The rest of this discussion will help get
you off to a good start. It will help you to plan for and understand some of
the components that will be required to electrify your new home.
Planning is an important first step in the process of wiring.
The answer to the next few questions will go a long way in helping to put
together a wiring scheme that will help bring your ideas to life:
Would you like all the lights to go on at the same time or do
you want to be able to control different floors or even rooms?
Would you like to have ceiling fixtures and, if so, in what
rooms?
Would you like to add wall receptacles for lamps?
How about wall mounted fixtures?
Maybe a porch light or two?
Possibly a flickering fireplace unit or a lighted Christmas
tree?
Before the
wiring scheme is laid out there needs to be answers to all of these questions.
These answers will be the "guiding light" when the actual wiring is
started. The clearer the plan is now, the easier it will be to carry out later.
Let's get
started with an introduction to some of the electrical components that will be
incorporated into your new house.
Basically every
house will contain the following:
A transformer that is either fuse or circuit breaker protected.
A method of attaching the transformer to the house. Wiring that
will take the electricity from the transformer to the lighting fixtures.
And last but not least the light bulbs or lighting fixtures that
we intend to light.
Types Of Wiring
Let's take a
look at each of these components individually starting with the wiring itself.
Basically, there
are two methods available to wire your house.
Round wire
Tape wire.
To say which
method is best is largely a matter of personal preference and there are as many
opinions on the subject as there are miniaturists. Let's have a look at some of
the strengths and weaknesses of each type and let you make the decision that
will work better for your application.
The second
wiring method is the tape wire system. This consists of two strips of
self-adhesive copper foil laid side by side. The copper tape can be purchased
as individual strips or pre assembled with a covering of mylar tape. The mylar
serves to hold the strips together at an even spacing. It also helps to
insulate the copper strips.
There are three
basic methods for joining the "wires" in this system together. They are all widely used.
Small brass nails,
Grommets
Solder
Advantages of
tape wire:
The tape wire system
is a bit more costly but some of the extra cost can be justified by the ease
with which new fixtures and outlets can be added or moved. This is especially
true if the wallpaper is applied directly to the wall rather than to
illustration board.
The most ideal
application for tape wire is on the 3/8" plywood houses and roomboxes. The
brads and/or grommets have less chance of working loose in this material. Other
materials can be used, but precautions must be taken to avoid this problem.
Disadvantages of
tape wire:
Tape wire does have a limit as to how far it can be stretched
without breaking and it is much more difficult to build in slack for movement
caused by humidity or other special circumstances where movement is desirable
or unavoidable.
One other possible problem when using the bare copper foil is
the possibility of corrosion due to exposure to salt air or certain types of
materials found in wallpaper and wallpaper paste. When using the bare copper
foil, seal it with a coat of primer before you paper or paint just as an added
precaution.
Tape wiring can
be found at most miniature shops and through on line miniature sources.
Round wire is
just that round wire. The kind that is used for hooking up the battery to your
transistor radio. The wire comes in different gauges or diameters.
The smaller the gauge the larger the wires diameter. Generally,
when we talk about dollhouse wiring we are looking to use about a 32 gauge
wire. It is available at many miniature shops and at electronic supply stores.
The wire can be a single round wire or it can be two wires that
are molded side by side making it look more rectangular than round. Wires can
also be purchased in different colors if that is to your liking.
Most, if not all, of the lighting fixtures you buy will come
with round wire hook-up leads. If you choose to use tape wire as the base wire
you will still encounter some round wire in the wiring process.
Advantages of
round wire:
There are
several situations where round wire is especially desirable.
One is when electrifying a mini home that is already painted and
papered. Round wire can be concealed in corners, behind trim boards, and under
carpets.
Another area would be in places of high humidity where your
house may expand and contract. It is fairly easy to build in a little slack
with round wire.
Sometimes the
materials that are used to construct houses or roomboxes will make round wire
the more desirable choice.
Foamboard and illustration board structures are often not able
to hold the brads and grommets that are used for the tape wire.
Hardboard or masonite is another material that is used in the
construction of mini houses. Due to the hardness of this material round wire is
often the preferred choice. Nails and grommets used with tape wire are
difficult to install in such hard material.
Disadvantages of
round wire:
One thing to
keep in mind when choosing to use round wire is the careful planning of the
location of the wall and ceiling fixtures.
It is more difficult with the round wire system to change
locations of fixtures or add fixtures.
This drawback can be easily overcome by careful planning and
adding several wall outlets to each room during the initial wiring stage. This
will give much more flexibility when changing rooms around and adding lamps
etc.
Should the tape
wire system be chosen you will, undoubtedly, encounter fixtures that are wired
with round wire.
The round wire
can be attached to the tape using…
Brass brads
Grommets
Soldering
Or a combination of soldering and grommets or brads.
It may even be
found that in some applications both the tape and round wire systems will need
to be used to accomplish the desired result.
Whether you
choose the round wire system or copper tape…
a small soldering iron
some rosin core solder
some heat shrink tubing
and a tube of silicone
…will be very
valuable additions to the basic tool kit.
Another part of
the planning process will be to determine the number of 
lights and fixtures that are
going to be used. This is important not only in deciding how the wiring should
be run, but also in sizing the transformer or battery pack that will be required.
It also needs to be decided
whether any other type of lighting will be required. This may consist of real
life nightlights, Christmas lights, or other types of lighting that plug
directly into the wall (your real size house wall).
Warning!
A word of
caution is in order here. Although most of this discussion will be centered
around the use of 12volt lamps, there are cases in which the choice is made to
use regular AC (plug in the wall) type of lighting.
Always remember that lights cause heat.
The smaller lights generate much less heat than the big lights
do. Consider how you are going to deal with the heat generated from these
bulbs. Our little houses are not only constructed from combustibles but many of
our prized mini possessions are made from combustibles.
If the choice is made to use lighting other than that made
specifically for dollhouses please be careful that you make provisions to deal
with the excess heat in order to keep your dollhouse, yourself, and your family
safe.
Bulbs made for dollhouses
are primarily of the 12Volt variety. There are several different basic types.
Each one of the different types requires a certain amount of electricity to light
it. The bulbs are rated in milliamperes (milliamps). Hold on now, I know what
your thinking. "Yikes, enough of this." But wait. Hold on just a
little bit longer and it will all make sense.
The first step
is to count each bulb in the layout that is going to be used. Remember, each
bulb (not fixture, but bulb) to figure the total number of milliamps that will
be needed to light our little lovely. This is going to help in selecting a
transformer that will be suitable for our needs.
In this discussion
we are looking at 12Volt bulbs that are used in the fixtures that are made for
dollhouses. (You can get just the bulbs too and make your own fixtures but
that's a different story).
Here is a list
to give some idea of what the milliamp ratings are for some of the popular
style bulbs:
GOR (Grain of Rice bulbs are one of the
smallest style bulbs) 60 - 70ma.
GOW (Grain of Wheat) 60ma.
Candle Flame screw base 60ma.
Fluorette 70 - 80ma.
Pea Bulb 50 - 60ma.
Flicker Light screw base 150ma.
Spot light 180ma.
There are many
other styles of bulbs available and usually the vendor will be able to tell you
what the milliamp rating is for the style of bulbs selected.
Before leaving
light bulbs and fixtures one thing should be pointed out.
When going to purchase lighting fixtures note that some have
replaceable bulbs and some do not.
Be aware that if you use a non-replaceable bulb type fixture in
a hard to get at location you will not be a happy camper if it should burn out.
I know. I know. The non-replaceable fixtures are cheaper, sometimes a lot
cheaper but what value do you place on your sanity? Being able to unscrew the
burned out bulb and screw in a new one is so much easier than having to change
the whole fixture.
On to
transformers.
A transformer is
a device that converts (steps down) the voltage that is delivered to the wall
socket in your house to that needed to power your dollhouse lighting, normally
12 volts. One of the considerations when choosing a transformer for your house
is the number of amperes or milliamperes it is rated for.
To determine the
size of transformer in milliamperes that you need all that needs to be done is
to
1.
Total up the number of bulbs (remember the number of bulbs
not fixtures) and
2.
Multiply that number by the number of milliamps (one thousandth
of one ampere) that each light is rated for.
So if we have 10
lamps rated at 60 milliamps we have 10 x60 or .600 milliamps. Simple right? Of
course it is wiring is easy remember. What is needed then is a transformer
rated at least 600 milliamps or .6 of an ampere. But you say "I can't find a transformer rated at 600
milliamps." Fear not. Remember, at least that big. We can go bigger
and if we have any thoughts that we might add a few lights down the road this
would be the wise thing to do.
What should be kept in mind when sizing a transformer is you can
go up in size to the point where you will always have at least half of the
number of bulbs lit that the transformer is rated for.
So for the
example we found we needed at least a .6 ampere transformer. We could easily go
to a 1 ampere (1000 milliamp) transformer with our 10 bulbs and be well within
the limit with some room to grow.
Circuit Breaker
Another feature
that we want to look for when purchasing a transformer is does it have built in
circuit breaker.
The purpose of
the circuit breaker is to shut off power coming from the transformer to our dollhouse
in case of an electrical malfunction or short circuit. This will protect not
only the transformer from overload but also the components in your dollhouse.
If you should find that your transformer does not have a built
in circuit breaker all is not lost. A cord (lead in wire) that runs between the
transformer and your dollhouse can be purchased with a fuse holder installed.
When you buy the transformer ask what size fuse you should use
for the transformer you are purchasing. It will usually be equal to or slightly
less than what the transformer is rated.
One more note
before leaving the wonderful world of transformers.
Different countries use different voltage and current standards.
If you are going to travel with your dollhouse, or buy your transformer in
another country, be sure to ask if the transformer you have or are considering
purchasing is rated for the power supplied at your destination. This is very important for the life and well
being of your newly purchased or old traveling companion transformer.
Now get those
tray tables and seat backs in the full upright position and on we go.
There is a
simpler solution to this whole transformer selection dilemma.
When you go to the mini shop take a look at the transformers
they have for sale. They will all tell you how many bulbs they are rated for.
Don't exceed this number and you should be just fine. Problem solved. Wasn't
that simple?
One other way to
light your dollhouse is with a battery pack. This is generally not the
preferred method, as batteries just don't have the life span to run a fully lit
house for any length of time.
There are
special cases where that is the only way it can be done.
When it is not possible to tie into a wall outlet or when the
project is mobile like a roombag.
Be prepared to change out the batteries on a regular basis if
you have more than a couple of lights.
You will also need to figure out where the battery box will be
placed and how many batteries you will need to supply the voltage and current
needed to light the lights.
If only one or two lights are needed think about flashlight
bulbs rather than the 12Volt dollhouse lights. They will give more light with
less battery drain.
Strings of battery powered lights and LEDs (light emitting
Diodes) can often be found at mini shops and craft stores already assembled.
This can be a very satisfactory solution and all the figuring is done for you.
There, we made
it! That covers the major components of
the mini house wiring system.
You will also
need a means to connect the lead-in wire to the type of wiring system being
used in your dream house. Several methods to accomplish this will be pursued
during the construction phase.
Sit back and
rest for a while. You deserve it. Oh, and while you're resting read over your
house construction directions one more time.
We're getting closer.
Last revised: April 2001