# Garden Lights transformer: choosing 24, 60 or 150 W

> A 60 W Garden Lights transformer carries 45 W of lights, the 150 W one 112.5 W. How the 75 percent rule works, the Flex cable up to 80 m, and the app.

Canonical: https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/garden-lights-transformer-and-cable
Last updated: 2026-10-25

![A small black spotlight on a ground spike lights the stems of a multi-stem tree; its cable runs along a corten steel edge into the border](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/garden-lights-transformator-en-kabel-cb141a27.webp)

Published: 2026-10-03

A Garden Lights transformer turns 230 volts into 12 volts and comes in 24, 60
and 150 W. Do not load it up to the number on the box. Garden Lights allows 45 W
of lights on the 60 W and 112.5 W on the 150 W, because LED lights load a
transformer more heavily than their wattage says.

Anyone who sees "60 W" on a box in the shop, adds up six spots of 5 W and two
wall lights of 4 W, gets 38 W and thinks there is plenty of room. That is right,
but only just: 7 W is left, not 22 W. We did not find such a 75 percent rule at
in-lite or Lightpro.

## Which Garden Lights transformer do you need?

Choose on what your lights ask together, and compare that with the column "what
you connect", not with the number in the name. Up to 24 W the smallest one fits,
up to 45 W the 60 W and up to 112.5 W the 150 W.

| Transformer | Article number | On the box | What you connect | IP rating | Lead to the socket |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 24 W | 6270011 | 24 W | up to 24 W | IP44 | none, the plug is built in |
| 60 W | 6311011 | 60 W | up to 45 W | IP67 | 2 m |
| 150 W | 6312011 | 150 W | up to 112.5 W | IP64 | 2 m |

![Four Garden Lights product photos side by side: the 24 W plug-in transformer, the 60 W transformer, the 150 W transformer and a coiled Flex main cable.](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/garden-lights-transformator-en-kabel-1-17d5e172.webp)
*From left to right: the 24 W, 60 W and 150 W transformers and the Flex main cable SPT-2. Product photos by Garden Lights.*

The reason is in the manual of the 60 W and the 150 W. Because of the power
factor of LED lighting, the transformer may be loaded to at most 75 percent of
its rating. For 60 W that is 45 W, for 150 W it is 112.5 W. Those are also the
figures on the product pages. For the 24 W, the product page gives a maximum load
of 24 W.

Do not go over it. The manual warns that too high a load can do irreparable
damage to the transformer. Garden Lights counts everything that hangs on the
cable: lights and accessories.

The product pages of the three transformers mention no timer or dusk sensor. You
buy one separately: the dark/light sensor with timer (6009011). It switches the
lights on when it gets dark and off when it gets light, takes up to 150 W and has
a 1 metre cable.

## How far can the Flex cable run?

Up to 80 metres of cable, when you load the transformer to its maximum and spread
the lights evenly along the cable. That is how the Garden Lights FAQ puts it. If
most of the light sits at the back of the garden, at the end of the cable, you do
not meet the second condition.

The main cable is called Flex, type SPT-2. It has no fixed connection points and
comes in rolls of 10, 25 and 50 metres. The wire is 16 AWG. That is thinner than
Lightpro's 14 AWG and in-lite's 14/2. Besides Flex, Garden Lights sells a fixed
cable system, SPT-1 and SPT-3, with fixed connection points. Which system you
take depends on your preference, not on your garden.

Here too, the transformer decides how many lights a cable takes, not the cable.
Buying a second cable for more lights does not help; a bigger transformer does.

The cable does not have to go underground, because the system runs at low
voltage. Lay it along the inside of a border or against an edge, where the spade
does not go through it. A steel edge along the border is a good guide for it;
which edge suits which surface is in [the types of garden edging and their sizes](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/garden-edging).

## Connecting lights and branches with the Flex connectors

A light goes onto the main cable with a Flex connector Female, at any point you
like. You use the Flex connector Male at the end of the cable, to connect it to
the transformer or to make a branch.

For a branch with a leftover piece of SPT-2 you need both: a Female on the main
cable and a Male at the start of the loose piece. That way a side run goes to the
fence or to a tree at the back of the garden.

Three lights in one spot, around a tree or by a seat? Then the cable splitter is
handy (6006011). It has three outlets, is waterproof and handles up to 150 W.

Choose the fixed system and still have a connection point free, and you plug an
extension cable straight into it. On a Flex cable you always work with the
Female.

## Worked example: six Arcus spots and two Gilvus wall lights

Take six Arcus spots of 5 W in the borders and two Gilvus wall lights of 4 W on
the fence. Together that is 30 W plus 8 W, so 38 W.

| Light | Number | Watts each | Together |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Arcus | 6 | 5 W | 30 W |
| Gilvus black | 2 | 4 W | 8 W |
| Total | 8 | | 38 W |

The 24 W is too small. The 60 W carries 45 W of lights, so 38 W fits, with 7 W
left. One more Arcus makes 43 W and still fits. Two more make 48 W, which goes
over the 45 W: then you need the 150 W, which carries up to 112.5 W.

For the cable in a garden of six by twelve metres, a Flex roll of 25 metres is
enough. Run it from the transformer along the borders, put the spots on it with
a Female, and use a Female and a Male to make a side run to the two wall lights.
At 38 W the cable stays far below the 80 metres Garden Lights gives at full load.

## Smart switching with the Smart Life app

The Garden Lights transformers are not smart. Smart control runs through the
Smart Life app, in two ways.

With the Switch Smart you make an existing or new 12 volt system controllable
from the app. It works over Wi-Fi and needs no gateway.

For the Zigbee lights and the Motion Sensor Smart you need the Gateway Smart. It
converts Wi-Fi into Zigbee. You then set up a Zigbee light in the app, and on the
colour lights you also pick the colour.

Both work only on a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network, not on 5 GHz. If you want automatic
light without a phone, the dark/light sensor with timer does that.

## Planning Garden Lights in your own garden

How many watts you need only becomes clear once you know where each light stands.
In tuinontwerp.app you put your plot down to scale, with your house, your terrace
and your borders. Under Lighting you choose Garden Lights, and then you see only
the lights, cables and transformers of Garden Lights, because brands do not go
together in one cable system.

A light gets the size the Garden Lights product page gives in the app. A Gilvus
hangs on the house wall, a shed or the fence; a pond spot stands in the water. You
draw the Flex cable past your lights. The overview adds up the watts of your
Garden Lights lights and sets them beside what your transformers supply. Under
Needed the app names which transformer you need and how many, and when the lights
ask more than a transformer supplies, or the Flex cable runs too far, it says so,
with what to do about it. Move the clock to the evening and you see where the
light falls.

Garden Lights and Lightpro come from the same maker, but we found no statement
that their parts fit each other. Read also [how the Lightpro transformers work](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/lightpro-transformer-and-cable)
and [which HUB and cable to choose at in-lite](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/in-lite-hub-and-cable).
The other posts about building your garden are in [the construction category](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/category/aanleg).

Count 45 W on the 60 W and 112.5 W on the 150 W, and keep the Flex cable within
80 metres. Start with your address at the bottom of this page and place your
Garden Lights lights in your own garden.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why does a 60 W Garden Lights transformer carry only 45 W?

Because of the power factor of LED lights, a Garden Lights transformer may be loaded to at most 75 percent of its rating, says the manual. The 60 W therefore carries 45 W of lights and the 150 W 112.5 W. For the 24 W, the product page gives 24 W.

### How many lights can I connect to a Garden Lights cable?

That depends not on the cable but on the transformer. Add up the watts of all your lights and accessories and choose the transformer that carries that total: up to 24 W, up to 45 W or up to 112.5 W.

### How long can the Garden Lights Flex cable be?

Garden Lights gives up to 80 metres of cable when the transformer is fully loaded and the lights are spread evenly along the cable. The Flex cable comes in rolls of 10, 25 and 50 metres.

### Does the Garden Lights cable have to be buried?

No. The system runs at 12 volts, and Garden Lights says low-voltage cables do not need to go underground.

### Do I need a gateway for smart Garden Lights lights?

For the Zigbee lights and the motion sensor, yes: the Gateway Smart converts Wi-Fi into Zigbee. To switch only ordinary 12 volt lights with the Smart Life app, use the Switch Smart, which works over Wi-Fi. Both need a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network.

## Sources

- [Garden Lights — Transformator 24W (6270011)](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/482-transformator-24w)
- [Garden Lights — Transformator 60W (6311011)](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/1530-transformator-60w)
- [Garden Lights — Transformator 150W (6312011)](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/2337-transformator-150w)
- [Garden Lights — Handleiding transformator 60 en 150 W (MI8139), de 75 procent-regel](https://techmar.cloud.dynamicweb-cms.com/Files/Files/Handleidingen%20MI/Garden%20Lights/%28MI8139%29-20240911%29%20GL%20Manual%20Trafo%2060_150W%20EU.pdf)
- [Garden Lights — Meest gestelde vragen](https://www.garden-lights.com/meest-gestelde-vragen)
- [Garden Lights — Hoofdkabel Flex 10 meter (ook 25 en 50 m)](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/487-hoofdkabel-flex-10-meter)
- [Garden Lights — Flex connector Female](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/510-flex-connector-female)
- [Garden Lights — Flex connector Male](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/511-flex-connector-male)
- [Garden Lights — Kabelverdeler SPT2 met 3 uitgangen (6006011)](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/505-kabelverdeler-spt2-w-met-3-uitgangen)
- [Garden Lights — Donker/licht sensor met timer (6009011)](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/498-donker-licht-sensor-timer)
- [Garden Lights — Gateway Smart, Wi-Fi naar Zigbee](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/2485-gateway-smart-wi-fi-zigbee)
- [Garden Lights — Switch Smart, Wi-Fi](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/2472-switch-smart-wi-fi)
- [Garden Lights — Arcus (vermogen)](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/416-arcus)
- [Garden Lights — Gilvus zwart (vermogen)](https://www.garden-lights.com/producten/detail/472-gilvus-zwart)

## Read next

- [Lightpro transformer: 24, 100 or 150 W, and the cable](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/lightpro-transformer-and-cable) - Lightpro makes three transformers, 24 W, Touch 100 W and Touch 150 W, and one 14 AWG cable up to 80 m. How to pick the size and connect lights and branches. (2026-10-03)
- [in-lite HUB and cable: which transformer to choose](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/in-lite-hub-and-cable) - in-lite makes four HUBs from 75 to 300 VA and two cables: 14/2 up to 40 m and 10/2 up to 80 m. How to add up the VA of your lights and pick HUB, cable and app. (2026-10-03)
- [Garden edging: which edge for lawn, gravel and a sandpit](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/garden-edging) - Which garden edging suits a terrace, gravel, lawn or sandpit? Types, sizes, Dutch prices per metre from €4.49, and its lifespan next to lawn, gravel or paving. (2026-10-03)
- [More about construction](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/category/aanleg)