When new technology is introduced to the world, big changes are needed for it to work.
Whether it’s installing new 5G towers for mobile phone signals or swapping gas pumps for electrical charging points for cars, you often have to undo and redo a lot of work to take advantage of modern tech’s benefits.
But then, some technologies just work without needing to rip everything out and start again.
Simply swap in the new products or designs, and enjoy all the benefits. LED lights fall into this category.
LED lights do not need special wiring. They’ll work with any standard light fixture, as long as it isn’t enclosed, which could cause heat damage. Poor wiring can cause electrical interference, but this is easily solved with a suppressor.
In this article I’ll explain:
What kind of wiring is needed in the fixture
Whether wiring needs to be shielded
Other things to look for when swapping to LED bulbs
Do LED Lights Require New Wiring In Old Fixtures?
fixture wiring
LED lights work by passing a current through a semiconductor, compared to CFLs which use a current through gas, or incandescent bulbs, which pass the current through a filament, heating it up.
However, that current is the same.
OK, it’s managed in different ways, which I’ll cover in a minute. Still, broadly speaking, it relies on a circuit with a live and neutral wire, the standard wiring of a light fixture in any home or average workplace environment.
So while LEDs are advanced, modern technology compared to older bulb types, they work with exactly the same wiring.
As long as you buy the correlating bulb base, you simply swap the older bulb with the new one, and you’re done. Just make sure the power is off when you swap the bulbs.
The clever tech needed to manage the current is built into the bulb.
That’s an LED driver, which downgrades the high voltage AC current to the necessary DC current for the diode. But because it’s all inside the bulb, it just works.
