Busbars

Tracks are elements of the lighting system on which spotlights can be mounted. So, these are strips intended for the installation of lighting based on track lamps. Tracks are also a durable and solid construction, which allows for many arrangement possibilities, and also gives a lot of freedom to change the lighting.

Application of busducts

Tracks with reflectors are often used in modern lighting arrangements, in shop rooms (such as shopping malls, boutiques), exhibition spaces (museums, art galleries) and public places (restaurants, hotels, offices). Tracks are therefore an ideal solution for accent lighting of commercial and exhibition spaces as well as designer office and residential spaces. Because they are mounted directly in the ceiling or on special cables, there are many arrangement possibilities.

These elements are also increasingly chosen for living spaces, where they can be used both as the main source of light and as additional decorative lighting. This solution is also used in houses and flats, when the installation made in accordance with the design turns out to be insufficient. Tracks with directional spotlights will also work well during the renovation of a house with an outdated electrical installation. They can be used to illuminate living rooms, corridors or kitchens. Since they allow you to direct the light in any place and to install many lamps on one track, they can be used in rooms where there is an insufficient number of points with wires to connect lamps on the ceiling.

The busbars are made of aluminum profile painted in selected colors. The copper wires inside are placed in guides made of self-extinguishing polycarbonate insulating from aluminum.

The most popular types of busducts

Among the most common busducts, the following can be distinguished:

• 1-circuit (1-phase) - due to lower structural strength and small size, they are better suited for smaller home and office projects. 1-phase systems are those in which the power supply is carried out only through the two conductors present in the bus (the phase and the neutral conductor, called neutral). This is a standard solution that can be found in every home electrical installation. All lamps connected to the track according to the 1-phase scheme turn on and off simultaneously.
• ceiling rails 3-circuit (3-phase) – they are characterized by greater stiffness and carrying force, thanks to which they do not deform under the weight of the reflectors as easily as 1-phase devices. With this type of schemes, it is also possible to independently manage 3 light scenes or evenly distribute the load over the 3 phases of the installation. In this system, four electrical conductors are installed: one neutral and three phases. This allows you to create three independent lighting scenes, i.e. switching on three light sources independently.

There are also ceiling recessed rails that – in addition to its lighting function – they can be a quite discreet structural element of a suspended or plasterboard ceiling.

The lighting of rooms is dominated by 1- and 3-circuit tracks for spotlights powered by 230 V mains voltage. For lighting small spaces (e.g. shop windows and display counters), it is worth considering small-size cable systems or 12 V track systems (also referred to as low voltage).

Most of the busducts available in stores are surface-mounted busducts, which can be used both on brick and plasterboard ceilings. However, if the purpose of the installation is to hide the lighting strip and there is a suspended ceiling in the room, you can opt for flush-mounted lighting rails. In this case, only their frame is visible outside, while the other elements are fully hidden.

Busways with LED lighting

The el12.pl offer includes a high-quality three-phase track system, which enables surface mounting of LED luminaires on the ceiling or wall. With the help of additional handles and lines, it can also be suspended from the ceiling. Thanks to the three-phase technology, three separately switched lamp circuits can be supplied. With each change of arrangement, within the mounted rail system, lighting fixtures can be freely added, removed, moved or switched to various lighting scenes. The main advantages of this type of solutions are: easy assembly and modification as well as modern, minimalist design.

The use of busducts gives many possibilities for lighting arrangements and – what is particularly important – the selected position can be conveniently and safely changed. With each modification within the mounted rail system, you can freely add, remove or move lighting fixtures. So if there is a need to illuminate a fragment, you do not need to interfere with the structure of the wall, you do not need to drill or glue anything, just add more elements to the rail. For this reason, these solutions are perfect, for example, in museums or exhibition galleries (changing the exhibition does not entail the need for complicated changes in the lighting system). Mounting, removing, moving or switching the reflector with the adapter can take several seconds and does not require tools or interference from the installer. Importantly, you can easily change not only the spacing and density of light sources, but also the angle of its incidence.

How to connect and lay trackways

Professional systems make it possible to build rails of any shape mounted directly on the ceiling or suspended on ropes. In some systems, it is also possible to mount the rails vertically on the walls, e.g. in large shop windows.

Flexible rails are available on the market, but the most common are straight 1-, 2- or 3-meter rails (with the possibility of cutting into shorter sections) connected using connectors: linear and type T, L or X (the name refers to the shape in which the rails can be connected).

In most projects, connecting the busbars straight or at an angle of 90 degrees dominates, but it is also possible to connect the busbars at any angle. For this, the so-called adjustable fasteners – for making horizontal turns (in the range of 90-270 degrees) and flexible – enabling making turns (in the range of 0-360 degrees) both horizontally and vertically. These elements can be used, for example, when the lighting system has to be turned at a very sharp angle or, for example, there is a need to avoid a ceiling beam.

The most commonly used ceiling rails are adapted for mounting directly to the ceiling, for this purpose they have mounting holes in the bottom for screwing with screws (flat heads). With more heavy reflectors, correspondingly more holes can be drilled. For suspension, adjustable wire or rod pendants of a certain length are used.   

Regardless of the chosen solution, it is very important to remember that track lighting must consist of accessories dedicated to the same system. This means that three-phase track reflectors should only be mounted on three-phase tracks. Tracks and spotlights, regardless of the selected system, will be an effective and elegant lighting solution in offices, shops, galleries, as well as in apartments. Lighting on the track, thanks to the use of LED technology, is additionally energy-saving, and its lifespan reaches even tens of thousands of hours.