Dolls House Electricals
Lighting is one way you can really bring your dolls house to life. Lighting adds warmth and a feeling of homeliness to your dolls house project and really is something you should consider doing and it is easier than you think.
The Basics
There are two basic methods for installing doll house wiring in your dolls house: copper tape and the twin wire method. Although both are frequently used in dolls house projects, many dolls house shops and builders recommend the twin wire method as being the easiest for beginners. I will explain both here:
Copper Tape Method Of Doll House Wiring
Materials and Tools you will need to install copper tape lighting:
Soldering Iron
Solder
Thin Nosed Pliers
Masking Tape
Pencil Sharp Craft Knife
Sharp Chisel
6" & 12" Ruler
Copper Tape
Transformer/s (make sure it will take the correct amount of lights for your project)
Mini Electric Drill with 2mm drill bit or hand drill as shown below
Lights of your choice
The copper tape method of doll house wiring uses a very thin strip of adhesive copper tape to conduct electricity around your dolls house.
To use this method you would run two parallel lines of copper tape right around your dolls house forming a continuous loop.
If your dolls house is front opening the best option here would be to run the parallel lines right around the back of the dolls house.
You can then attach the wires from each light in the house to the copper tape by drilling a tiny hole in the back of the house andpassing the wire through.
The normal method for attaching wires to the copper tape is to solder them on.
Once you have connected your lights you can connect a transformer plug to the copper tape, plug it in and your house should light up.
This method is more often used for houses that are not front opening as the copper
tape can be run around the house and hidden under flooring and wall paper.
One point I will mention is that copper tape can be eroded by adhesives and does break which is why it is not the favored method of many miniaturists.
The Twin Wire Method of Doll House Wiring
Materials and Tools you will need to install your twin wire lighting:
Thin Nosed Pliers
Masking Tape
Sharp Craft Knife /Grout Rake or Miniature Router
6" & 12" Ruler
Pencil
Transformer
Socket Boards/s (appropriate number for the amount of lights for your project)
Transformer/s (make sure it will take the correct amount of lights and sockets for your project)
Mini Electric Drill with 2mm drill bit or hand drill
Lights of your choice
The twin wire or socket strip method of doll house wiring uses a combination of wires, plugs and sockets to connect lights in your dolls house to a power source.
This method is easier to modify, easier to install, is less likely to break and is cheaper than the copper tape method.
This is how it works:
Lights are fitted into each room of your dolls house. Lights normally come with 60cm of wire with a standard sized plug on the end. This is usually more than enough but if it should be insufficient you will have to use a joining block. The wire from each light is run either to a point in the house where you have decided to place your socket board or out of the back of the house to where you socket board is attached.
In front opening houses it is easy to attach a socket board to back of the house and drill a tiny hole in the back of each room to run you wires through.
The plugs at the and of the wire is then plugged into your socket board. Your socket board is attached to a transformer which plugs into any normal household socket to supply your house with electricity.
It really is that simple.
Socket Board
A socket board has several tiny holes along it in which to plug yourlights. The wire
at
the end of the socket board will be attached to a transformer which you can plug
into any household socket.
These socket boards come in various sizes with any number of plug sockets. They have adhesive backs so they can be easily stuck to your dolls house.
Dolls House lights come with standard plugs which you will find at the end of the wire attached to your dolls house lights.
These plugs will fit into the sockets on the socket board.
Transformer Plug
Transformers are used to change our normal household power supply into one that dolls house electric's can handle.
The standard transformer used for a dolls house is twelve volts.
The number of bulbs you can run off a single transformer depends on the 'watt' value of the transformer.
Remember that watts determine the number of bulbs you can run from a single transformer and not the number of lights, therefore a three arm light counts as three bulbs.
If you are using a large amount of lights you should balance them out over two or more socket boards.
Also you may want to consider using two transformers and two separate lighting circuits if your doll house is large of if you are using a lot of bulbs in each room.
Lighting Doll Houses Planning
If you do decide to add electrics,decide on the location of all the lights in your dolls house. Will they be on the ceiling, walls, free standing or table lights?
You don't have to purchase all the lights at this point but you need to decide on the quantity you will be using and where they will be situated.
The quantity of lights you use determines what transformer and socket board you use.
Plan your lighting carefully.
Start with the rooms at the bottom of the house and put those lights whose wires will need to be hidden under flooring and wall paper before decorating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question - Should I light my dolls house before I decorate?
Answer - You should definitely plan your lighting and put in some lights before you decorate. Wall lights on the rear wall of of a front opening dolls house should be put in after wall paper has gone up as can standing and table lamps. Ceiling lights should be put in before the room above is decorated.
Question - What method of lighting should I use?
Answer - The twin wire is the one we recommend. It is very easy to install and there are fewer things that can go wrong. This method is detailed in our step by step guide.
Question - Should I run wires from ceiling lights across the floor or ceiling?
Answer - We recommend running wires across the floor of the room above because it is much easier to hide wires under flooring.
Question - How can I hide wires running down walls and across floors? Answer - Cut a groove in the wall and floor for the wire to run along. The wire can then be taped in place and covered over discretely with flooring or wall paper.
Never stick wires into grooves in case you want to move them later.
Grooves can be cut using a chisel and a V shaped file. A specialist Dolls House Miniature Shop can provide a groove cutting tool.
Doll House Lighting Tip:
Do not fix flooring directly to the floor if you can help it. Instead fix to a piece of card or a thin piece of wood that can be slid into the house. This way you will have access to the electric's at all times.
Lighting Mark Up
If the house is a kit make sure before you assemble it, that you find the centre
of each ceiling and wall of each room. You have to do this for a pre-made house as
well and this is slightly more challenging as you are often working in a tight space.
You will find a 6" ruler is particularily useful.
To find the center of the ceiling/wall draw a line diagonally from one corner of the room to its opposite corner and repeat with the two remaining corners. Where the lines cross is the centre. If you have decided to have two wall lights on a wall divide the width of the room into three and place the marks on the on the outside two lines lines making sure that they are at the same height, So if the room measures 12 inches the pencil lines will be at 4 and 8 inches, join these two lines at the selected height of the light. Finally offer up your wall lights before fitting to make sure that the design will not be to close to the ceiling of the room as they can vary considerably.
Marks for table lamps only need to be approximate as these are moveable. Lighted ranges and fires are usually placed on back walls as then only a hole needs to be drilled in the back wall. From the centre point of each light mark pencil lines to the back of the house as this is where the socket board/s and transformer/s are usually sited.
You don't have to purchase all the lights at this point but you need to decide on the quantity you will be using and where they will be situated. Once you have made all of you marks you are ready for the next stage:
Lighting Equipment
The quantity of lights you use determines what transformer/ how much copper tape or socket board/s that you use.
One you have decided on the lights for your dolls house you are ready to get your transformer and wiring.
To determine what transformer you need count up the number of bulbs that will be used in your dolls house.
Remember that this is the number of bulbs and not the number of lights, so a three armed tulip light will count as three bulbs etc.
You can then use the table above to determine what transformer you need.
For example 12volt 30 watt transformer will take 30 or less bulbs.Do not to forget to count items like fireplaces that will light up and sockets you place in the rooms for table lamps etc. Tip - Transformers purchased frim a dolls house supplier can be expensive - you may be able to source alternatives from an electrical supplier for less. Something you may want to consider if you are using a lot of lights is to use two separate lighting circuits, one for each side of your dolls house.
You can then use a lower watt transformer and fewer socket boards on each circuit lowering the probability of a fault occurring. Also if a fault does occur it will be much easier to pinpoint. You should now be ready to get your transformer, copper tape/ socket board and some lights. You don't have to have all the lights for your house at once but here are some tips to follow:
If choosing the twin wire method you have to decide where your socket board will be positioned. Most boards have adhesive tape attached but you could use double sided tape.
This is the heart of your lighting system and should be placed somewhere that is easily accessible.
For front opening dolls houses the best place is on the back of the house positioned centrally and at the bottom.
You will now need to drill holes in the doll house for the wires of each light to pass through:
Concentrate on one room or area of your dolls house. It is important to light, or plan where your lights are going to go before you decorate so you can cover wires. If you start with one room you can light it and decorate it then move onto the next spreading the cost of the lighting and still enjoying the dolls house.
Start with the bottom floor rooms. If you are having ceiling lights the wires will need to be covered by the flooring in the above room so it important that you have the lighting in the each room before you decorate the room above.
Ceiling roses look very attractive and can complete a light fixture but these will need to be fitted before the light goes up so now is a good time to purchase these. You should also paint or decorate your ceiling before you fit a ceiling light.
One you have your lighting, transformer and socket board you are ready to move to the next stage of lighting.
Miniature Lights
Ceiling Lights
You have to drill two holes for a ceiling light, one through the ceiling above and a second through the back of the house where the wire will exit.
I recommend you run wires along floors and not ceilings as they are much easier to hide.
Wall Lights
Miniature Lights fitted to the rear wall of a room are by far the easiest to fit but should not be fitted until the wall is papered. Then you simply drill a hole directly under the wall light.
For all other wall lights the wire should exit from the nearest position on the rear
wall and a
hole should be drilled hear.
Always drill a wire exit hole as close to the floor as possible and try to drill at a downward angle to disguise the hole further.
Table Lamps & Standing Lamps
These can be fitted after the room has been papered. The wire will trail from the light and let you move the light around the room.
Drill an exit hole for each of these lights at the base of the rear wall you can cover the wire up with flooring if you wish.
Electric Ranges & Fires
These really add warmth to a room and are usually fitted to the rear wall of a room are by far the easiest to fit but should not be fitted until the wall is papered.
Then you simply drill a hole directly at the base of the appliance.
Drill Holes
Drill holes should only be slightly bigger than the wires themselves. The smaller the hole the neater it will look.
Grooves
If a wire is to trail down a wall or across the floor you should cut grooves for the wire to sit in. Grooves should be a small V shape and can be cut out with a grout rake. Never glue a wire into a groove or fill the groove with anything as you may wish to move or get to the wire later.
To use the grout rake, which works wonderfully on MDF (medium density fibreboard), mark where you want your wire channel to run, and rub the grout rake back and forth along the line. It's that easy. The carbide blades make short work of MDF and the width of the channel is constant, making it easy to tape over or fill after the wire is installed for your dollhouse electrical system. The angled handle on most grout saws makes it easy to work the tool into corners and if you do a lot of dollhouse wiring, the blades are easily replaced.
Positioning
Once you have drilled your holes you need to position your miniature lights. If you are using a ceiling roses remember to put these in place first you can stick these down with wood or PVA glue.
Before you can run the wire from the lights through their respective holes and to the socket board you will have to remove the plug. To do this pull out the two pins with a pair of pliers and pull on the wire, the plug should slip off. You can now feed the wire through the holes and along the wire grooves.
Next stick the light in place using its adhesive pad, never use glue.
You should also hold the wire in place along its route to the back of the house using masking tape.
You are now ready to refit the plug. Feed the twin wire through the central hole in the plug and then feed one wire into each of the two holes on either side of the plug making sure the end is bared. Refit the pins into each hole. If the wire is too short on the fitting a longer length can be added by using a connection block, like the image above.
Testing
Plug each light into the socket board and tidy up the wires by masking taping them to the back of the house. Attach the socket board to the transformer and you are ready to plug in your miniature lights.
What if the electrics do not work?
Check that the transformer in connected properly to the socket board.
Check the plug socket that the transformer is plugged into.
Check that the socket board works. If the fuse has gone the light on the board will be lit.
Check each socket on the socket board.
Check each light individually by connecting them to the transformer.
Check the plug on each light is making goo contact with the wire, remember the wires have to be bared.
Check each bulb, you may have to replace them to test your miniature lights.
Check that there are no breaks in the wire.
