Dollhouse lighting

At the beginning of our era, people only used beeswax or tallow candles and lanterns powered by animal or plant oils. Around 1840, paraffin wax and lamp oil came into use. A couple of decades later, gas lamps came into private homes in Europe and the actual era of electrification began around 1900. The first electrification of dollhouses began to appear around the same time.

Electrification of the 18th century manor house.

The dollhouse lighting creates a wonderful atmosphere and many different solutions throughout the day. In this article we will focus on the 12V electrification of the dollhouse. Battery-powered LED lights have also recently grown in popularity thanks to their easy installation. However, the selection of electric lamps is much wider, more affordable and longer lasting. Typically, electric lights are also smaller because there is no bulky battery case.

Dollhouse crystal chandelier with Swarovski crystals.

Electrifying a dollhouse does not require great technical 'electrical engineer' skills, but mainly planning and occasionally a little dexterity. The most elegant result is achieved if it is possible to electrify before installing the floor materials. A ready-made wallpapered and decorated doll's house can also be electrified afterwards, but then it has to be done partly as a surface installation. However, let's not forget that even in the 1960s, electrical conductors were often installed as surface installations even in real houses, so you shouldn't shy away from surface installation either. A hobbyist who strives for accuracy may want to consider the lighting of the dollhouse according to the era. For example, hanging electric lights do not belong in a Georgian dollhouse. On the other hand, the Victorian era, which is popular in the world of dollhouses, already allows for a wide variety of electric lamps. In modern dollhouses, on the other hand, there are no restrictions, because an antique crystal crown chest 'inherited from grandmother' can live there alongside self-made modern design lamps.

Voltage, power supply and lighting rail

In dollhouse lighting electrical systems, 12 volt voltage is the most common worldwide. In Swedish Lund-by dollhouses, 4.5V voltage is used for lighting, and in Germany 3.5V voltage is very common. These different voltages and their lamps cannot be mixed together.

This article focuses on the 12V electrical system
for installation and accessories.

The dollhouse's 12V electrical circuit has a plus circuit and a minus circuit. When a lamp is connected between these circuits, its bulb glows, giving off light. Those electrical circuits are implemented with electrical wires, just like in a real apartment. The 12V voltage is relatively low, so that there is no real risk of electric shock. The correct voltage is provided by a transformer that can be connected to the mains. The transformer changes the mains voltage 220-240V alternating current into a safe and 12V direct current voltage suitable for 12V lamps. The capacity of the transformer is expressed in milliampere hours (mAh), the most common transformers are either 1000mAh or 2000mAh. A suitable transformer is selected depending on how many lamps and individual bulbs are to be connected to it. It is not recommended to load the transformer more than 80% of its capacity -
The recommended load for the 1000mAh transformer is 800mAh and the recommended load for the 2000mAh transformer is 1600mAh.

Typically, a light bulb in a dollhouse consumes 40–50 mAh. If you are going to install e.g. 10 simple single-bulb lamps in the house, they will take approx
500 mAh power (10 x 50 mAh). It is important to count the number of bulbs ('light bulbs') in particular, not the number of lamps - a 2-branch wall lamp consumes 2x 50 mAh = 100mAh, a 5-branch ceiling lamp consumes 5 x 50 mAh
= 250 mAh. Christmas lights and various background lights usually consume
flows about 100mAh.

Various miniature bulbs.

A lighting rail is connected to the transformer, to which the lamp plugs or "plugs" are connected. The light rail must be compatible with the transformer Various miniature bulbs, so most often these are sold as a single package. Compatibility is affected by the connector type of the lighting rail (branch connector or round connector). Typically, the light rail has a place for 12 plugs, but several lamps can be connected to each plug with the help of extension cords. There is a switch in the lighting rail, which allows the current to be connected to all the sockets in the lighting rail, so that all the lights connected to it turn on or off at the same time. Some of the plugs can be removed from the light rail if you don't want all the lights to be on all the time. There are also models of lighting tracks where there is a separate switch for each plug at each socket. In a large house, not all the lighting cables go up to the lighting rail, in which case extension cables are needed behind the house - or even 2 different lighting rails. You can also extend the wires yourself with a two-pole electric wire.

Transformer and lighting rail.

The wires used to electrify the dollhouse are thin, so the total load of one wire must be taken into account when using junction boxes. Lighting rail
a maximum of about 500 mA current can be supplied through one socket, i.e. no more than 10 bulbs should be connected to one socket.
The lighting rail has a replaceable fuse that protects the transformer from possible overload and short circuit. The transformer will not break if too many lamps are accidentally connected to it, but the fuse will blow. The fuse can also blow over the years. When the fuse burns out, the indicator light on the lighting track lights up. Changing the fuse in the lighting track is easy and can be done without tools. When changing the fuse, it must be noted that the right size fuse is used - both in terms of physical dimensions and the dimensioning of the transformer's capacity.

Typically, the lighting track is installed at the back of the house and the wires of the lights are pulled through the holes drilled in the back wall to the lighting track. The one in charge of the lights
the plug can be temporarily disconnected from the cord by pulling the brass pins out of the plug, which releases the 'plastic nest' of the white plug. In this way, the cable can be taken through a small ø 1.5 mm, inconspicuous hole behind the house, after which the plug can be reinstalled. If you want to avoid the number of holes in the back wall of the house, you can route 2 wires from the same ø 3 mm hole to the back of the house. When re-installing the plug back into the wire, care must be taken that the metal wires of the wires do not touch each other - if the metal wires of the wires touch each other while the transformer is connected to the mains, a short circuit will occur and the light rail fuse will blow.

Disconnecting the plug from the power cord.

Lighting fixtures

There is a huge number of 12V lighting for 1:12 scale dollhouses: ceiling lamps, table lamps, wall lamps, candles, floor lamps and for more special purposes, e.g. table lamps, indirect spotlights, flickering fireplace lights, Christmas tree lights and outdoor lights. The lamps can have only one bulb, or a large chandelier can have up to 12 or 24 bulbs, i.e. a single bulb. Almost all lamps have screw-open hoods or shades and replaceable bulbs. In addition, each lamp usually has a ready-made wire of about 40-50 cm and a plug (usually already attached to the wire).

Installation of lighting fixtures

General instructions

The electrical system is easiest to do when assembling the dollhouse. It is also possible to electrify a ready-assembled and wallpapered dollhouse, but it requires a little more patience and perhaps dexterity. For installation, you have to decide whether you want the wires to be hidden under wallpaper, panels or moldings or whether they are allowed
they remain visible. The installation of electrical wires is particularly straightforward: two wires from each lamp (one two-pole wire) are led to the light rail placed on the back wall of the dollhouse - using extension cords if necessary. Before installation, you should always check the function of the lamp one by one by connecting its plug to the lighting rail connected to the transformer. If the light bulb or bulbs do not light, it is typically because the bulbs have loosened during transport or the wires have not been properly connected to the plug.
Luminaires often have a pre-installed velcro fastening, but in most cases it is not strong enough to keep the luminaire on the ceiling for a longer period of time. When attaching the lamps to the ceiling or wall, you can use hot glue, good contact glue, or for ceiling lamps, eye screws that can be easily screwed into the ceiling.

Fixing the lamp with hot glue.

The electric cables of the lamps must not be installed in such a way that they get pinched between structures, floor/wall/ceiling materials. In all installations, it must be ensured that there is room for the conductors. It is often advisable to file/carve a small groove for the conductors or use a floor strip that already has a groove for the electric cables. Thin wires do not tolerate being pinched, they break easily or the wire is damaged, causing the lamps to flicker. In the worst case, a short circuit occurs, causing the light rail fuse to blow.

Making a career in electrical wiring.

Usually, the back wall of a lighted dollhouse is quite a wiring hassle, which luckily is usually hidden between the dollhouse and the wall of the real room. Of course, you can try to beautify that back wall, but usually it is allowed to be a nuisance because it remains hidden.

Ceiling light installation

Ceiling lights can be installed most cleanly by installing the cord under the floor covering on the upper floor - if the floor material has not yet been installed. In this way, the cord can be neatly hidden and its 'pull' helps the lamp stay better on the ceiling.

If you can install the wires in the floor material below, it is most convenient to drill a ø 1.5 mm hole in the ceiling for the light wire. After that, a groove is made in the floor of the upper floor with a file or a multi-purpose tool to take the conductor next to the back wall of the house, and a ø1.5 mm hole is drilled in the back wall of the house to take the conductor to the back of the house. It is important to make a groove for the cable so that the thin cable does not get pinched between the structures or bulge under the floor material in an unsightly way.

A groove for the electrical cord and a stripped electrical cord ready for plug installation .

Ceiling lamps often have an unnecessarily long chain. The chain should be shortened to fit before installing the lamp's electricity or gluing the lamp to the ceiling.

Wall lamp installation

Wall lights are popular in dollhouses because they can be installed on the back wall without any wires running through the room. Wall lamps can be installed neatly even after wallpapering. When the wall lamp is installed on the back wall, it is enough to drill a ø 1.5 mm hole at the place where the lamp is installed for the cable to pass through. If the wallpaper is already on the wall, drilling the through hole should be done from the wallpapered side. When you start drilling from the inside of the house, possible splitting occurs on the back wall side and remains hidden.

When the wall lamp is installed on the side wall, the cord of the lamp will inevitably be partially visible, unless the lamp is, for example, above the chest of drawers, in which case the cord is hidden behind the chest of drawers. The cable is taken along the wall down to the floor line and then along the edge of the floor or behind the floor skirting to the back wall.

Two Munkkiniemi dollhouses on top of each other with 12V electric lighting.

Plans and drawings

If there are several rooms in the dollhouse, it is worth stopping to make a proper plan and drawings for the placement of lights and wires.

1. Decide on the lamps you are going to place in the dollhouse. Count how many bulbs are in the light fixtures in total.

2. Choose a transformer according to that maximum possible number of lamps, or make a plan so that you can use two or more transformers of lower power. Also choose the model of the lighting track, with or without switches, and the lighting
the number of zincs. If you want to install one single-bulb lamp in each room in a three-story dollhouse with an attic, which has eight rooms, an electric current of about 8 x 50 mA is needed, i.e. a total of 400 mA. If, on the other hand, two rooms have a three-lamp ceiling lamp and three rooms also have a wall lamp, then the need for electric current is 6 x 50 mA + 2 x 150 mA + 3 x 50 mA, i.e. a total of 750 mA.

3 Calculate the required length of wires according to the dimensions of the dollhouse. Take into account the location of the light rail and how the lamps are supplied with electricity (on the ceiling, floor, wall, behind the floorboard, behind the ceiling board, etc.). This basic
you can get either an electric cord or extension cords

The ceiling rosary brings spectacularity and the candles create atmosphere.

The blog post is based on Suomen Minimaailma's supply of 12V electrical accessories. An alternative to the wired 12V system is also a copper tape installation, where the conductive tape is installed hidden behind the wallpaper.

A fully electrified Victorian dollhouse.

💡Light 1:12 for the people!💡