Chile Forum

Hi, anybody outhere know if we should bring the outdoor light fixtures from the states vs buying them in Chile for our new beach house near pichilemu ???? we understand that the 220 v in chile and 110 in the states , but isnt the wiring the same ???? please advise , help us !! is it worth it ??? the out door light fixtures in chile are limited !!???? please advise, thanks M

onemansurfer wrote:Hi, anybody outhere know if we should bring the outdoor light fixtures from the states vs buying them in Chile for our new beach house near pichilemu ???? we understand that the 220 v in chile and 110 in the states , but isnt the wiring the same ???? please advise , help us !! is it worth it ??? the out door light fixtures in chile are limited !!???? please advise, thanks M

As noted elsewhere in the forum (use search feature) normal residential power is 220 vac 50 Hz single phase. Wiring is usually red wire energised, white is neutral, green is earth. Many older buildings and even some new construction don't always have all circuits earthed. Residential wire that conforms to THHN standard is commonly available -- not bad stuff. Wire diameter is typically rather small, as befits the amperage, and the electrical code usually calls for running both indoor and outdoor lighting supply in conduit. I would suggest checking some catalogues for available outdoor lighting products, such as the Sodimac online site.

Most commonly available fixtures are not tested-and-listed to a North American standard such as you would find with UL or CSA (in the case of Canada). The standard that seems to be observed is CE, a European practice involving manufacturer self-certification -- very distinct from North American certs via independent testing laboratories. You can guess as what sort of quality you will get in fixtures found in most places in Chile..... cheap. But you can usually make do if you spend a bit more and go to "industrial" grade fixtures. Look for UNE-EN 60598-2-22 or -23 certification which is the European standard for light fixtures.

SO I guess if we bring the light fixtures from the USA they will work in Chile ?????

onemansurfer wrote:SO I guess if we bring the light fixtures from the USA they will work in Chile ?????

Depends. If you have features like timers and photosensors, then probably not. If you are just taking simple fixtures with no electronics or other special features, and you plan on installing type E27 Edison base light socket bulbs, then usually, typically, yes.

Here is a page - drill down and see if your needs are met here http://www.easy.cl/iluminacion-exterior
and this catalogue http://www.gobantes.cl/IMG/CATA/ILUMINACION.pdf .....page down to "iluminacion exterior"

Chances are you will find decent outdoor lighting fixtures in Chile. I mean for crissake, it's not Bolivia. I wouldn't haul fixtures from North America unless I had some deep emotional attachment to them, and then I would seek professional help first.

Thank you for the Info

yea, that is a new one.

first, your light fixtures should work just fine, but man is that a bulky expensive thing to bring for no particular reason.

I think I spent a total of about $20,000 pesos ($40 US) on all the light fixtures in my house at Sodimac ( home depot of chile sodimac.cl ). By the way, in Chile most rentals do not include the interior light fixtures, but outside lights seem to always be there.

they all come from the same crappy factory in China. GE and the others are all here.

My next natural question would be, if you are talking about spending money and time bringing lighting fixtures from the States what else are you waisting money on shipping?

The rule is that if you can buy it in the states significantly cheaper (50% at least after shipping cost) or something that simply does not exist in Chile (not much outside specialty items), then ship it. for the cost of bringing exterior lighting fixtures, you could bring something like two new laptop computers for each one that really are more expensive in Chile, sell them on the street, and rewire your entire house with gold wiring.

It's not Chile, but in the UK, which is also on 220 electric, all I had to do for my lamps was to change the plug and find a place that sold 220 light bulbs that would screw into my lamps. Light bulb connections were not the same, but I was able to find screw-in 220 light bulbs at a lighting shop. Light fixtures seem to be wired to serve on any electrical system.

See, now to me, if I am shipping a full container, I'm going to cram as much stuff in as possible. But if you are only shipping a few boxes, then I'd be more selective.

However, since light fixtures in the USA are getting worse and worse, and more and more cheaply made, the light fixtures in Chile would have to be really ghastly to make it worth bringing light fixtures from the USA. It seems that even the more expensive fixtures are now flimsy junk. Good luck with finding fixtures made in the USA, and Chinese made never seems to be well made.

Actually there is a lot of industrial grade lighting equipment manufactured in the US. Of course you won't find it at Walmart and Home Depot, but there is more to life than the cheapo stores.

It is priced beyond normal residential cost ranges but if you want industrial grade you pay for industrial grade. A quick sampling, for entertainment value.

http://www.warehouse-lighting.com/
http://www.everlastlight.com/smart_light_fixtures.html

This Forum is so cool !!! Thanks a lot for the info !!!! It's the type of exterior lights that we want that are not available in Chile , but then again these lights are so cool that they'll probably get stolen !!!! We have had this property for about 15 years and it's on the beach !!! Anything out of metal corrodes in about a Year !! We have been building this house mainly with a trusted friend contractor from the area and SKYPE has been great !!!! It's been a real ride !!!! We are going down in December to finish it !!! It's 4 of us and we thought that one duffle bag could take easy 5 exterior light fixtures that we like !!!

why dont you post a pic of the lights so people know what type you are talking about. I myself have an eye out for some type of hanging lantern but more for decor than function. If they have a solar LED in them would be cool but not nessesary. Within this forum are alot of preople trekking around this country that still read the forum but dont post. If you get the foto out, and people see it, you never know what you will find here in Chile and it keep changes by the week.