Three basics to keep in mind when planning for lighting and electrical devices

• Formula for figuring watts and amps
• watts / volts = amps
• Use 120 volts when calculating
• Example: 330 watt device divided by 120 volts = 2.75 amps
• Total power and wattage requirements
• As you are designing your float for lights and any other electrical components, you must be sure your wiring can handle the amps. Also keep in mind the size generator you will need to power everything. The only way to do this is to be able add up the amperage.
• Plan for long-term use
• Because the electrical part of a float can become expensive, you might want to buy and build for future floats and/or other uses.

Lights

• Types of bulbs
• Household incandescent bulbs
• Floods and spots
• Fluorescent (tube or bulb type)
• The tube type seems to be sensitive to vibrations with the float rolling in the parade. The bulb type is not desirable for use because moisture will ruin the bulb, and if it rains, these bulbs may get wet and stop working.
• Mini Christmas lights (0.5 watts)
• C-7 Christmas lights (7 watts)
• C-9 Christmas lights (9 watts)
• Rope lights (9 watts)
• Bulbs
• Clear - gives more light
• Frosted - if you want to diffuse the light, the frosted is a better choice
• Colors with lighting
• Color bulbs
• Light gels - can get at theatrical stores, Southern Importers
• Plastic tablecloth can be used as a color filter, or use white plastic table cloth with colored lights behind it
• Ways to use lights
• Direct light on object or person
• More dramatic lighting, shining upward or downward on object
• Behind opaque screen
• Behind cut outs of shapes or words (foam core or plastic core are good materials to work with for this)
• Outline with small Christmas lights, either chasing or solid burn
• Many, many other ways to use lights, only limit is imagination
• Sockets: plastic or ceramic
• If you anticipate the socket receiving a lot of heat, such as from a downward-directed light bulb, ceramic is the safer choice
• Heat: Heat build-up is a problem when you have light bulbs in an enclosed area. You need to have venting to dissipate the heat.
• Useful technical information
• A set of 50 mini Christmas lights pulls about .2 amps (24 watts), so on a 20 amp/2400 watt generator, you can use 5,000 lights
• A set of 25 C-7 Christmas lights pulls about 1 amp (120 watts), so on a 20 amp/2400 watt generator, you can light about 250 lights

Light Controllers

• Light controllers usually have several pre-programmed patterns. They usually also have controls to vary the timing on the light patterns. Some have a microphone that affects the light pattern as well.
• You must be aware of how many watts or amps these devices can safely handle. In other words, how many lights can you safely run. Additionally, each channel on light controllers has a maximum wattage to run safely.

Sound equipment

• Amplifier
• PA system
• electrical instruments
• The amperage that the device pulls should be marked on the back of the case (usually on a silver label), and must be taken into consideration for the total amperage load. Wattage on these devices is usually not input load, but output load, so use the amperage rating. The label should read something like AC120 (or VAC120 or 120V-) 60 Hz 330W 440VA. In this case, the wattage is 330. The 440VA is not amps, but voltamps. Using the formula to determine amps by dividing wattage by 120 (volts), this would be 2.75 amps. Another tag might say 120V-0.6A, which would indicate that the device pulls .6 amps (or .6 x 120 = 72 watts).

Other electrical devices

• Fog machines
• You should look to see how much fog can be outputted at a time, and how long the machine needs to recharge itself after shooting fog.
• If you want to pipe and direct the flow of fog, you need to be aware that the fog coming out of the machine is hot. Therefore, if you use flexible tubing, you will need to first attach a length of pvc pipe to the machine. PVC can handle the heat, and the fog should have cooled down enough to avoid melting the flexible tubing.
• Bubble machines

Wiring

• You must be aware of what amperage wiring can handle. Different kinds of wiring to be used:
• Extension cords (household or heavy duty outdoor, and even heavier duty cords)
• Romex brand wiring (the wiring used for wiring a house): 14 gauge wire is rated at 15 amps, 12 gauge wire is rated at 20 amps, 10 gauge wire is rated at 30 amps

Electrical Outlets and Switches

• If you used Romex wiring on the float, you must also be aware of what amperage the outlets and switches can handle. The typical residential ones are rated at 15 amps each.

Power Source

• Generators
• Some generators are rated by wattage output and others by voltage
• If are using a lot of amps, consider using two generators. Most generators have two outlets; therefore, if using an 8,000 volt generator, each outlet would carry 4,000 volts, or 33.3 amps. If you then use a plug-in splitter on each outlet, you would then have four outlets carrying 2,000 volts, or 16.6 amps, each. This will allow using four 14 to 12 gauge extension cords to get the power where you need it, which gives you four circuits.
• Power inverters
• You may also be able to use an inverter pack to power regular lights from a car battery. Radio Shack has had them for around $100; they are 140W, which will carry 300 mini Christmas lights.

Start up/Turning lights on

• Lights pull more amperage when they initially light up, so, for example, even though one string of C-7 lights is only 120W, or 1 amp, they will require more power when they are initially turned on. Therefore, ALWAYS get a generator that puts out more amperage than you need.

Putting it all together

• When planning for lighting and other electrical needs, draw a diagram of the float that shows where all the lights and other electrical components are located, such as light controllers, sound equipment, generators and such. Next, label the lights, sound equipment and such with the amount of wattage each requires. Also, label the generators by each circuit and by the total capacity. Label light controllers with the maximum wattage per channel to use.
• Next, group lighting, such as lighting around the outside perimeter of the float. Other lighting groups may be lights outlining parts of the float. When grouping lighting, you need to be aware of the total wattage for each group as well. Be sure that no group goes over 15 amps. This allows each group to use one circuit from the generator. Groups with smaller wattages can be combined if necessary to form a circuit to be connected to the generator.

Safety

• Don't overload circuits
• Always have at least one fire extinguisher on the float
• Be careful if it rains to avoid being electrocuted
• Be sure all wiring is taped down or out of the way so that people do not trip over it, hurting themselves and damaging equipment

Resources

• Regal Plastics 1700 Wirt Road, Houston TX  77055; 713-957-8541; 713-957-8544 fax; www.regal-plastics.com
• Trailer Wheel and Frame Company 8222 North Freeway, Houston TX  77037; 713-697-9777, 800-392-0111; 281-931-7876 fax; www.trailerwheel.com
• United Rentals 17138 US290, Houston TX  77040; 713-466-7040
• Party Boy 1515 Studemont, Houston TX  77007; 713-861-9080
• Houston Light Bulb Company 3355 Fondren, Houston TX  77063; 713-977-0022; 713-977-0023 fax
• Home Depot
• Lowe's
• Arne's
• Texas Art Supply
• Hobby Lobby
• Big Lots