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no retrofit should be needed. Most of the low voltage lighting available for homes comes with its own transformer. This includes the painting accent lights, the under-counter "hockeypuck" lights, etc.
Stuff's real easy to set up. Plug the lights into the transformer. Plug the transformer into the wall (or if you're hardwiring, just snip the plug, strip the wires, and wire 'em up to the romex).
the difference in low voltage from regular lighting is in the voltage (hehe. duh). Think of voltage like you would pressure in a water hose. The higher the voltage the higher the pressure. Up the water pressure and the water shoots out of the hose with more power. Up the voltage and you get more power as well.
That's why the higher you go in voltage, the more dangerous it is. (yes, this is a generalization, and yes I realize that if you lower the amps enough when you increase the voltage you wind up with the same net result as far as electrocution goes).
So if you're running 2 amps off of 12 volts, you're much less likely to get a nasty shock than if you're running 2 amps off 220. Low voltage lighting is simply safer than the 120v stuff.
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