Lighting Fixtures

Use Flexible Track Lighting To Create Awesome Accents by Ernest Jarquio

The technical term for flexible track lighting is monorail lighting. Monorail is a bendable and shapeable metal rail that not only adds power to the lighting but also suspends it wherever you want it to be. Flexible track lighting is exactly that and should not be confused with any other type of lighting system.

The Selling Point

Flex track lighting really has some ideal advantages and is different from standard track lighting but in a totally aesthetic manner. The suspension system in traditional track lighting is solid and not flexible, so the flexibility of the monorail lighting system is the selling feature. It can be shaped and contoured basically however you want it to look.

They are available in satin nickel, chrome, gold or antique bronze. Often these finishes are also offered with additional complementary colors for accent purposes.

Besides the flexibility of the metal rail which many people prefer depending on where the lighting is being installed, there is not much difference between monorail lighting and standard track lighting. This type of lighting setup is more aimed for accent and task lighting rather than for illumination purposes as these systems can rarely ever brighten up an entire room.

Powering It Up

Another advantage of flexible track lighting is that their practicality allows many fixtures to be powered from a single junction box. This makes it much easier to add extra lighting when remodeling without having to add extra junction boxes.

This lighting system is powered through current running power that is generated through the exposed metallic rail itself. If you get a close look at the monorail itself you will find that it is really two small metallic rails with a thin piece of insulating connectors between them.

Flex track lighting has many different components. So it is a good idea that if you are going to explore the monorail lighting option that you familiarize yourself with the components so it makes more sense to you, regardless of if you are going to do this project on your own or have it done professionally. Education is the best tool that you can equip yourself with.

Shaping And Bending – Within Limits

The flexible metal rail that is used for this type of lighting can actually be conformed by hand into any shape that you would like for it to be in, of course avoiding tight twists as not to damage it. Try to stay with curves that are within a 12 inch radius.

Until recently if you were planning on using monorail lighting you had no choice but to use low voltage lighting but now it is possible to use what is called line voltage monorail systems. These systems are high in demand and now offer more fixtures to be powered along longer runs of rail without having to install additional transformers.

A particular disadvantage is that almost every manufacturer has developed a different system for flexible track lighting which makes it extremely difficult if not impossible to interchange parts. As of recently, there are a few web-designed products that explain how to accurately interchange many of these components if this is absolutely necessary.

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