Quick verdict
A sealed hub from Unique Lighting Systems that takes the main cable from the transformer and connects a group of fixture leads at one point, so every light in a bed is wired back to the hub rather than spliced along the run, every fixture sees the same voltage and a fault is found at one box instead of under a dozen plants. The hub method is how professional installers wire landscape lighting; it cuts splice points, wire and labour and ends the dimming at the end of a daisy chain. It is the company that pioneered the method, in a part sized for a home bed.
Strengths
- All fixtures in a zone wired to one sealed point
- Equal voltage to every fixture; no dim end-of-run lights
- Far fewer splices than a daisy chain
- Troubleshooting at one box
- From the maker that introduced the hub method
Weaknesses
- Needs a home run of fixture leads to the hub; plan the layout
- Costs more than a handful of wire nuts
- A single hub serves one zone; several beds want several hubs
The overall YardToolLab Score is out of 100. Section scores are out of 10.
Stop Splicing Along the Run
The usual landscape lighting install splices each fixture into the main cable where it passes, and the result is a dozen buried joints, a last light dimmer than the first and a fault that could be anywhere. Professionals wire to a hub. Unique Lighting Systems’ satellite hub is a sealed box that takes the main cable and all the fixture leads for a bed at one point, giving every light the same voltage and one place to service.
This review is based on the maker’s specifications and on how the hub wiring method works in landscape lighting generally. We have not installed this hub ourselves.
Installing
Place the hub in the centre of the group of fixtures, run the main cable from the transformer to it, and run each fixture lead to it with enough slack to reach. Make all the connections inside the hub, which seals against moisture, and bury it with the lid just below the mulch where it can be found. One bed, one hub; a long run has a hub per bed along the main cable.
Why It Matters
Voltage drops along cable. In a daisy chain the first light sees 12 volts and the sixth sees 10 and is visibly dimmer. With a hub, every lead is a short equal length from the same connection, so every light sees the same voltage and the bed is lit evenly. Splice points drop from one per fixture to one per bed, and a splice that is not buried in the open does not corrode.
Service
A light that fails is diagnosed at the hub: open the lid, check the lead, swap the lamp. No digging along the run looking for the joint that went green. For a system that will be in the ground for twenty years, that is the real saving.
Who Made It
Unique Lighting Systems introduced the hub method to the trade decades ago and the satellite hub is their part for a home-scale zone. Installers specify it; homeowners who wire their own systems copy them.
Planning
The hub method wants the layout drawn first so each fixture lead reaches the hub. Fixture leads are extended with sealed connectors where needed, and the main cable is sized for the full load of the zone.
Who Should Buy It
- Anyone installing a new landscape lighting system.
- Owners of a daisy-chained system rewiring a bed that keeps failing.
- Installers who want the trade method.
Common Owner Complaints
More planning and cable to the hub. That is the method; it pays back at the first fault.
Alternatives to Consider
Silicone-filled splice connectors for a daisy chain done carefully. A junction box with a terminal strip as a homemade hub. Several hubs for a large property.
Verdict
For landscape lighting that is even, serviceable and lasts, the hub method is the professional standard and this is the hub it was built around. Draw the layout, run every lead to the box and bury it where it can be found.
Full specifications
Unique Lighting Systems SHUB Satellite Hub for Low Voltage Landscape Lighting FAQs
Instead of splicing each fixture into the main cable as it passes, the main cable runs to a hub buried in the bed and every fixture lead runs to the hub. One sealed connection point, equal cable length to each light, equal voltage.
In a chain the last light gets less voltage than the first and every splice is a buried failure point. With a hub, every light is the same distance from the connection and there is one place to open if something fails.
Set the hub in the middle of the fixture group, run the main cable to it, run each fixture lead to it, make the connections inside the sealed hub and bury it with the lid accessible.
A bed of several lights. Larger installs use several hubs along the main run.
