Tivah Coloured Aluminium TRI Colour

Tivah in coloured aluminium is the same fitting as its brass and copper siblings with the expensive part taken out. The head, the globe, the output and the adjustment are identical; the body is powder-coated aluminium in a titanium finish rather than solid metal. At roughly a third of the price of the brass version, it is the sensible choice when a garden needs six or eight fittings rather than two, and it is the honest choice anywhere the fittings will be hidden in planting and never actually looked at.

The decision that matters: this is a 12 V fitting

It runs on 12 V DC and requires a suitable 12 V DC LED driver, and its installation sheet is explicit: "Use an appropriate 12v DC LED Driver — DO NOT CONNECT LIGHT FITTING DIRECT TO 240V". Two warranty conditions come with that — the fitting must sit no more than 25 m from its driver, and the supply must stay within ±5% of the required voltage. On a multi-fitting run the driver also has to cover the total load with headroom, which is the calculation worth doing before ordering rather than after.

Where it works

• Larger schemes where the fitting count matters more than the material of any one head.
• Beds and borders where the body sits in foliage and is not part of the look.
• Rental and staged properties, where a solid brass fitting is hard to justify.
• Sheltered suburban gardens — for direct salt exposure a solid brass or 316 stainless body is the better specification.

Specifying it

The globe is a 5 W MR16, supplied and replaceable, tri-colour selectable, and the product's own table gives 270 lm at 3000K, 285 lm at 4000K and 300 lm at 5500K — the same figures as the brass version, because the light comes from the globe and the globe is the same. Beam angle likewise follows the globe, so check it when replacing. The spike is 285 mm, the cable 2 m, and the head gives 90° of tilt with 270° of swivel. Sealing is IP65, which covers driven rain, sprinklers and hose-down. It is not dimmable. The one thing to be realistic about is the finish: powder coat over aluminium is a coating, and a chip from a mower or an edger exposes the metal beneath, so treat it as you would any painted garden hardware.

Backed by a 3-year replacement warranty.

Ordering several? Lights For You will size the driver against your total fitting count — it is the part of a multi-fitting garden run that most often gets under-specified.