Most track faults on site come from three things: too few fixings, an overloaded neutral, and a joint that breaks the earth path. This guide gives the numbers that prevent all three.
A lighting track installation is safe when four things are right: the track is fixed often enough for the load it carries, each phase and the shared neutral stay within 16 A, the protective earth runs unbroken through every joint, and the finished installation passes the insulation and continuity tests. The figures below are typical values for 230/400 V tracks built to IEC/EN 60570. The manufacturer's installation sheet for the exact track always takes precedence.
| Standard | Covers | Why it matters on site |
|---|---|---|
| IEC/EN 60570 | Electrical supply track systems for luminaires | Sets the 16 A per conductor and 440 V limits, and the tests for track, feeds, connectors and adapters. |
| IEC/EN 60598-1 | Luminaires, general requirements | The luminaire hanging on the adapter must comply on its own. |
| IEC 60364 / HD 60364 | Low-voltage electrical installations | Circuit protection, cable sizing, earthing and initial verification. |
| BS 7671, DIN VDE 0100, NF C 15-100 | National wiring rules (UK, Germany, France) | Local versions of IEC 60364; check the one for the country of installation. |
| IEC 60445 | Conductor identification | Colour codes for L1, L2, L3, N and PE at the feed. |
| IEC 62386 | DALI | Bus current, line length and voltage drop for DALI track. |
| EN 1838, EN 50172, IEC/EN 60598-2-22 | Emergency lighting | Illuminance and duration on escape routes; applies to 8-wire track with an emergency phase. |
An aluminium track is stiff, but not stiff enough to carry luminaires over long free spans. The load, not the track length, sets the fixing distance. These are the values G-Tracks recommends for its 3-phase, DALI and 8-wire profiles:
| Mounting | Maximum spacing | From each end or joint | Minimum per length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface, on a solid ceiling | 1.0 m | ≤ 200 mm | 2 |
| Surface, on a T-bar grid ceiling | At every grid crossing, max. 1.2 m | ≤ 200 mm | 2 |
| Suspended on wire or rod, light luminaires (≤ 1.5 kg each) | 2.0 m | ≤ 300 mm | 2 |
| Suspended, heavy luminaires (> 1.5 kg each) | 1.5 m | ≤ 300 mm | 2 |
| Recessed in plasterboard | Fixing bracket every 1.0 m | ≤ 200 mm | 2 |
| Wall mounted | 1.0 m | ≤ 200 mm | 2 |
Joints are the weak points. A coupler connects the conductors and keeps the profiles aligned, but it is not meant to carry the bending load of two lengths. Put a fixing or a suspension close to every straight coupler, L connector and T connector.
Two limits apply to every track: the mechanical load per adapter and per metre, and the electrical load per phase.
| Limit | Typical value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Load per adapter | 5 kg | Luminaire weight hanging from one adapter. |
| Pull on the adapter cable | 100 N | Strain relief on the 10 A adapter GT-4W-AD10. |
| Distributed load, fixed every 1 m | 10 kg per metre | Sum of all luminaires in that metre. |
| Distributed load, suspended every 2 m | 5 kg per metre | Halve the span to double the load. |
Heavy pendants and signs should hang on a mechanical adapter placed next to a suspension point, with a separate power adapter if needed.
IEC/EN 60570 limits each conductor to 16 A. At 230 V that is 3,680 W per phase in theory. In practice, plan for less:
| Feed | Per phase | Whole track |
|---|---|---|
| 1-phase track, one phase | 16 A, plan ≤ 12.8 A | 16 A |
| 3-phase track, all phases on one phase | Shared | 16 A in total, plan ≤ 12.8 A |
| 3-phase track, three phases | 16 A, plan ≤ 12.8 A | Limited by neutral current incl. harmonics |
Power enters the track at an end feed or a middle feed. A middle feed halves the current path in each direction and is the better choice for long runs.
| Conductor | Function |
|---|---|
| L1 | Phase 1 |
| L2 | Phase 2 |
| L3 | Phase 3 |
| N | Neutral, shared |
| PE | Protective earth, to the profile |
| D+, D- | DALI pair (DALI track) |
IEC 60364-6 requires initial verification of every new installation. For track, three tests matter most:
| Test | Value | How |
|---|---|---|
| Continuity of the protective conductor | Low, consistent reading across every joint | Measure from the feed PE terminal to the far end of each run. |
| Insulation resistance | ≥ 1 MΩ at 500 V DC | Between each conductor and earth, and between conductors. Remove all adapters and disconnect DALI equipment first. |
| Polarity and phase allocation | Each phase on the intended breaker | Switch phases one by one and check with a test adapter. |
For surface-mounted track, fix at least every 1 m, with at least two fixings per track length and the first fixing within 200 mm of each end or joint. Check the manufacturer's data sheet, which takes precedence.
For suspended track, keep suspension points no more than 2 m apart, reduce to 1.5 m for heavy luminaires, and place a suspension within 300 mm of every coupler, connector and end.
Up to 16 A per phase under IEC/EN 60570. If all three phases are fed from one phase they share one neutral, so the total of all three phases must not exceed 16 A.
IEC 60570 (EN 60570 in Europe) covers electrical supply track systems for luminaires. The installation itself follows IEC 60364 and its national versions such as HD 60364, BS 7671, DIN VDE 0100 or NF C 15-100.
IEC 60364-6 requires at least 1 MΩ at a test voltage of 500 V DC for 230/400 V phases. Remove all adapters and driver adapters from the track before testing.
Datasheets, samples and OEM versions of every system in this article. No minimum order.
Installation · Standards
How the protective earth runs in lighting track: through the aluminium profile or as a separate PE conductor, why joints matter, and how to test the earth path.
OEM · Standards
Solid copper or copper-clad aluminium (CCA) in lighting track? How to tell them apart on a sample, why it matters for heat and joints, and what to specify.
Installation · OEM
Why lighting track cut to length at the factory saves time and faults on site: how runs are measured, what the factory does to each length, and how to order it.
