re: Under cabinet lighting

quote:

---

note: i was skeptical about under cabinet lights, thought they would be a waste. But you are absolutely right, they're great for late night baby stuff and honestly, in general. We use them way more than the ceiling lights.

---

Same here. I thought they were going to be stupid but it's awesome having bright lights right on the counter.

Knuckle check time baw. You moved too slow. I'll be installing this weekend...

Kidding, I'm still trying to figure out what to do. Seems there is a kit by hitlight that I'm interested in. It's a light strip that can be cut. I could put them in a diffuser. But the concept of getting the correct power source and then degrading quality if I split the lights in 2 directions and make a long jump to a set of cabinets on the other side of my sink just has me worried about wasting my time.

Start with the wiring and have the drilling, fishing and pulling done by an electrician who does retrofits rather than new builds.

Decide whether to run 120AC or 12/24DC for LED. If you go 120AC you'll need LED fixtures with built-in regulators. For 12/24DC a single regulator that can carry your load is needed. Also note that code for low voltage wiring is a new area.

Twenty years ago, I had under cabinets wired 120AC and installed T5 fluorescent tubes. The switches are in the fixture rather than wall. As soon as my last replacement bulb fails, I'll go to 12/24DC LED strips.

As I've been switching house lights to LED I've bought many lights from SuperbrightLeds and been happy with cost and support.

LINK /

Resist the urge to buy cheap. Circuit components in LEDs fail frequently. If they are built into the fixture, you'll have to toss the whole thing when it fails.

A note on soldering... there are many new push-and-click connectors now replacing pigtails and wirenuts.

If you just want ambiance, I think the cut to length low voltage led strips will work. But if you want enough light to actually work, you’ll need to go with the dedicated under cabinet light fixtures.

I just looked at a few websites and came away confused...far too many choices beyond Lowes and HD !!!

I suggest that you play with something low-cost 1st. Buy a single led light bar a good length for your cabinet and a minimal wall-plug power supply.

LINK .

It's just a strip in an extruded aluminum case with a plastic cover... needed in kitchen environment.

Then see how you like the light level, color balance, etc. I find 12 or 24 volts quite bright.

Indoor systems seem to be more 12V and outdoor 24V. (Irrigation systems use 24VDC). The actual led chips in the circuits probably run at 5V. I find 12V quite bright?.. just me. You can also get a simple "push-to-dim" module.

The power regulators for these things convert 120v AC to a lower DC and should be based on "switching circuits" rather than transformers... far more efficient. There is some heat, and the bigger units need to be mounted where there is good airflow.

I've used a couple of these led bars, a wall regulator and a cheap camera tripod to make low-cost modern-looking floor lamps.

If you want to go down the rabbit hole look at LINK /.

They have led strips where each led element can be individually controlled (0ff/on & color) by a micro computer... kitchen light and music shows! I'm not there yet.

Have fun. We should thank Thomas Edison for a century+ of simplicity.

Adorne is terrible to work with, you need to have multiple circuits run to the starting spot if you plan to have lights and outlets.

There is a reason the line is discontinued, and it’s because it failed miserably and was a loser for them

One of the highest quality under cabinet LED fixtures is Glowback LED. We have these installed in our kitchen and they are fantastic.

GB offers custom aluminum profiles, power supplies and controllers.

Their under cabinet lighting is angled at a 20 degree pitch, which evenly illuminates the counter and back splash, eliminating light on the floor.

These folks are very helpful and will assist with design.

LINK /

If you can solder you can go the DIY route.

That is what I did. Double 5050 Strip lights, a Regular light switch mounted under the cabinet out of site, switching 12v 5A PS and 18ga Red & Black wire. All off eBay. One thing I may add is a motion sensor.


I ripped a couple pieces of 1x at an angle to tilt the strips forward to get better coverage because I mounted them all the way back to the wall. And yes, with the right light strips you will have all the light you need.


I probably saved a little by the DIY route but cannot guarantee it. I just like doing things myself and I have material left over for repairs,... or maybe for closet lights. Hmmmm.

Bump. Gave up on the legrand adora. Started collecting all the components and when they came in they looked gigantic and dated. Cabinet maker pointed me to channel lights and he said he can make the lights and outlets disappear and put the entire system on a single wall switch. He's going to pre cut all the channels and it will be under the uppers and along the floor.

It's a little like this but it looks even more integrated.




I should have just left this to him all along.

Thank goodness Amazon will take everything back.