Under Cabinet Lighting

[Dave Novak]

Maybe this belongs in Miscellaneous, is so, feel free to move it mods. Anyway, we recently remodeled our kitchen and I'd like to improve the illumination of the countertops by installing lights under the cabinets. I really like the idea of LED lights, but I'm concerned that they might not put out enough lumens/candle-power to effectively light the countertops. Of particular concern is under an arch positioned above the sink where the fixtures would be roughly 36" above the sink/contertop surface. Will LED light be effective from that distance? My research has me leaning toward Juno Pro-LED; Juno claims they match the output of their Xenon and halogen fixtures. Does anyone with some experience have any widom they can pass along? You can drop $600 pretty quickly on these lights, so I want to make LOML will be happy with them. Thanks.

[Tom Godley]

Have you seen the lights and do you like the color of them?

I have found that even adding extra bulbs to a 24v xenon strip set up does not provide enough light to really work on a counter - and I will bet they compare the led output to 12v lights. At 36" you need to be careful if this is your only light.


That is why I ask about seeing the fixtures - some do not like the harsh color of many LED's.


Some people are happy with the puck light output but I find it to be inadequate.


I always design the cabinets with a deep false fronts and install conventional florescent lights as well as a power strip -- great light and cheap and minimal heat.

[Steve Clardy]

Mostly I use the 1" thin fixtures that the customer has to provide if they want under cab lighting.

They are florescent. Come in 12", 18", and 24" lengths.

Usually the 12" works in all cases.

Being only 1" thick, they are easy to hide under the upper cabinets

[Bill Houghton]

I have the fluorescents in our kitchen and love them.

[Craig Coney]

You could use a combination of LEDs and Halogens. I would recommend the Low Voltage Halogens above the sink- HR-35 IIRC, Low Voltage, you can also get 50W, you will need to size the transformer to the total wattage of the bulbs, you can also add a dimmer on the 110V side for them as well.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Expensive, but very slim profile (about 1/2") and the flexibility of three levels of light.

[Jamie Buxton]

The first LED lights I saw had a color like cool-white fluorescents. I wouldn't put them in a kitchen. However, there are now ones with better color. For instance Hera makes ones they call warm white. http://www.heralighting.com/hera/ I've seen them in a trade-show booth, and they look much better than the cool-white ones. I haven't installed them in a kitchen; as you say, they're pretty pricey.

[David G Baker]

All lights in my home are the daylight fluorescent bulbs and I would have nothing else, I love them. Took a while for the LOML to get comfortable with them and now she feels the same.
When the cost goes down on the LED under counter lights I am going to install them. I have a few LED bulbs for a chandelier and found them to be way to dim, but the under counter lights that I have seen in the Borgs seem to be very bright.

[Kevin Andrist]

Dave,
I just completed a kitchen remodel over the winter & installed UC lights, ceiling cans, cans over the sink....etc..after spend the btter part of a month researching lighting. There are so many options, it can get complicated pretty quick.

UC lights won't give you enough light at 36 inches over a sink, but there is a way to calculate what will work. I'll find the link...

After looking at all the options, I went with Kichler xenon 12V UC lights. I can look up the model numbers. My cabs are the standard 18 inches off the countertop. The xenons give a very nice light & plenty of it(my counters are dark soapstone). I have halogen cans in the ceiling & the xenon matches the color of halogen light very well. Multi-colored lights (mixing types) can look a bit odd.