OT - Under Cabinet Lighting

RedSkip

Looking to install some LED lighting under my cabinets, does anyone have any experience or recommendations?

northGAcock

I love mine....purchased from Lowes, happy with product. Had an electrician install them. I did not run mine to a switch...if you do and have tile on wall....there is some risk. 

I turn mine on at each light....switch is easy to find without visual. I have a high / low feature....which is why I went the individual route. I am the main user....check with the wife (assuming you have one) as they may have a different opinion as you......bottom line, that is a key decision you will need to make. 

I turn the the lights on that are in areas I am preping, brewing etc. You can also switch individually... or a series, or all. Think it thru....it needs to work for you. Hope this helps.

Leopoldstoch

Phillips hue strip lights are a very easy, approachable, and able to be installed without much effort.

I love having the hue lights throughout my house. I have the strips set as bias lighting behind my tv but they could very easily be used for under cabinet lighting.

rolltidesmoker

When we redid our kitchen I used dekor lights led (deqkor lighting.com).  I did not plan ahead so I have to turn them on individually. I would get the remote option too. That said I like the lights 

Toxarch

I did my own. Bought the 5050 led ribbon off eBay. Put in switches next to the plugs when we were redoing the counters and backsplash. Then put switched plugs in the cabinets. Bought laptop transformers to put in the cabinets to power the lights. It turned out awesome and I use them often. 

Ozzie_Isaac

rolltidesmoker said:

When we redid our kitchen I used dekor lights led (deqkor lighting.com).  I did not plan ahead so I have to turn them on individually. I would get the remote option too. That said I like the lights 

Off topic, but that is a gorgeous kitchen!  Love the hood over the stove.

RedSkip

@northGAcock. What are the "risks" you speak of for running the wires through the walls?  I have a few extra outlets in the cabinets (microwave & spare) where I could plug them in, but interested in the outlet approach.

I just finished tiling my backsplash and wish I would have thought of the lighting before now, I could have run the wires myself prior to installing the backsplash.

RedSkip

@rolltidesmoker. I'll have to check that website, thanks!

Do you have a microwave?  Ours is above the stove so we can't have a hood, I like the detail work under the hood too!  Nice handy work.

RedSkip

@Toxarch. Wish I had the forward thinking you did, just got finished tiling and the wire install would have been perfect timing for the cabinet lighting.

piney

northGAcock said:

I love mine....purchased from Lowes, happy with product. Had an electrician install them. I did not run mine to a switch...if you do and have tile on wall....there is some risk. 

I turn mine on at each light....switch is easy to find without visual. I have a high / low feature....which is why I went the individual route. I am the main user....check with the wife (assuming you have one) as they may have a different opinion as you......bottom line, that is a key decision you will need to make. 

I turn the the lights on that are in areas I am preping, brewing etc. You can also switch individually... or a series, or all. Think it thru....it needs to work for you. Hope this helps.

I too have LED from Lowes..love em! Sounds like ours are the same. 

RedSkip

@piney @northGAcock. Do you recall the brand/model?

piney

Utilitech 24in LED light bar 69.99 each they can be hooked together in tandem and also have 18in

Lit

I used the legrand under cabinet system you can add on and build whatever you want into it. I moved all our plugs and switches into it so there's nothing in the backsplash they just mount under the cabinets. You can get lights and speakers and all sorts of crap.  http://www.legrand.us/adorne/products/under-cabinet-lighting-power.aspx

RedSkip

@Lit how do you jump from cabinet to cabinet?  Do the jumpers come in various lengths?

Sea2Ski

Literally just finished the kitchen refresh- same cabnits and appliances, but new countertops and lighting. Heck, top pic you can see the calk gun I used tonight.... not crazy about the mosaic - I think it was too big, but she likes it so...... now I only have to get the pulls refinished.  
But I digress.....



Under cabnit lighting - did myself. Easy. Here is a closeup and how it works:

How it ties in: Line voltage to a small transformer (blue toothpick put in front for scale) : 

Connect the output lines to low voltage 16g wire which fits into a track.  Then push the led lights in where you want. They self-pierce the wire and that is how they get power. You can put as many or few as you want. I did it all in one afternoon. For the below picture, the counter is 5 feet long and I used 4 lights:

Any questions? Ask away. 

Lit

You don't really jump you just build a whole system. You would buy a direct wire module that you wire to and buy the other pieces at the lengths you need to fit your cabinets. They plug into each other at the ends of each section and if you want a light in that section you buy a section with a module plug and get a single gang box to wire in for the switch. I just did sections on mine since I just wanted to get all the plugs out of my backsplash. This is my garbage disposal and sink light with a plug but you could do this with the same box with 1 switch and remove the plug and put one of their lights and the switch would control the light. I put a cap on the end but you can buy blanks to extend it or add other options they have docking stations and USB plugs and other crap. I just went really basic.

northGAcock

RedSkip said:

@northGAcock. What are the "risks" you speak of for running the wires through the walls?  I have a few extra outlets in the cabinets (microwave & spare) where I could plug them in, but interested in the outlet approach.

I just finished tiling my backsplash and wish I would have thought of the lighting before now, I could have run the wires myself prior to installing the backsplash.

The risk is breaking tile cutting in the additional switch boxes. If you did it yourself, and have extra matching tile, you minimize that risk. 

RedSkip

@Lit That's interesting concept.

@northGAcock I follow your thought on the potential risks.

@Sea2Ski  Where is the power input to the transformer?  Do you have the cable through a wall or running down the side of the wall to an outlet/switch?

Edit:  Nevermind, I see you brought the power from behind the refrigerator.  Does it run off 110V then transformer down?  Did you have to use an inline fuse?

Edit Again:  I assume the handle is to the refrigerator but on second glance it's probably a pantry door?  IDK, just made a poor assumption.

Sea2Ski

Yes 110 in right to the transformer then the output lines to the low voltage line. (You were correct, that is my fridge.)
 In my case I had power there already which is operated on a switch.  If I did not already have it run already, I would have drilled a small hole in the back of the cabnit above the outlet, and fished a line down to it and get power from there, and tie in a switch.
It really was a simple install.  I like this because you can tailor the amount of light on the same line in different spots. In my stove/sink picture, that is one single wire from above the stove to the right wall. I have 1 more light above the stove and sink than under the other cabinets to compensate for the height.  
This system worked for me perfectly. Cost was not bad at all. I needed 3 transformers at $12-$13 each (3 walls), and each light I think was $2.  Wire and tracking was  minimal.  I got it all at a lighting store. 

theyolksonyou

Go to the legrand website. They have a design help tool that shows different wiring methods wit a wall switch/without.  U shaped, galley etc...

we looked hard at that system, ultimately didn't like the color and didn't think it was worth a grand just for the outlets without lights. 

Wound up with a single outlet from them for the microwave built in. 

Now if if I could only finish the backsplash.

Sea2Ski

A grand???   Wow.  Mine was somewhere about $200 if I recall properly. 

RedSkip

@theyolksonyou

Backsplash was my first time (above) and finished it in 4 days, with an "off" day yesterday.  Super simple, just take your time.  Cutting the tile was the worst part, but that's because of the saw I bought from Harbor Freight.  Went cheap and it had its moments for being difficult.  

Feel free red to reach out if you have questions once you decide to give it a shot.  

RedSkip

@theyolksonyou I was thinking the system @Lit mentioned would be a little pricey with all the attachments and add ons.

Guess they call it Le"grand" for a reason...

Lit

RedSkip said:

@theyolksonyou I was thinking the system @Lit mentioned would be a little pricey with all the attachments and add ons.

Guess they call it Le"grand" for a reason...

It is expensive but it allows you to do everything all in one. At the point you are with the back splash up it's not really worth it but I didn't want any plugs or switches in my back splash. If you have a plug you can just do a led light strip with a remote.

Lit

Nvm

Focker

I was following this until we hit the 1K mark for lighted cabinets?  Only on the eggheadforum. Lol

Toxarch

You might want to check, but I don't think that wiring to the pictured transformer is quite to electrical code.

Lighting can be expensive. My DIY route was like $60 for 60 feet of LEDs and maybe $40 for the 2 transformers. Well, plus switches and plugs.
I can get some pics if needed.

@RedSkip, since you have a microwave and spare plug, you should look into Insteon controls. You can put in an Insteon plug or even and Insteon lamp plug. Then you can add an Insteon switch next to the main light switch (or anywhere you want). All you have to do is connect it to power and then easily program it to control that plug, or multiple plugs. The switch will control the plug remotely without any new wiring required. It might run you $125 or so for the switch and plug. There's a dozen ways to control that plug using Insteon controllers.

Jupiter Jim

Sea2Ski said:

Literally just finished the kitchen refresh- same cabnits and appliances, but new countertops and lighting. Heck, top pic you can see the calk gun I used tonight.... not crazy about the mosaic - I think it was too big, but she likes it so...... now I only have to get the pulls refinished.  
But I digress.....



Under cabnit lighting - did myself. Easy. Here is a closeup and how it works:

How it ties in: Line voltage to a small transformer (blue toothpick put in front for scale) : 

Connect the output lines to low voltage 16g wire which fits into a track.  Then push the led lights in where you want. They self-pierce the wire and that is how they get power. You can put as many or few as you want. I did it all in one afternoon. For the below picture, the counter is 5 feet long and I used 4 lights:

Any questions? Ask away. 

Sea2Ski nice looking work, I recommend that you put the LED driver and high voltage connections inside of an approved electrical box. In case of any overheating and possible shorts in high voltage wiring it contains it and helps prevent electrical fires. In fact that is the only reason the National Electrical Code requires boxes. I have seen those drivers get very hot and burn up.

Lit

A cheap option is the peel and stick led strips. When I reframed my pantry I added a switch on the wall and a light in the top but the shelving blocked most of the light from getting down. I changed the box out to a plug and ran the led strips around the whole thing. I just left the string on with the remote and the switch controls them. It was like $50 and took like 10 minutes. 

RedSkip

@Lit. Nice setup in that pantry, looks sharp with the lifts out and all lit up.

JohnnyTarheel

When I did my under cabinet lighting I only wanted one switch with dimmer to turn on all of them. It would be a pain to turn individual lights or sections on. I used existing wall switch for dishwasher near sink for the lighting and added new box and switch under the sink for the dishwasher. That way you don't mess up your backsplash.