Undercabinet lighting in the modern era

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live4ever

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I need to get updated on the current state of the art with respect to undercabinet lighting.  I have a few kitchens coming up as well as some built-ins/floating shelving and I’d like to incorporate modern LED lighting. 

Not too long ago, false bottoms seemed to be the norm, but now I’m seeing more installations that don’t require false bottoms or other structural additions to the cabinets/shelves, such as Hafele’s Loox (an aluminum extrusion with diffuser that houses the LED tape) or recessed pucks made possible with jigs to send low voltage wiring through standard thickness cabinet bottoms. 

What are y’all using?  Would love to see any tips/tricks for the electrical rough-in/transformer placement, concealing elements, etc. 
 
Might be able to get some ideas from how they address the lighting in this shelfing installation...

 
I use the Loox system, very user friendly. Just need to be able to find an accessible spot for the transformer - usually in the exhaust hood cabinet or in the cavity behind the fridge overhead cabinet. They're quite small so it's not usually a problem. I plan out all of my wiring before install and rout any channels needed to conceal the wiring.
Even though there are cheaper alternatives, I also use the Loox aluminium extrusion, one that has a small lip either side to totally cover the channel you've routed. Hafele # 833.72.846.
 
It takes a rare individual who can live with floating shelves and make them look good at the same time.

I read an article on decorating open shelving once and there were lots of rules.

* No more than 30% of any given shelf should be occupied.
* You should have items of differing heights on each shelf.
* If you have a cube shaped item on one shelf, you should not put a cube shaped item on an adjacent shelf.
* Items should be decanted; nothing should be in the manufacturer’s packaging…
* Yada, yada, yada.

In addition you have to dust them frequently, make sure that they are aligned nicely, etc.

In other words, open shelves are a task-heavy storage option.

All those tasks disappear with closed shelving.  Closed cabinets also allow for greater storage density.

Having tried to discourage you, I have seen images with LED light strips attached in dadoes, so that the light is seen and not the lights.  I would do a mock up to determine the best location of the light (towards the front, middle or rear of the shelf).

My kitchen under cabinet lights range in intensity from a night-light-glow to reading-light-intensity.  I mostly leave it as a night light.

I used to have a large collection of books (I now use a tablet for reading).  When my book shelf grew too full, I endeavored to donate books to friends and relatives according to what I thought would interest them.  My only rules were that they were not to be returned to me, and once they had read it, they should give it to someone else.

That backfired.  For every book I gave away, I got three gifted to me from those same recipients.  So instead of emptying my shelves, they remained full with stacks of books in the corners of the room. 

As you can tell, I’m not a fan of open shelves, and floating shelves are the most visible, so your decorating faux pas will be most noticed with them.
 
I used led in extrusion and mortised that into a false bottom along with mortising in legrand plug mold so there is no outlets or switches in the back splash so I could use seamless back painted tempered glass or the backslash and not detract from the look with a bunch of outlets. and everything is flush on the bottom. 
 
I get my fixtures from Armacost Lighting

Armacost Lighting

and have been very satisfied with pricing and quality of hardware.  I use LED puck lights under upper cabinets and they provide nice even illumination over the countertop surface.
 
kmalone said:
Might be able to get some ideas from how they address the lighting in this shelfing installation...
Click to expand...


Cool build, kind of made me want a Lamello. 

Lincoln said:
I use the Loox system, very user friendly. Just need to be able to find an accessible spot for the transformer - usually in the exhaust hood cabinet or in the cavity behind the fridge overhead cabinet. They're quite small so it's not usually a problem. I plan out all of my wiring before install and rout any channels needed to conceal the wiring.
Even though there are cheaper alternatives, I also use the Loox aluminium extrusion, one that has a small lip either side to totally cover the channel you've routed. Hafele # 833.72.846.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the rec!  Are you hardwiring your transformers or do you like to locate a receptacle in the cabinet of choice?

Packard said:
It takes a rare individual who can live with floating shelves and make them look good at the same time.

Snip

As you can tell, I’m not a fan of open shelves, and floating shelves are the most visible, so your decorating faux pas will be most noticed with them.
Click to expand...

Hahaha, totally agree that many design trends aren’t very practical.  Personally I can’t even remember the last time I used the undercab lights in my own kitchen (overhead lighting is plentiful), but I’d never leave them out of a kitchen for myself or others.  Floating shelves, yeah, people think they’ll live like the magazines/Pinterest, but it takes very dedicated cleaning habits (or housekeepers) to keep things looking that way.

afish said:
I used led in extrusion and mortised that into a false bottom along with mortising in legrand plug mold so there is no outlets or switches in the back splash so I could use seamless back painted tempered glass or the backslash and not detract from the look with a bunch of outlets. and everything is flush on the bottom. 
Click to expand...

Love the look of a clean backsplash…not sure where you’re located but have you ever had any code-related issues with the plugmold strategy?

kevinculle said:
I get my fixtures from Armacost Lighting

Armacost Lighting

and have been very satisfied with pricing and quality of hardware.  I use LED puck lights under upper cabinets and they provide nice even illumination over the countertop surface.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the rec!  Definitely looks like a reasonable option.
 
I've been dinging around with LED lighting for the last 10-12 years, some of it being used inside the house and some of it being used for outdoor garden lighting. This stuff has come a long way and I've learned a lot because the technology has changed a lot.

My last under-cabinet lighting project was done about 4-5 years ago. A run of kitchen cabinets with under-cabinet lighting that's used for both task lighting and dimmed for mood lighting. I used Diode LED Ultra Blaze LED tape secured in Diode LED Chromapath slim channel with a frosted cover. The Ultra Blaze LEDs put out 360 lumens per foot so they function well for task lighting...think food prep. I drove everything with a Diode LED Switchex driver. It's a combination switch/driver/dimmer in one small package that fits into a conventional electrical wall box. They're sold by output wattage and at the time they were available in 40, 60 & 100 watt models. They probably make several different variations by now.

Diode LED offers a variety of aluminum channels as does Aspect LED. However the largest variation of channels are offered by KLUS.

For the next go-around I'll be using a recessed version as the newer models are only 3/16"- 1/4" thick. This one is from Aspect LED.

[attachimg=1]

Using the aluminum channel is important as it acts as a heat sink which lengthens the life of the LEDs especially Ultra Blaze which sucks up 4.3 watts per foot.

I also never use the standard push connectors...I learned the hard way, I solder direct connections to the LED strip.

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

Here's the Switchex driver.

[attachimg=4]

 

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+1 for the extrusions. I've found versions that take a double strip. In the past this was handy to get two offset strips to blend the light better. Newer strips have a higher density on them so it's less of an issue. However, running a CCT strip and an RGB strip can give some options for certain applications.
 
Jeremy140 said:
Hi. I am with Armacost Lighting. Thanks for the interest, FOG!  We appreciate your support. As a thank you, you have a no limit, 20% off coupon when ordering on our website. Use FESTOOL23 at checkout or the link below. It is valid through the end of February, 2023. Enjoy!https://www.armacostlighting.com/discount/FESTOOL23
Click to expand...

[member=79503]Jeremy140[/member]  Thanks for the 20% off coupon...that's certainly nice. [smile]

I went to your website but couldn't locate any aluminum extrusions, do you offer any?
 
I have 12v ac under cabinet lights from the early 90s powered by a landscape transformer.  The lights are the bayonet type similar to auto pushins. Is there a converter led driver that I can power and replace the existing bulbs with leds?
 
[member=167]neilc[/member] They are 5-packs of 1m / 39".  Total length is 16.4'. Thanks for your interest!
 
rst said:
I have 12v ac under cabinet lights from the early 90s powered by a landscape transformer.  The lights are the bayonet type similar to auto pushins. Is there a converter led driver that I can power and replace the existing bulbs with leds?
Click to expand...
[member=25351]rst[/member] I can't speak to other brands, but most LED lights run on DC.  Most likely you would need to change out your transformer too.  The good news is the technology has come a long way since the 90's!  The latest LED's output much cleaner light, run cooler, use less electricity and last 10,000's of hours. If you need configuration Technical Support, you can reach out to our support team here -https://www.armacostlighting.com/pages/contact
 
eschumac said:
+1 for the extrusions. I've found versions that take a double strip. In the past this was handy to get two offset strips to blend the light better. Newer strips have a higher density on them so it's less of an issue. However, running a CCT strip and an RGB strip can give some options for certain applications.
Click to expand...

FYI, there are new "COB" (chip on board) LED strips that completely solve this problem.
 
rst said:
I have 12v ac under cabinet lights from the early 90s powered by a landscape transformer.  The lights are the bayonet type similar to auto pushins. Is there a converter led driver that I can power and replace the existing bulbs with leds?
Click to expand...

Oh that'll be an interesting journey... [smile]

1. You first need to identify the base type.https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/led-light-bulbs-universal-finder

2. Then you need to decide on the LED emissivity direction, LED brightness and LED light color. This is an example of the options available for a 194 wedge base LED.https://www.superbrightleds.com/led-light-bulbs-universal-finder/wedge-base-bulbs?base=85357https://www.amazon.com/194-led-bulb/s?k=194+led+bulb

3. Once the LED bulb has been chosen, then you need to determine the current load of all of the LEDs which will then dictate the size of the driver you need. I exclusively use Mean Well AP Series or LP Series drivers both indoors & outdoors. They are small, inexpensive and reliable as all heck. I purchase them through Mouser.
https://www.meanwell.com/productSeries.aspx#tag-6-24
https://www.mouser.com/manufacturer/meanwell/

Having said this, you'll probably find it will be easier and cheaper to pull out the existing lighting and substitute LED strip lighting instead. The advent of strip lighting has really changed task lighting over the last 6-7 years, driven down the expense and increased the availability.
 
rst said:
I have 12v ac under cabinet lights from the early 90s powered by a landscape transformer.  The lights are the bayonet type similar to auto pushins. Is there a converter led driver that I can power and replace the existing bulbs with leds?
Click to expand...

In most cases you can simply get an LED bulb off Amazon that can fit the socket without changing anything.
 
I ordered three of their 12" long LED lights in 4K color.  They snap together end to end either directly or with adapter wires to turn corners.  Installed them under the tool cabinet over my bench.  They work well.  The transformer comes in either a dimmable or non-dimmable version.  I ordered the non-dimmable version.  I liked that both the load and line inputs are screw-based so you can cut the power cord and the cord to the LED strip to fit the installation.

Recommended!

 
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