Where To Buy Under Cabinet Lighting
Ever noticed the areas you use the most - kitchen counters, office desks, laundry folding stations, work benches - have the least amount of light? The cabinet itself casts a shadow, making these spaces with the most detailed activities less functional. Cabinet lighting is designed to illuminate these high-use surfaces, and a whole lot more. Consider these uses when designing your space to get the most out of your lighting plan.
where to buy under cabinet lighting
Under cabinet lighting provides useful illumination for everyday tasks, such as preparing ingredients, locating the right tool reading, sorting or measuring. It enhances highly functional spaces, no matter what time of day, while adding a touch of ambiance to the decor.
Cabinet lighting brings out the finer details of your cabinetry and surrounding materials. These fixtures and systems shed light on your intricate back splash and thoughtfully selected counter tops to give your design its due attention.
Light up the open spaces between the tops of your cabinets and the ceiling, creating the effect of higher ceilings while also providing soft accent lighting. Increase the aesthetic appeal and make the space feel larger.
Show off your decorative dinnerware or make it easier to access supplies in dark areas. Tape and channel lighting has a very special versatility from kitchen cabinets and pantries to the shelving in your great room.
Our 4U and 6U LED under cabinet fixtures can be installed two different ways: either direct wired for installation closer to the wall, or linked together using accessories for installation near the front face of cabinets.
So when I started dreaming up an under-cabinet lighting plan for our kitchen, I envisioned making a quick trip to IKEA or Home Depot, grabbing a few light strips, sticking them under the cabinets, and calling it a day.
Abby and I anticipated adding under cabinet lighting in the kitchen even before we moved into our house. In preparation for this project, we even had the builders install outlets on the inside of our kitchen cabinets at either end, wired to a switch by our sink.
Our original plan was to use the under cabinet lighting from IKEA, which is a type of pre-made LED lighting. Their under cabinet lights are high quality and low profile and can be combined in different configurations from a single power supply. They also have a color temperature (more on this later) of 3000K, which is exactly what I wanted.
Before I started this project, I was somewhat familiar with LED light strips. My son used some of these lights in his game room to light his computer desk with various colors and effects. Abby had also sent me a few tutorials she found online of people who use light strips for their under cabinet lighting in their kitchen.
Hi, Maureen! Everything is from Flex Fire LEDs. At the bottom of the post, there is a list with links to everything we purchased. You can see the installation process for the lighting in this post: -to-install-under-cabinet-lighting/ . I hope this helps! Have a great day!
Talk about a bright idea! Bright light fixtures installed directly underneath the kitchen cabinets illuminate the countertops below for safer, more functional food prep and brighter small-appliance storage. Under-cabinet lighting is also considered a decorative element since the lower height of the light fixtures can show off a backsplash pattern better, just as puck lights can highlight work spaces in the kitchen. Additional areas of light can make a kitchen appear larger or, when controlled by dimmers, they can contribute to overall ambiance. The best under-cabinet lighting brings greater efficiency to a cooking space, a bit of class to a kitchen, and even connectivity with smart-home devices for optimal control and energy savings.
The top-rated products below were chosen for quality, price, and customer satisfaction to help pinpoint the best under-cabinet lighting for kitchens. We performed extensive hands-on testing on each to help ensure the products lived up to their promises.
Fixed brightness feels out of place in our customizable world, making dimmers an important addition to an under-cabinet lighting system. By dimming the under-cabinet lights to a level suitable to the current use of the room, it can reduce the energy consumption and save on the electric bill. Dimmers can also adjust the brightness to suit the situation, sometimes as low as a night-light.
While initially costlier, LED bulbs outlast their counterparts by double or triple the time. They produce less heat (a big asset in the kitchen) and, on a purely aesthetic level, can create millions of colors on the spectrum. All these benefits make LED lights with the appropriate lumen rating (the unit of brightness measurement) the preferred choice of many consumers for under-cabinet lighting.
Halogen lights use a gas compound containing halogen vapor within the bulb. When electricity is run through the filament, the compound reacts to produce clear, white light. However, halogen lights get very hot and should not be used where they might accidentally be touched. Efficiency wise, halogen bulbs are a step above fluorescent bulbs (and several steps above incandescent bulbs), using between 25 and 80 percent less energy. They fall below xenon bulbs and well below LED lighting in most categories but are a good midrange choice that will provide decent lighting at a moderate cost.
The lumens for your under-cabinet lighting depend on where the lighting is being installed. Under-cabinet lighting for task-related areas like counters used for food preparation should have between 1,000 to 2,500 lumens to ensure you have plenty of light while cutting, peeling, chopping, or undertaking any other food prep activities. Under-cabinet lighting in the rest of the kitchen can range depending on your personal preferences.
While ceiling-mounted light fixtures get most of the attention, under cabinet lighting can be just as beneficial. By shining light directly onto a kitchen countertop, desk or garage workspace, these fixtures provide a clear, well-lit work surface. Anyone who has prepared food in a poorly lit kitchen can attest to how frustrating and inconvenient it can be.
A light bar or strip is one of the best under cabinet lighting options. It puts down a wide, uniform bank of light, perfect for lighting a workspace or kitchen countertop. This versatile LED swivel bar also rotates up to 90 degrees, allowing you to direct the light in a way that avoids shadows on the intended area.
If you love the idea of wireless under cabinet lighting but hate the thought of chucking used batteries into a landfill, these rechargeable Lepotec lights are the answer. Charge the batteries with the USB adapter and this two-pack of LED lights will light up your countertop (or the inside of dark closets, cupboards, etc, the uses are endless!). They also provide hands-free operation and a motion-activated night light.
Use this 24 watt adaptor to power extensions of your PureOptics under cabinet lighting system. Easily extend your system over breaks in countertops or past sinks and stoves by plugging this extra adaptor in and connecting with additional light bars, a motion sensor control box, and one or two jumper wires.
Under-cabinet lighting is typically added under a cabinet, shelf, or similar surface in order to produce localized lighting on a work surface. Under-cabinet lighting can also double as a night light.
Fluorescent lamps have good light color, color rendering, turn on instantly, and do not flicker. They have high efficacy, long life, and bright, uniform lighting, However, some fluorescent fixture designs are not small or narrow enough to be concealed without modifying cabinet trip molding.[2]
For wood tones, wood-colored tiles, copper-tones, or warm-toned walls, look for a light with correlated color temperature (CCTs) in the 2700-3500 K range. For glass tiles and shelves, look for CCTs in the 3500-5000K range. You should also look at the distance of the lighting requirement, where puck style better suits smaller width cabinets and linear styles suit longer width to maintain consistency and allow the lights to be linked together. [7][8]
In terms of useful life span, LED under-cabinet lights can last more than a decade, depending on the specific light you choose and how many hours per day the light is on. It's also important to compare the battery life of wireless under-cabinet lights. Many models rely on AA batteries and can operate for about 50 to 100 hours before running out of power."}},"@type": "Question","name": "Should under-cabinet lighting be warm or cool?","acceptedAnswer": "@type": "Answer","text": "The answer depends on your purpose for installing under-cabinet lighting. "Cooler-temperature lighting is great for task lighting because it's brighter, making it easier to see when preparing and cooking food," says Herrera. In that case, a cool daylight bulb in the 5000K range is the best choice. However, if you want a more ambient under-cabinet lighting option, pick a warm light with a color temperature in the 3000K range.","@type": "Question","name": "Do under-cabinet lights go in front or back?","acceptedAnswer": "@type": "Answer","text": "Most people install under-cabinet lights at the front edge of their cabinets, just behind the rail. This ensures that the majority of the countertop below receives illumination while still concealing the fixture. However, if you'd rather illuminate your backsplash as a focal point in the kitchen, then you could opt to install under-cabinet lighting toward the back of your cabinets. This results in reduced lighting at the front of the countertops, so it's not the best option if you're relying on the lights to enhance visibility on your work surface."]}]}] .icon-garden-review-1fill:#b1dede.icon-garden-review-2fill:none;stroke:#01727a;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-linejoin:round > buttonbuttonThe Spruce The Spruce's Instagram The Spruce's TikTok The Spruce's Pinterest The Spruce's Facebook NewslettersClose search formOpen search formSearch DecorRoom Design
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