What is undercabinet lighting? Undercabinet lighting is a type of lighting installed underneath cabinets and other surfaces to provide task or accent lighting in small, dark spots. Installed under kitchen cabinets, this can make your whole kitchen seem warmer or livelier. Installed inside curio cabinets, it can highlight your treasures. An undercabinet light in a closet can help you when choosing an outfit for the day.
Other places to think about adding undercabinet lighting include under the sink in the kitchen, above windows, inside china or kitchen cabinets, in entertainment centers, and above or below paintings.
Bar Lights
To light an entire undercabinet area, the most effective lighting unit is a bar light. These units can range from about 9" to 36". They will include a series of light bulbs set evenly inside a rectangular bar. A glass covering helps diffuse the light from the bulbs, giving even coverage to the task area. They are available with transformers if you want to plug them into a wall outlet. There are three main types of undercabinet bar lights, depending on which kind of light bulb they use.
Fluorescent Undercabinet Lights
Fluorescent lights are probably the most cost effective undercabinet units to install and use. All you need to do is decide where to mount the unit, follow the instructions for drilling in the mounting screws, and plug the unit into the nearest wall outlet.
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Fluorescent lights have many advantages. Fluorescent undercabinet kits are inexpensive and widely available. They come in a variety of lengths, making it easy to find one that suits your needs. They are also Energy Star compliant.
The main disadvantage to fluorescent lights is that they sometimes flicker or glow in a way that can be tiring to the eye. You can cut down on the glow by using lower wattage bulbs.
Halogen Undercabinet Lights
Halogen lights provide very bright, intense light. This makes them excellent for undercabinet task lighting, since you can really see what you're doing. Also, the color of halogen light is very close to sunlight, which makes the light easy on the eyes.
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However, halogen light bulbs can get hot and require special treatment. Touching them with your fingers can cause them to burn out, as the oil from your hands reacts to the materials of the bulb. Another consideration is that halogen lights burn hot, so they can be unpleasant if you need to work closely to the light.
Xenon Undercabinet Lights
Xenon lighting units are often more expensive than fluorescent or halogen lights, but they have many advantages that outweigh the cost. They last up to five times as long as halogen bulbs, while giving off a natural cool light. They don't have the flicker that fluorescent lights can have. Like halogen and fluorescent lights, xenon bulbs use much less energy than standard light bulbs (which are bulky and unsuited to undercabinet lighting).
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Puck Lights
Puck lights are small round lights that mount under cabinets to give a bit of accent light. Each individual puck light is about an inch and a half tall and about seven to eight inches around. You can install a single light as an accent, or mount a number of puck lights in a row to light a wider area.
Halogen Puck Lights
Halogen puck lights use halogen bulbs. Some halogen puck lights are designed to be plugged into a wall outlet and have a transformer included to change the standard household 120 volts to 12 volts. Halogen lights are very bright and get hot. You need to make sure they are spaced widely apart.
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Xenon Puck Lights
Xenon puck lights have all the advantages of xenon lighting units, with the added bonus of being small and easily mounted. Unlike halogen bulbs, xenon bulbs do not require special treatment when installing or removing. In addition, xenon lights are cooler than halogen lights, making them more pleasant to work around.
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Installing Undercabinet Lights
When you're installing undercabinet lighting, you'll need to decide whether you want to use direct wiring or plug into an existing electrical outlet. If you are building or remodeling, then direct wiring may be the better choice, since it will keep your outlets free for other uses, such as kitchen appliances. However, not all undercabinet lights are rated for direct wiring, so be sure to check the manufacturer's instructions. It is very important to follow correct electrical codes, since incorrect wiring can lead to electrical fires.
If you are adding lights after the walls are finished, then your best bet is to use systems that plug into an electrical outlet. You can run the lighting wires over the wall, tacking them into place. You will need a transformer to change the current from 120 volts to 12 volts, but most undercabinet lighting system kits will include a transformer.
Once you have the transformer set up, you can often add lights to the system using an
interconnection cable.
Direct Wire Units
If you want to install a direct wire unit, look for xenon direct wire lighting kits. These will free up your electrical outlets, while providing long-lasting lights with great energy savings.
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Plug in Xenon Lights
There are plug-in xenon light kits available if you don't want to make a major electrical installation. These have the advantage of convenience and allow you start saving energy without making large changes to your home.
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Puck Light Kits
Puck lights also come in kits, which include transformers, allowing you to plug the lights into a standard wall outlet.
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Recessed Puck Lights
There are some recessed puck light kits available. The advantage of putting in a recessed light is that there are no wires running across the wall or ceiling. The disadvantage is that you need to cut into the surface where you plan to mount the lighting unit. This is even more problematic if you are installing the light underneath a cabinet.
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Price Range
Lighting strips vary according to their length and number of light bulbs. Halogen lighting strips range from about $20 for a one-light unit to around $80 for a three-light unit. Fluorescent lights vary widely, starting at $10 and going up to $130. In general, the longer the fluorescent light, the more expensive. Xenon lighting units range from around $25 to over $100.
Xenon puck lights run about $15-$20 for a single light. They are slightly less expensive if you buy a multi-light kit. Halogen puck lights are a bit less expensive, but may not last as long. A halogen puck light is less than $10, and you can buy sets of three for around $20.
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