Under cabinet lighting suggestions

[Rupp]

Guys,
What are you using for under cabinet lightning? We are remodeling our cabinets and I want to redo the older flo's that are present.

[Pete]

Here I have kitchen cabinets in the garage and have been using these little puck 120 VAC LED lights for a few years now.

I have left them on 24/7 now for some 3-4 years and they have worked fine. Not sure if they dim.

I put 2 of these per double cabinet and 1 of these per single cabinet.

They are modular with 120VAC connectors. They do not dim but guessing the new ones do.

I did run the wire to an electrical box with a switch and never did change the switch to an automated one.

This is a bit easier than using the 12VDC with transformer.

Googling found these:

120VAC Puck Lights

here is an Ebay sale on 7 sets of three lights.

[randy]

Guys,
What are you using for under cabinet lightning? We are remodeling our cabinets and I want to redo the older flo's that are present.

I used LED strip lighting, with a strip at the rear (near the wall) and a strip about 2/3 toward the front. They are controlled by modded Kichler Z-Wave devices I found at Amazon, but they could also be controlled by PWM outputs from an Arduino.

The strips are 12V 60LED per meter and a 5 meter strip is about $8.



The Kichler dimmers are designed to be part of a system, but I supplied them with 12VDC then attached a MOSFET to drive the LED strips. The MOSFET can easily control 4 amps or more without a heatsink. They can be manually controlled at the cabinets or controlled by HS events.

I turn them on at sunset to about 30%, then they become nightlights from 11PM until dawn at 5%. My wife loves the look and appreciates the soft night lighting.

If you want pictures or more details on the modifications, I can put something together.

[Rupp]

I should have stated that I already have 120v at each spot connected to a switch so I think I want to stay with this unless a retro fit to low voltage would be easy.

[randy]

I should have stated that I already have 120v at each spot connected to a switch so I think I want to stay with this unless a retro fit to low voltage would be easy.

That is the same dilemma I face with the bar in the basement. I haven't done it yet, but I am thinking about bypassing the switch and using the same as I did in the kitchen. The reason being is that I like the dimming and the total energy consumption is about 5 watts at full brightness. When they are used as nightlights they are well under 1 watt.

The other option would be under counter LED pucks, but they would be fixed brightness. If you already have dimmer controls, the pucks that Pete referenced might be the best.

[NeverDie]

If you have glass shelves, you can edge light the bottom glass shelf with a strip of LEDs to create "invisible source" undercabinet lighting that simultaneously uplights into the cabinet also.

[Pete]

I made a little utility section in the basement by the sump pump. There are three shelves adjacent mounted on the cement wall. First shelf has the backup sump pump battery. Underneath it I did mount little 12VDC strips of LED lights from LG Innotek. Did get a deal and purchased a bunch of these but only installed 6 sets of these 3 LED lamps. They are mounted under the shelf that holds the battery in place. They have a nice light and illuminate the two well tops in that section of the basement. These too are on 24 / 7. I do not dim these and these have been on now 24/7 about a year now.

LG Innotek



12V Warm White LEDs

A customer comment on these LED lamps.

A customer from Tampa Bay
Bright warm white LED module
I used 10 of these to re-build 2 "Ott-Lite" fluorescent floor lamps. They are very bright and show a slightly yellow tinge to the light. Running them on a small 12v switching wall wart. 5 modules draw 105ma. These are made for the commercial sign industry from what I can find. I found the mfr's spec sheet but it does not show the max DC voltage rating. It just say 12 vdc. They seem to be fine at 13.6 - 13.8 vdc.

[Rupp]

I found this kit and wonder if I could still use my switch in the wall to just turn the power to the transformer on and off? I could then use the existing romex (disconnected from the power of course) to route from one side of the sink to the other?

[Pete]

Without really knowing the way its wired; and it looks relatively easy. I do not see an issue with using existing romex to pass the LV for it as long as its not with HV in boxes. Just a guess here.

[rmasonjr]

I use led strip lighting from amazon and a transformer controlled by z-wave outlets.

Sent from my SCH-R970X using Tapatalk

[Rupp]

I use led strip lighting from amazon and a transformer controlled by z-wave outlets.

Sent from my SCH-R970X using Tapatalk

So Rob you use a non dimmable Z-Wave switch to power your transformer? Is this hard on a transformer powering it up and down? If not this is the route I may go.

[sparkman]

So Rob you use a non dimmable Z-Wave switch to power your transformer? Is this hard on a transformer powering it up and down? If not this is the route I may go.

Hi Greg,

I do the same with LED strips bought at Costco for my cupboard lighting. No issue with the transformer.

Cheers
Al

[rmasonjr]

So Rob you use a non dimmable Z-Wave switch to power your transformer? Is this hard on a transformer powering it up and down? If not this is the route I may go.

Outlets are relay - no dimming.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 4

[Rotech]

I made a little utility section in the basement by the sump pump. There are three shelves adjacent mounted on the cement wall. First shelf has the backup sump pump battery. Underneath it I did mount little 12VDC strips of LED lights from LG Innotek. Did get a deal and purchased a bunch of these but only installed 6 sets of these 3 LED lamps. They are mounted under the shelf that holds the battery in place. They have a nice light and illuminate the two well tops in that section of the basement. These too are on 24 / 7. I do not dim these and these have been on now 24/7 about a year now.

LG Innotek



12V Warm White LEDs

A customer comment on these LED lamps.

Great find pete, did you pay a lot for these?

[Rotech]

If you want pictures or more details on the modifications, I can put something together.

Rprade, I like the kicker dimmer device you found. Did your device come with LED? Can you post more detail about your install?