Under cabinet lights

[Ralph Morris]

What brand of lighting do u cabinetmakers use under the cabinets? How many do u put under one or space from one light to another? How many "hockey puck" lighting does it take on one transformer? Dimmers? Where is it located?

[Wes Bischel]

Ralph,
I've installed the hockey pucks before - and that's about all they are good for - hockey. :( I'm sure there are good sets out there, but the type the borg sells have cheap transformers which go bad quickly. The number of lights per transformer depends on the wattage of the bulbs - 6 10w or 3 20w - something like that. Only took two or three years and there I was going through all the contortions to uninstall the hockey pucks then re-install new lights.

I did see line voltage (no transformers) halogen lights at the blue borg which should last - though bulb life might be an issue.

Do yourself a favor - spend the bucks for good undercabinet lighting from a lighting distributor, it's cheaper in the long run.
FWIW
Wes

[Jamie Buxton]

I used to use the hockey pucks, but found they have two drawbacks. First, with 20W bulbs in them, they get very hot -- so hot that you can feel the heat on the top side of the shelf they're mounted to. I've even had cheap ones distort themselves so much the lenses wouldn't stay on. Second, with 20W bulbs in them, they are visually hot. That is, they make spots of bright light on the countertop, and 20 inches away it is pretty dark.

Instead, I've become a big fan of things generally called linear lighting. Seagull makes a good system which you can see at http://www.skandalights.com/linear11.htm. They're kinda like track lighting in that you get to put lamps wherever you choose. However, this track plus the smallest lampholder has a cross-section of 3/4"x3/4", so it fits neatly under the kitchen uppers. The great thing about them is that you use 5W bulbs, and install them every foot or so. That spreads out the heat on the cabinets, and spreads out the light so you don't have the dark spots.


One other suggestion....
Many cabinet uppers have bottoms which are some dark color. The dark color absorbs light like crazy. I like to put a maple "lid" on the underside, finished clear. It reflects any light that is under there, and so helps prevent shadows under the uppers. It also can cover any wiring you're running to the lights, and can conceal the transformer you'll need to run low-voltage systems.

[Jim Becker]

I used a low-profile, mini tack system from WAC Lighting under our cabinets in the kitchen. Low voltage with Xenon bulbs. I didn't need to add any additional "shielding" to hide it and the light distribution is very even and flexible.

[Ralph Morris]

Jim Becker, tried to log on W.A.C. but they said;"Thank you for visiting W.A.C. Lighting. Our site is still currently under construction."
Jamie Buxton, my brother-in-law has those hockey pucks and I did notice the heat. He didn't have a bunch of them under the cabinet but one under each side of the sink. I have a long run of cabinets and want as many lights, but as you say "heat" it would put out too much. Track lighting, you could put as many every three inches apart (is that right?), how is the heat? Dimmer on those?
My wife isn't big on ceiling "can" lights, I do like them to be shinning down the cabinets. Any of you guys have those "can" lights?

[Jim Becker]

Ralph, I bought the WAC stuff from http://ylighting.com/index.html.

[Ralph Morris]

Ha! You're quick!

[Jamie Buxton]

Track lighting, you could put as many every three inches apart (is that right?), how is the heat? Dimmer on those?
My wife isn't big on ceiling "can" lights, I do like them to be shinning down the cabinets. Any of you guys have those "can" lights?

Ralph ---

Notice we're talking about lights in terms of wattage? Well, watts is also a measure of heat output. In fact, most of the electrical energy you put into incandescent lights of any kind comes out as heat; only a small amount comes out as light. For all practical purposes, four 5W halogen bulbs put out the same amount of heat and the same amount of light as one 20W bulb. However, with the four smaller bulbs, you get to spread out the heat source, and spread out the light source. Because you spread out the 20W of heat, in gets applied to a larger area of lumber, and the temperature rise near each bulb is smaller than at the 20W bulb.

Yes, you can put a dimmer on low-voltage halogens and xenon bulbs. Standard dimmers -- the kind that goes in a wall box -- need to be compatible with the kind of power supply you have between the 120 VAC and the 12 volts running the lamps. Some power supplies are true transformers. Some power supplies are actually electronic switching power supplies. Figure out what kind of power supply you have, and buy the appropriate dimmer.

There is also a cute kind of dimmer which is often sold with these low-voltage lamps. It combines the power supply to run the lamps, a dimmer, and a touch control. You connect the touch control wire to any convenient piece of metal, like a hinge. To turn on the lights, you just touch the hinge. To change the lamps's brightness, you touch the hinge again. Typically these have three levels of brightness plus off. One source is www.wwhardware.com. Look for part number WKA6553CS.

A third approach to dimmers is to not do it. Just use a switch. Kitchen lighting isn't mood lighting. It is work lighting. Nobody is going to say "ooo, this room is too bright." Heck, if you build the room and it feels too bright, relamp with lower wattage bulbs. Dimmers are just another thing to break.

As to your question about can lights in the ceiling, I like them. However, IMO, they aren't very useful on counters which have upper cabinets above them. If you put the can lights directly above the counter, they make shadows under the uppers. If you pull the can lights away from the uppers so they can light further under the uppers, your body shadows the counter. I put can lights anyplace there aren't uppers -- above the sink, above a central island, or the like.

[Dan Mages]

I have puck style lights under my cabinets with mixed results. They do provide a good ammount of light, but if left on, they do get hot on the bottom shelf of the cabinet. I spent a good ammount of money on them, so I will keep them for now. I might check out that strip lighting for future upgrades. For extra kick, I ran a rope light above my cabinets to provide a small ammount of indirect lighting in the kitchen.

Dan

[Chris Padilla]

I am using some Halo brand cabinet lights...seem to work well thus far....

[Ralph Morris]

Dan, rope lights inside of the crown molding? Looks like you have "tin" ceiling! I like those too!