Undercounter Lighting Recommendations?

[Ba r r y]

Are there still American bulbs?

Barry

[John Flatley]

We used hockey-pucks under cabinet lights in our previous kitchen. Both Halogen and Xenon. 115V and

12V with transformers. We felt these tuna-can style were more for decorative effect than task lighting.

When we remodeled (new everything) our kitchen, we had the GE Premium fluorescent light fixtures installed under the cabinets for task lighting. We had flood light cans put in the ceiling. and the GEs under the cabinets.

We have an interior kitchen; there are no windows in the kitchen itself. There is little natural light available. However, with our lighting scheme using the GE Premium , we found the colors are good, food looks good and there are few, if any shadows. These old eyes really love all the heat-less task lighting.

The GE premium fixtures are available in several thicknesses and lengths at your friendly home improvement centers.

No commercial ties to GE.

Jack Jacksonville, Florida

-- I've learned that an insatiable curiosity is important to never feeling old.

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[dgadams]

I have a buddy that bought a bunch of white LED's (light emitting diodes) and wired them up for his under cabinet lighting. It turned out great, but I'd guess that fluorescent bulbs are more efficient. I've seen some commercial LED lights recently, but they are expensive.

D. G. Adams

[HerHusband]

I tried the puck type lights but didn't care for the little spots of light on the countertop. They also ran rather hot.

Instead, I chose low profile fluorescent lights. I got mine at Home Depot, in the fluorescent light section, not with the other undercabinet lights. I think mine are made by GE and are their "premium" line. They come in various lengths and are fairly expensive (about $40 for a 2' long light), but they put off a nice even band of light and turn on instantly without any flicker. They're only about 1" thick, so they hide easily behind the face frame of the upper cabinets. They also run cool, so I can set a chocolate bar or something in the upper cabinet without fear of it melting from the light.

The fluorescent lights came with a cable that plugs into the wall, and the other end goes into the light. You can plug it into either end of the light, so it's really flexible. They also come with a connector cable to daisy chain multiple lights together.

I used four of these lights in our kitchen and plugged them into outlets I have connected to a light switch. I can flip one switch and turn all four on.

I also used two of these lights in my home office, but opted to just use the rocker switch on the lights themselves to turn them on/off.

Hope this helps,

Anthony