Layers of Light - Undercabinet Task Lighting

Posted: 14 October 2011

As designers, we always speak about the various “layers of light” that a space should have.  A kitchen is no different from other spaces in this regard.  General, ambient and task lighting are musts for a room that gets as much use as our kitchens.

 

If you have never had undercabinet task lighting, once you add it to your new kitchen you will wonder how you ever lived without it.  It will dramatically change the look of your kitchen.

 

No matter how many ceiling fixtures you have in your kitchen you end up standing in your own shadow when working at the counters because the wall cabinets create a dark shadow area.  

 

Undercabinet lighting eliminates these shadows, and directs light directly onto your counters,  creating abundant light to help you see what you are working on in the kitchen.

 

Additionally, granite and composite stone materials look their best when they are highlighted by direct beams of light. This makes the crystals within the counter sparkle like a diamond in sunlight.

 

After they see this demonstrated in our showroom, most clients opt to include undercabinet lighting in their projects.

 

There are  three types of lights available and  each offers different features and attributes.


  1. Fluorescent under cabinet lights are the least costly, most energy efficient, produce very little heat and are fairly easy to install.  On the negative side, they cannot be dimmed and, typically, produce a cool light that some feel is a bit industrial. 
  2. Xenon  or halogen lights, with their attractive warm light, are also energy efficient, but do produce significant heat.  This is a consideration because they are installed on the underside of cabinets that can contain food that could be affected by the constant heat.  You may also find it diminishes the shelf life of food kept on the counters directly below the light.  Xenon fixtures can be dimmed and are moderately priced.
  3. LEDs are the most energy efficient of the three choices. They are cool to the touch, and give off a brilliant white light.  Manufacturers have recently come out with dimmable versions to compete with the xenon fixtures. While the bulbs are expected to last about 50,000 hours (or almost 6 years ) the cost difference for the fixtures is about 5 times more than Xenon and fluorescent alternatives. 

 

Once you have selected whether you want to use choose fluorescent, Xenon/halogen or LEDs, there are some choices about how many to use, and how to have them installed.

 

There are very low profile surface mountable  fixtures available ranging from just under 15/16” to 1 ¼” in height that easily fit in the recessed bottom of framed cabinetry, and these are a common selection.  Mounting the lights towards the front of the cabinet maximizes the lighting on the work surface.

 

There are three popular mounting options:

  1. Mounted in the recess of the bottom of the cabinet, with light rail. As designers, we like to add a bit of trim (light rail) along the bottom of your wall which adds to the custom look of your kitchen and helps cover the light.  Typically you get one for each wall cabinet, and they come in widths like 15”, 18”, 21, 24” 30, 33”, 36” .
  2. Mounted in the recess of the bottom of a framed cabinet with a deeper recess. (no light rail needed) In situations where a cleaner line is preferred, and you are ordering custom cabinetry, the depth of the recess beneath the cabinet can be increased  to accommodate your lights perfectly.  Again, you would get one for each wall cabinet. 
  3. Mounted on the flat bottom of frameless cabinets. Frameless cabinets are typically made with a smooth bottom which necessitates the need for light rail so that the surface mount lights don’t show.  The nice thing about continuous bottoms is the option to purchase and install longer length fixtures that overlap adjoining cabinets. In this case, you might get lights that cover two or more cabinets.  For example, if you have two 24” cabinets, you might get a 48” length.  For even lighting you want at least one every 30".

 

Switching or Dimming

The benefit of a full kitchen remodel is the ease with which the lighting in the space can be custom designed  exactly your specifications.

 

Typically the individual undercabinet lights are hard wired and linking together, operating off of one switch in a location that makes sense for your space.

 

If you are just doing a facelift and don’t have access to run new wiring behind existing backsplash tile or down through your wall cabinets then a plug-in model may be your best option.

 

But if you are doing a full kitchen remodel, you can get separate switches and dimmers for decorative pendants and chandeliers, recessed ceiling fixtures, undercabinet lights and even interior cabinet lights.

 

Alternately, all these fixtures  can be controlled by a programmable lighting system such as a Lutron Grafik Eye.  These control all the lights and their intensities from one location. You can set up "scenes" so that with one press of a button, various lights are turned on and dimmed to a specific level. Having the Grafik Eye also eliminates the need for a big bank of switches (and the resulting confusion about which switch operates which lights.)

 

Regardless of how you switch them,  you will be amazed by the difference undercabinet lighting makes in the feel and fucntionality of your kitchen.

 

 

 


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