What is the busiest room in your home? While some would say the dining room or living room, most would agree that it's the kitchen. Regularly people eat three times a day. Because of this, if you're in charge of cooking, you spend more hours in your kitchen than in other parts of your home!
Good lighting is essential for you to maximise the functionality of your kitchen. Say you only use one general lighting, and your kitchen is built with cupboards above your countertops. If you have a lot of natural lighting going in during the day, you may not notice it, but at night, you'll see many shadows looming over your working station when using that single lighting source.
As you draft the plans for your new kitchen, aside from the flooring, appliances, cabinetry, and wall colour, don't forget to map out your kitchen lighting system. Too dark, and you'll be surrounded by shadows, but if you make it too bright, your kitchen will look like a hospital room!
To create the best ensemble, combine overhead lights (ceiling surface mounted or recessed) with pendant lamps (for extra glamour) and under cabinet lights (to increase functionality)!
There are various under cabinet lights that you can find, including LED, strips, puck, battery-powered or hardwired. It will take hours to research each, so to speed things up, here's a complete guide about under cabinet lighting!
Benefits of Under Cabinet Lights
Before we move to the benefits, know that under cabinet lighting is the fixture you install on the underside of an upper wall cupboard. It can serve as task lighting for meal preps and ambient lighting for socialising. Now, moving on to the benefits!
- Under cabinet lighting can increase the light quality in your kitchen by supplying illumination to the area where you work – on the countertop. If you're utilising overhead lighting only, you'll be swamped with shadows within the place where you're slicing, dicing, and chopping!
- Adding under cabinet lighting improves your working environment! With the additional luminance floating within your kitchen, the space and your mood brightness up, making work less exhausting and more pleasant!
- Installing under cabinet lighting is really easy! You don't need to mount it during renovations or in the early phase of the build. Even if you have a fully furnished kitchen, you can install them!
- Putting under cabinet lights can lead to electricity savings because you don't have to turn on all of your lamps. The savings will increase even more if you use an LED option and have different sections of lights in varying switches!
- Excellent lighting systems can increase the value of your home. So, incorporating under cabinet lights early in the game will enable you to enjoy its functions while you’re still residing in the space and raise the selling price when you decide to sell!
Variety of Under Cabinet Lights
There are three main categories of under cabinet lighting: linear, puck and integrated lighting. Linear lights are, as they sound, a long strip of small bulbs attached to a slender case or a single long tube. Some are encased in rope, tape, rigid metal, or plastic strips. Rope lights are ideal for extended sections, whereas tape lights are suitable for shaped areas.
On the other hand, puck lights resembles a slim, hockey-sized disk. Typically, puck lights are battery-powered and have an adhesive backing. This variation is excellent for small areas or zones without a plug.
Alternatively, integrated lighting is the customised version, and you need to include it during the design phase of your space. This is the most seamless option, but it can be more expensive as it's tailored to you blend in your room.
Voltage and Power
When it comes to powering you under cabinet lighting, you have three options: hardwire, battery or plug-in. Hardwiring means connecting your fixtures directly to the switch on your wall. You can either have separate control of your under cabinet lights or zone it so you can turn on/off an area in your room!
Battery-powered under cabinet pucks and strips are the most renter-friendly installation. Although, the most significant disadvantage you'll experience is the occasional changing of batteries, and you'll have to switch them on/off individually. The only way out of the single switching on/off scenario is to look for sets of lights that can be managed by a single remote control.
Plug-in under cabinet lights are fittings that you add a plug at the end and plug into a socket. If your kitchen counters have built-in sockets, this type of installation may not be a bad idea. However, hardwire or battery is probably better if there's no empty socket near your counter.
Usually, under cabinet lights are either mains powered or low-voltage. For a mains powered fitting, it runs at the same voltage as the rest of your home, so you can wire or plug it in directly. Alternatively, a low-voltage fixture will need an LED driver to convert your home's energy to match its voltage requirement. While low-voltage under cabinet lights may require more work, they're smaller, more energy-efficient and last longer.
LED Under Cabinet Lights
LEDs are not the only type of under cabinet light. There are fluorescents, halogens and others, but LEDs are the most outstanding variations you'll find!
One of the main reasons why LEDs are the better choice is it's energy-efficient. It will enable you to see your workspace clearly without charging you a lot when your monthly electricity bills arrive. Also, by nature, LEDs don't get too hot (just a little warmth). Since you're attaching it to wooden cabinetry, non-heat producing is the most reasonable choice!
Yes, LEDs can be more expensive than traditional under cabinet fittings. However, it consumes less power, lasts longer and is more sustainable!
Under cabinet lighting is a worth-it addition to your home. It'll make your everyday routine easier and eventually give you a good investment return once you decide to move on to your next home. So, if you're ready to get yours, visit our website, LED Supplier! We have an extensive collection of not just under cabinet lighting but also downlights, strip lights and other lighting necessities!
