Under cabinet lighting question

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subman

Member
Location
Monmouth County
I will be installing undercabinet lighting in the near future for a client and haven't done many of them. Looking to get an idea of the on the type to install. Thinking of LED's, hardwired, dimmable.

Any suggestions on the easiest/best type to use? Thanks for your help.
 
Kichler modular LED UCLs

The Design Pro line is decent and the remote jbox/power supply makes locating your switch legs easier. The page I linked shows fixtures and additional parts. The only advice I have on these is to back the mounting screws out entirely when you begin installing them.
 

JFletcher

Senior Member
Location
Williamsburg, VA
We've used 12V tape strips cut to length, wire (20/2) run to a j-box (typically in the crawlspace), spliced all the leads together, then run the driver to them. Dimmer switch controls receptacle the driver is plugged into, or you can hardwire the 120V side.

There are systems like this that have all the parts needed.

The connectors to the tape strips vary greatly in quality/ease of use. Member James L could probably point you in the right direction for the best connectors for the strips. The connectors that are like a hasp/fold over are imo much better than the slide-in type with the small locking tabs.

There are also lens/diffusers for the LEDs as some people do not like the pin-point glare off of the countertops
 

SceneryDriver

Senior Member
Location
NJ
Occupation
Electrical and Automation Designer
We've used 12V tape strips cut to length, wire (20/2) run to a j-box (typically in the crawlspace), spliced all the leads together, then run the driver to them. Dimmer switch controls receptacle the driver is plugged into, or you can hardwire the 120V side.

There are systems like this that have all the parts needed.

The connectors to the tape strips vary greatly in quality/ease of use. Member James L could probably point you in the right direction for the best connectors for the strips. The connectors that are like a hasp/fold over are imo much better than the slide-in type with the small locking tabs.

There are also lens/diffusers for the LEDs as some people do not like the pin-point glare off of the countertops

I work for a company that does LED tape light boxes as a large part of its business. Our experience with any type of press/slide/clamp connector for LED tape has been terrible. Short version: they all suck, and you'll get callbacks. Soldering to the tape's pads is the only reliable way to go. Takes a little longer, but you have to destroy the tape to fail the connection. A short piece of heatshrink tube over the connection dresses it up a little, but is unnecessary electrically.

Get a good temp controlled iron, and rosin core electronics solder. Tin the wire, tin the copper pad, and reflow the two together. I prefer the old-school lead-tin solder, as it melts at a lower temp and flows better. The lead-free solder can be a pain to work with, but OK with a little practice.

Also know that the peel-n'-stick adhesive on the back of LED tape doesn't hold well, long term (or short term, really). Hot glue can work, but has its own issues with the higher power tape, which gets warm enough to slightly soften it. We use these to mechanically anchor the tape, roughly every 8" or so.

http://products.hollingsworth.com/p...ACCESS/V2 Item images/CTAM-anchormountweb.jpg

A single screw, and they act as little tabs that keeps the tape in place. If tape is placed in a diffuser lens, it may slide into a "track" in the lens back, without the need for any adhesive at all.


SceneryDriver
 
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ceknight

Senior Member
Don't know if you can find them but I've used The lighting Division Grace LED strips. Low profile strips in predetermined lengths. Wire with 18-2 wire to driver location and dimming is available. Website sucks but here it is http://www.thelightingdivision.com/residential.html

I've installed quite a few Grace systems, I like them and they're about as close to a locally-manufactured UCL we can get around here. It helps that they're on display at the local supply house, so I can send customers in to look at them.
 

tbakelis

Senior Member
I've been using 12v tape for a couple years now. As long as you clean the bottom of cab before sticking... I've never had one peel off
 

chris1971

Senior Member
Location
Usa
I will be installing undercabinet lighting in the near future for a client and haven't done many of them. Looking to get an idea of the on the type to install. Thinking of LED's, hardwired, dimmable.

Any suggestions on the easiest/best type to use? Thanks for your help.

Try Diode LED tape lighting. Great product. Easy to install.


https://www.diodeled.com
 
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