Under kitchen cabinet lighting tech?

[look 171]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Yep, she can't stay in the local Home depot for long. Flickering flourescents bring on her migraine headaches. I thought it was bunk at first. So, in the name of saving power, the feds have mandated all flourescent by 2013? We plan on spending a bundle in order to lay in a lifetime supply of incadescent before hand.
Actually, on the Xenons, even I can notice the flicker when the dimmer switch is turned down low...

are they low voltage llamps? IF they are, then you should use an electronic dimmer to dim them. If not you will encounter buzzing and flicker.

[JavaBrewer]

Our kitchen came with under cabinet mini florescents in the kitchen. I really disliked the color (a blue/white) and the slight flicker they gave off. I replaced them with the Hampton Bay puck lights. I tapped into the existing power and ran it to the top of the cabinets and put the puck lights up there as well. Also added a couple puck lights inside the cabinets that had glass front doors. All my electrical connections occur in several elec boxes on top of the cabinets. Following that I went "puck crazy" and added them as accent lights to several of our furniture pieces that had glass/display/iron work on the front. I'm probably running 18 of these suckers at any given time.

It looks really really nice and the light from the Halogen bulbs is much warmer and inviting. They do produce heat and some bulbs seem to last a year where others last 2-3 months with nearly constant use when we're home. Bulbs are $5.00/each.

This is a very low cost approach though over the years you will spend some money on replacement bulbs and I'm guessing these turkeys burn more juice than the alternatives. I also replaced all our ceiling can light bulbs with Halogen versions. The difference in light quality is astounding. Again I'm probably paying for it in my monthly electric bill but to me it's totally worth it. YMMV.

[trekkor]

I've installed fluorescents many times on my projects.
They are really good, inexpensive, easy to install and provide good lighting.

Use the longest fixture that will fit and as many as you can.


KT

[f3nr15]

I've bought a few of these to install in to our (impending) new kitchen for counter-top lighting. I like them bec each individual light has a switch, which allows you to illuminate just the bench space that you are using at the time. These can be daisy-chained as well.



Our top cabinets will have frosted glass doors, so I've gone with a set of LED lights to illuminate the cabinet interiors as a bit of a display piece; having LEDs there will avoid heating up the cabinet interiors and the contents thereof, as opposed to halogens.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by look 171

are they low voltage llamps? IF they are, then you should use an electronic dimmer to dim them. If not you will encounter buzzing and flicker.

Hmmm, these are wired into a regular switch panel...the dimmer is just a tiny knob that slides up & down...is this electronic? I'm no electrician, but all of the kitchen remodel was done by licensed and union folks...

[DByers]

Paul,
Even though the lighting you have is wired directly to a 120v dimmer, there is probably a small in-line transformer to run the Xenon lamps. This small in-line transformer is either magnetic (core & coil) or electronic (circuit board). Electronic is more then likely what you have. The way they dim is different and in turn require a dimmer that works properly with the type of transformer/ballast.

Standard dimmer = good for 120v incadescent lamps up to its stated wattage (600w) Humming can be an issue with low quality lamps when dimming.

Magnetic Low Voltage Dimmer = good for incandescent loads that are "low voltage" (12 or 24V) and use a magnetic transformer (large and heavy) up to its VA rating. Humming can be an issue with both lamps and transformer if low in quality.

Electronic Low Voltage Dimmer = good for incandescent (xenon and other inc.) loads that are low voltage (12 or 24v) using an electronic transformer. Wattage capacity of the dimmer is usually restricted to smaller loads, 450w or less. Humming is usually not an issue with transformer do to its solid state nature. Larger combined electronic loads should be on their own circuit to address nuetral overload issues.

Fluorescent Dimmer = Used in conjuction with special dimming ballast to dim fluorscent loads. Flickering on start up and at low level dimming can be an issue if not on seperate circuit.

LED Dimmer= This one can get tricky depending on the type of driver the LED's are using and the amount of load. Dimming down to 20% is about the most you will achieve. Consult with the LED manufacture as to what type of dimmer they recommend. Most dimmer manufacture will not recommend you dim LED at this time as they can not achieve full range dimming.

You are probably now really confused.

[pwd72s]

Thanks Dan...you got it...confused. Think I'll just let things be, not mess with Cindy's kitchen.

[look 171]

a good time to look is when you go and change the burn out bulb. If it has a little box like thing the primary wires go into and a bunch of wires out to the bulbs, then more then likely you have a low voltage system. Go to an electrical supply house and buy a low volt dimmer and maybe you problems will go away. Just because they are electrican, that does not mean they know or waht to put in the right stuff. line voltage dimmer is $10-15 bucks. electronic low voltage dimmer starts around 30 dollars. Line voltage dommer will work, vut for how long and most people do not hear the buzzing. I have come to the terms that most trades people do not read (instructions), don't care, and usually are not too detail oriented. I just finish a custom kitchen for a buddy who's in the Porsche business. He used his friend / electrican (union) to wire the house, I demanded low voltage dimmers in the kitchen for the recess lights. I pulled the switch out today just to check on his work. Guest what? Home depot look alike special for $19.99. The one I wanted is closed to $70.00.

[pwd72s]

Thanks gobs guys. Have the printer working for future reference...it has the little box thing & a bunch of wires, so looks like low voltage...

[RWebb]

FWIW - my Zenons are full voltage (into the box at elast) and do not dim


Feds mandated that cheap, common incandescents die - NOT that only fl. will be sold. Halogen bulbs are fine and by 2013 I hope we are mostly using LEDs.

I was in Jerry's today (the local giganto hardware store) and noticed you can get LED battery operated pucks now for under cabinet. That way you don't hassle with the AC feed. But you do have to change batteries...