I still haven't found lighting that I'm satisfied with. I tried the rope lighting, but I hate the multiple (several sections of cabinet) heavy cords snaking down to the outlets. Originally, I had chosen rope lighting to avoid the pools of light from puck lights reflecting off the granite that Evilbunnie mentioned. But since the rope lighting didn't work out, I picked up a couple of battery-powered, LED puck lights and tried them, but the light is bluish and doesn't look very good. Then I got some of those cheap, battery-operated *moon* lights (pop lights, push lights, whatever varied names they go by) to try. They also don't give off much light. If they gave off more light, they would work fine for me. I guess I'm spoiled by the flourescent bars that my mom has in her kitchen -- but hers are installed behind a front piece that hides them from view (too late for me to do that, plus I have long, 42-inch cabs and wouldn't want to lose the counter clearance). The heat factor on the xenon lights does worry me a bit. It may not be a realistic worry, but it would make me nervous about it possibly causing a fire. Yes, my backsplash is already installed. In fact, at this point, I'm going to have to live with what I have for a while. But what I'd really LOVE to find is rope lighting that's battery-operated and gives off plenty of warm, yellow glowing light. Sigh. A fantasy, I know. Doesn't exist. Oh well, I can dream.... ;P But now that I'm fantasizing...one of the salesmen in Lowe's mentioned that he has xmas lights in his kitchen instead of rope lighting. Think that would work? It would probably be much easier to hide the cord. (The rope lighting has THICK white cords, xmas lights generally have thin, dark green wiring.) Would it be *safe*?

stpindell, They are not up against the rail - if I recall he pretty much centered them (front to back). Not sure what standard is but with these the bulb is set in a recessed reflective cavity so it spreads out evenly front to back. If the light is just projecting down (and not out) as it does with some product you would want them more forward. momorichel, You can see in this pic how in the reflection on the backsplash the light broadens out as it lowers (I hope): That's very kind, we are nearly done and not too over budget - seems like the money should have gone further but not a lot of sweat equity in this one. lexluthor, That's the exact product in my pictures (except my Mom's are white and just the singles). I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop but I actually had two electricians look at them and both thought they were fine. They are line voltage so they aren't as energy efficient as some but because of the design you don't need nearly as many either (or as many bulbs). They have all the same advantages of other Xenon product (whiter more natural light, brighter, longer bulb life, cooler running temp).

We have just had our undercab lights installed, and I couldn't be happier. Through this AMAZING forum, I found a reference to Environmental Lights in California. I was interested in LEDs, but very leery of the light quality/color. Long/short, we ended up ordering MaxLite LED strips from them. These are warm white (2700K -- I was very particular about that, cuz I can tell the difference with so called warm whites that are 3000K). They are dimmable. They do not require transformers or 'drivers' -- they connect to 120V. They come in 12" lengths; we got the ones with 33 bulbs/foot, which is 200 lumen output. They look fabulous! Better even than I'd imagined... The electrician, who had never installed them, was thrilled...said they were incredibly easy. And Environment Lights was terrific to work with. You can buy a sample -- one 12" unit with a plug, to see what it will look like. You can (maybe should) bypass your local electrical supplier, and definitely bypass the bigbox guys. Re spacing: I just bought them to run the lenght of the cabs to the nearest foot increment. They are not very big...maybe 3/4 of an inch?...so they tuck right behind the frame at the front edge of the cabinets. Could not be easier. Here is a link that might be useful: Environmental Lights -- Self-Driven Dimmable MaxLite

I just had the Xenon under cabinet lights installed. Highly recommended by a trusted long time electrician. They do burn warm no question. To the point where if you have them wide open for 10 minutes, you will burn your hand. There is a high low switch on each fixture which I have not played with which could cool them down a bit. These lights are on a dimmer. My only concern is what is this heat doing to my new cabinets? Having said that, he is installing Xenon lights in multi million dollar houses for people that have unlimited budgets that can afford anything. It seems that most people, including myself, like that warm light that the Xenon gives off vs the cold light that the best of LED's offer. This electrician, who can install any light he wants, uses them and said that he has not replaced a bulb in the last 4 years of steady use. The light temperature is beautiful and does not cast a flare of light that many LED's do. Hope that helps someone...