T4/T5 Undercabinet Flourescent Installation

16 years ago

We doing our own wiring in our new house, and have chosen T4s from Pegasus for undercabinet lighting. We've had T5s in our last remodel and loved them. We are at the rough wiring stage.

My question is: These are small fixtures, and the connections cannot be made inside the fixture itself. The Pegasus website tells me we need a hardwire box. Has anyone used this? How does the box mount--inside the wall, or inside the cabinet, or is it somehow exposed under the cabinet?

When we wired these in the last kitchen we didn't need to satisfy an inspector, and just ran the connector cords behind the walls/cabinets to connect one fixture to the next.

On the link below, click on Accessories to see the Hardwire Box.

Lastly, could you show us pics of what the T5s/T4s look like from underneath, and how the wiring/connector enters the wall?

Thanks so much! Any tips are appreciated!

Here is a link that might be useful: Microfluorescent T4 from Pegasus

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Comments (5)

boyurboy
16 years ago
I am not an electrician, so feel free to ignore this...

Looks like the larger hardwire box is meant for inside a cabinet or wall, whereas the smaller (1.5" high) box is meant for undercabinet. you cannot bury a junction box like those in the walls. You could put the larger in a wall with the face exposed like an outlet box, but then you have a blank that you have to look at when all is done.

The wire will come out of the wall directly into the box, and then you can run the connecting wires from fixture to fixture underneath the cabinets.

- Jon
hostalover67
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, Jon. This is sorta what we thought about the hardwire box.

Has anyone seen the T5s or T4s installed with the hardwire box? I'm wondering how visible it will be under the cabinet, or if we should just put it inside the cabinet...
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We also had considered many different brands of undercabinet lighting for our remodel. I didn't want to purchase an item that I couldn't see in person, so I ended up taking the easy route and installed hard wired GE Premium (green box) T5 fixtures (48", 36" and 23"(?)) from Home Depot. Our light trim is also 1.25" and the fixtures are well hidden. There is a different GE line, blue box--I think also called Premium which can either be plugged into a grounded outlet or hardwired with a small hardwire box (like the Pegasus in your link) although the profile may differ. We are very pleased with the GE fixtures. Hope this helps.
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birkie_2006
16 years ago
I had T4 micro fluorescents installed last week with the hardwire box with the rocker switch. I've attached a link to some photos. The box is screwed to the bottom of the cabinet at the wall. From eye level you cannot see the box or lights, even though my light rail trim is a very narrow 3/4 inch. However, from a seated position I can see the light brackets and the box, but it doesn't bother me at all. If you do not want to see the box or lights, I think you would need a light rail trim piece below the cabinets of at least 1 1/4 inch.

The romex from the wall ended up serving the T4 hardwire box and an outlet box, so you see the larger outlet box for the microwave also under the cabinet in the corner (long story).

You might be able to put the hardwire box in a cabinet (if code allows)if you connected to a wall switch for on/off and don't need the rocker switch. To do that you would then need to measure and buy the a flexible connector cord to drop down through the cabinet to the first fixture. All the fixtures connect butt-end to each other and give a very nice line of even light.

The lights also come with a plug in cord. If code allows, you might have an outlet in the cab, or on top of the cab and run a flexible cord down through/behind the cabs to the fixtures. For all practical purposes, that outlet box would need to be on a wall switch.

It's really hard to photograph these lights in a way that does them justice, but we absolutely love them.

Here is a link that might be useful: T4 micro fluorescents undercabinet lights
michelle32
16 years ago
I am thinking of ordering the same undercabinet lighting. Are you ordering the warm white color? I am assuming this is right because it would be the least blue.
User
16 years ago
I didn't use Pegasus but my GE uc fluorescents required a hardwire box. I made the mistake of drilling a cabinet and losing the space in it to house the box. If it were just mounted under the cabinet it would have been concealed by the light rail and I would have an unobstructed cabinet.

T4/T5 Undercabinet Flourescent Installation

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T4/T5 Undercabinet Flourescent Installation

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boyurboy

hostalover67Original Author

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