I did it myself - took about 6 hours for 6 lights. If it takes him that long, that's about $200 per hour onsite, which is high but not outrageous (doesn't including drive time, incidental parts, etc.)

It's not a hard job, but it is a meticulous job. If it is the first time you have done electrical work, I'd get someone who knows what they are doing to get you started.

For my DIY job, I used low voltage Xenon lights:

http://www.csnlighting.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=ALI2110&refid=FR19-ALI2110

The good thing about low voltage: you can run the wires in your cabinets and still meet electrical code. The bad thing is that you need a place to permanently mount the transformer, and you need to run electrical to the transformer, and you need to do that to code (fully enclosed junction box, conduit, etc.).

For me, the most lengthy part was emptying out the cabinets so I could run the wiring, drilling, and routing the wires. Also, the wires were not long enough, so I had to splice wire. I had to drill holes in the cabinets for the wiring runs. I ran all the wires directly inside the front of the cabinets (I have face frame cabinets) and used stick-on tie downs for the wires (can get these at Home Depot). If you have frameless, Euro-style cabs, it may be more difficult to hide the wiring.

Also, make sure to mount the lights closer to the front of the cabinets than the wall. You want the light to be approximately at the midway point of the countertop, or about 12" from the wall, so it shines on your hands, not on the back of the counter.

>>>Also, make sure to mount the lights closer to the front of the cabinets than the wall. You want the light to be approximately at the midway point of the countertop, or about 12" from the wall, so it shines on your hands, not on the back of the counter.I should have said about 10" from the wall. Most upper cabinets are 12" deep. I mounted mine about one inch back from the front of the upper cabinets.

Vate, does this sound right to you?

I don't mean to hijack, but I think my experience may help people reading this thread wondering about UC lights and how they work.

I have Xenon undercounter lights that are either plug in or direct wire. We are doing the latter - and are in the middle of the reno - kitchen is fully demoed.

Yesterday I stopped our electrician (who is my hubbys best friend who does commercial work, not residential). He was about to install a junction box with a plate under every single one of my under counter lights. He said they have to come through a box to meet code. They can't come straight out of the wall.

I called my cabinet guy and he said almost every job they've done has come straight out of the wall. He said when he arrives for cabinet install, it looks like a small hole in the sheetrock at 55" above finished floor with about 1.5 ft of wire in a pigtail hanging out of the hole, waiting to be hooked up.

I wondered what a transformer was for if the wires can go straight through the wall into the light - why would anyone want a transformer? Is it used if you want your lights to be mounted more toward the middle or front - but if you mount them in the back you don't need the transformer?

>>>I wondered what a transformer was for if the wires can go straight through the wall into the light - why would anyone want a transformer? Most lighting in your house is powered by standard house voltage: 120 volts, AC, 60Hz. By code, no cable carrying house voltage can be run through a living space without conduit, either a metal box (like you sometimes see attached to concrete walls) or the round metal bendable conduit. This is why most cable in your house is in the walls. When you open an outlet or switch, you see cable coming into those boxes that carry house voltage. Again, by code, any connections have to be in an approved junction box.

Low voltage under-cab lights solve this problem. Because they use 12 Volts DC, the wires that carry this (not at all dangerous) voltage can be run without conduit, or not behind walls. The problem is that you have to convert your house voltage (dangerous 120V AC) to the 12 volts these lights need. To do this, you need a transformer.

In my case, I decided to put the transformer in the valance above my sink. This places it out of the living space, but accessible if it ever burned out. Here is a picture during installation:

The yellow cable is house voltage, coming from the switch. In this photo, I have it temporarily connected outside a junction box (which I added later). From the transformer I ran six low-voltage cables, one for each light. I ran these cables inside the cabinets. Here is what the underside of one of my cabs looks like:

You'll see that I just tied the wires up with these sticky pads, which hold them out of the way.

From your description, I don't know if your lights are low voltage or house voltage. If they are house voltage, then I suspect your electrician is right - each place where they exit the wall they need a junction box.

BTW, below is the final result of the valance, buttoned up and hiding the transformer and wires: