Not an expert, but 1300 seems way high for fluorescent lights - is there some incrediby difficult wiring involved? Dying to see what others say.

We didn't install UC lighting but our home is entry level in an average part of town with 8' ceilings; the kitchen is now U-shaped and is about 11' x 14'. The remodel was budget-conscious and practical. We spent a lot of our budget on changing the layout, removing one large window and adding two smaller windows, and all the construction that involved.

The kitchen now has two windows facing south and a window facing east. We also put in six 5" can lights (four on the counter perimeter and two in the middle of the room). At night there is no significant shadow while working at the counter. Overall the lighting is so much better than the old kitchen that I don't feel like I'm missing UC lighting. That said, our two main prep areas do not have upper cabs over them and do have can lights shining over them.

The big splurge was a Vent-a-hood liner with an 18" fluorescent tube and the custom surround to enclose it. The light from the hood is quite sufficient for cooking on our 30" slide in range. We don't have a pendant over the sink, but the ceiling lights flank the sink and it's well-lit during the evening. I do remember how dark the old kitchen was and this is better.

So, in summary my experience is that if you don't do a lot of prep in areas with upper cabinets and the ceiling lights are strategically placed and it's not neighborhood standard, I don't think UC lighting is necessary.

I am not a professional and this was my first major remodeling experience (my parents kitchen still dates to the year their home was built, save for the refrigerator and kitchen faucet). :-)

Yes - I would not be without them. I've had fluorescent and xenon strips and I prefer xenon. That does seem expensive for fluorescent - the fixtures are not that expensive - must be alot of labor.

I agree with gibby3000 - they are absolutely worth it and I would never ever have a kitchen without UC lighting again. Been there done that. Having said that, I can't comment on your price quote as mine were included in the total price of my redo. I do know that electrical work is way expensive -as in the labor, not the fixture costs.

HTH,
MaryT

We have fluorescent and I'm not a big fan of under the cabinet lighting, but I would do it.. my husband does like it. But since we are DIY, there was no reason not to and I would do it, when possible. We bought ours at United Electric as I didn't like the HD and other stores - I found it better to go to the Electrician's store directly. Does that include the lights - I want to say ours wer $30-40 each - you can get them cheaper, but we only needed a few. I could see maybe $700-800 depending on the size of your kitchen. On the other hand, we got a huge quote for electrical work so we did ours DIY.

Whenever I hear fluorescent strips I think of a particularly ugly fixture in my garage. I am very sensitive to humming noise from ballast, so I think I'm going to rule that out.

Another question: what is the difference between halogen and LED lighting (energy efficiency, amount of light, complexity of installation, etc)?

Under-counter lights are definitely worth installing, especially during a remodel or build. I do not like the fluorescent because you cannot control the light output. I would put in halogen or xenon. Most of those fixtures have a high and low switch, or the 120v can be installed with a dimmer for complete control. We love ours for accent lighting.

Dale p

Your GC is smoking something unless your kitchen is absolutely huge or he has to fish a ton of wire. You can price the lights on Pegassus Associates (I got the "thin inch" lights". I love my lights. When I walk in the kitchen and they are off something seems wrong with the way the room looks. I have undercabinet lights, 11 cans, 3 island pendants, a double light over the sink and lights on the Ventahood. The fluorescent get used more than anything else. I use the cans the least.

I agree with Sue. I have purchased five T4's for undercab and eight T5's for overcab, and my total with all connectors etc was less than $500 from Pegasus.

On the off-chance you are in California, you have to consider Title24 for kitchen lighting so will need lots of fluorescent.

Fluorescent ballasts have improved greatly over recent years, so humming should not be audible if properly installed (or so they tell me). Look for electronic ballasts rather than the older magnetic ones. If you decide to use non-fluorescent, watch out for fixtures that heat up enough to warm the upper cabinets significantly. Some folks unexpectedly discovered melted chocolate in their uppers :-)

Good luck ! Hope you manage to chip away at that $1300 ...

We have xenon undercabinet lighting and love it for task lighting. Even when you think there is enough light to do something, you turn it on and discover you really needed to illuminate the project.

One caution, they do get a little warm. I try not to leave them on longer than necessary under my spice cabinet, to avoid ruining the spices.

LEDs are a pretty new option. The industry in general seems to be run by geeks more than designers. A lot of the LED fixtures I've looked at put out a very blue, almost industrial light.

LEDs aren't all that way, but be careful.

I didn't get UC lighting because I have very little area that needs more light and because I thought the rail along the cabinet bottoms would not go well with my sleek contemporary look and with frameless cabinets. I do regret it in one corner and am looking for a lamp.

I put in a set of 5 halogen pucks myself for $60 plus maybe $20 in electrical supplies. So I'd agree, sounds like a ton of $$ - especially as an add on to existing planned work. Considering price quotes I've taken for other work, I'd estimate an electrician would have wanted about $400 for labor to do what I did. Your GC already has the electricians coming on site anyway right? So adding that much for JUST the UC lights sounds nuts.

- D

I'd never be without U/C lights, assuming I had upper cabinets. I do have fluorescent, and they were probably $160 total for three 3 footers, one 2 footer and one 18"er. The install was DIY, but I cannot imagine that it could take a professional electrician more than about 2 hr total. They were more expensive than a lot of fluorescents, but there is no hum, no delay lighting up, and no flicker. I went with fluorescent because I live in CA, they were inexpensive, and dont get hot!

We put in xenon undercabinet lights and I've probably used them about 5 times in about 3 years. We had fluorescents in our old kitchen and I used them quite often but in the new kitchen I find the lighting more than adequate without them. I would probably put them in again with the philosophy of erring on the safe side but if I had a tight budget it would definitely be one of the first things I would drop. But the key here is that the other lighting is more than sufficient.

Anyone install Juno Trac 12 under or over cabinenet lighting?

Canuck99 - I have the Juno Trac12 xenon undercab lighting. I absolutely LOVE them. But they were pricey - significantly more than their competition, at least when I was buying them. The largest part of the cost is that the transformer is separate, and the transformer is expensive. Other xenon strips have the transformer built-in, which reduces the price. One thing I really like about the Trac12's is that they are open strips. I have never had any heat problems from them, and I have been told that open strips are preferable to closed strips (i.e. covered) because the open ones will not trap heat.

Bluekitobsessed - here's my little summary, FWIW, of undercabinet lighting, with the exception of LED's which I don't know much about:

Halogen pucks - run very VERY hot. There have been reports on this forum of scorched cabinetry, or food melting from the halogen pucks. And pucks will reflect circles of light on your counter rather than the more even lighting of strips.

Fluorescent - they make much more modern improved versions than the ghostly pallor thick tubes we all remember. The Pegasus Associates Lighting T4's and T5's are particularly well-regarded because they are thin, and their ballasts are so good that they don't buzz. Also, the bulbs come in different "color temperatures" so that you can choose one that will have a more natural light instead of the ghostly pallor (see the Pegasus link for more explanation). Fluorescents run cool, too. However, they are not dimmable.

Xenon low-voltage strips - a very white light. Also the bulbs have really long lives. I've had mine 3 years, and haven't had to change a bulb yet. As I mentioned above, it is more expensive to buy the xenons that come with the transformer separate, as in the Juno Trac12's. Kichler makes well-regarded xenon strips with the transformer built-in, in two styles, the closed and the open. I recommend the open because they do not build up heat. Xenons are dimmable. I have mine on dimmers (the dimmer switch is a low-voltage dimmer, and cost about $35). I really like being able to adjust the light from very high for task lighting, to low for mood lighting, like after dinner over coffee.

HTH.

First lights on in the morning and last off at night are the UC fluorescents. Best lighting in the kitchen, IMO! Energy efficient, cool, and pleasant to the eye. Forget the horror stories of old. I can't imagine the need to dim an UC fluorescent light. By virture of its location it's pretty much a none issue. Keep doing your research. I have 7 21" Kichler fluorescent UC lights at at cost of $30 each. Installation is additional of course.

$1300 for under cabinet flourescents is outrageous!!

I agree with natal 100%. I've had under cabinet flourescents in my kitchen for 19 years. One in particular burns 24/7. I've had to replace the bulb once.

You guys ROCK!!! Thank you!!!

Aren't they great? I, too, appreciated the advice. We're thinking about switching out our fluorescents. We have loved them with our laminate counters, but we're looking for something that will bring out the color of our granite more and not reflect a big ugly white box.

One thing, with a big price like that on your under cabinet lighting, you may want to double check some of the other prices that he has given you!