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Electrical Wiring

Advantage of low voltage cabinet lighting?

16 years ago

We have recently installed permanent wooden curio/display cabinets in our home and need to add lighting. The cabinets have glassed doors but are not particularly airtight; they will be used mostly for my wife's collection of glass. I have seen both low voltage and 110v cabinet lights at local home centers. What is the advantage of one over the other? Is there any danger, heat or electrical, of using one or the other? We have access to the tops of the cabinets, since the room ceilings are very high where they are, and have already provided some rough-in wiring there.

While on the subject, some of the tops of these cabinets are fairly high (8')--is there any sort of lighting that will light up the contents well but not glare too much in the eye? The light needs to make it through the contents and about 6 glass shelves to reach the lowest level.

Any help would be appreciated.

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Comments (2)

DavidR
16 years ago
The main difference I can think of between line and low voltage is that the latter is more efficient for relatively low light output (dim). That means slightly less waste heat, but the difference isn't dramatic.

If you don't need much light, how about LED rope lighting around the door frames? Then you'll have almost no waste heat.
brickeyee
16 years ago
Low voltage has better vibration resistance.
This can be important in kitchen cabinets, but is not as likely to be meaningful in a more 'display' type environment.
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