Does warm-glow under-cabinet LED lighting really exist?
Ivan I
11 years ago
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motherof3sons
11 years agolisa_wi
11 years agoRelated Discussions
XK LED Under-Cabinet Lighting Experience?
Comments (15)Not at all too much. For my prep area next to my cooktop where i chop i have 2 close to the front edge of the cabinet, aprox a 2" space between to connect them, and one set back right in the middle. When i did my mock-up and had the quantity for that run it seemed natural to use them that way. The counter on the other side of the stove is more of a resting area since it is out of the triangle of stove-sink-fridge and not used for prep, just coffee area. It does not appear brighter or different, just clean without any shadowing. I gave up on lumens. The others i brought home and tested did not give me at all what was claimed...two different Lowes and a horrible Costco one that buzzed and affected other lights in the home and made the receiver hum. (i have no idea what those brands were as this was some time ago) . I found Amazon a great source of info by using their reviews. My other run is on a dimmer 1-4. On one, it is a perfect ambient night light. I rarely give reviews unless i have had a product for at least one year and this has performed well for us. Just a bit fussy to install....See MoreDoes your under cabinet lighting heat up the cabinet interior?
Comments (15)We also have xenons (Kichler, 12v direct wire w/ 18w xenon bulbs - about 7 units installed under our cabinets about a year ago) and, while the cabinets directly above do get warm, they do not get hot. That's to be expected given that these are incandescents and will produce heat that will be absorbed into the cabinets if left on for long periods. Ours are not dimmable but they do have a high/low switch and we keep it on low - unless the lights are being used to illuminate a task. Will they damage wood cabinets? That depends on the wattage, the transfer rate of heat to the wood (which could be influenced by the design of the fixture and/or how it's mounted and the degree of air circulation) and how long the lights are left on. It might be enough to discolour some finishes or even bubble up some veneers directly above the lights (depending on the adhesive used - but I would expect that this would be extreme) but I wouldn't worry about anything truly wretched here - provided the light fixture is not overly enclosed. Last year, I spoke with our cabinet supplier about the choices and they overwhelmingly recommended xenons. FWIW...See MoreNeed Help with LED Under-Cabinet Lighting Choices
Comments (6)I don't know how the IKEA LED strips compare with the non-IKEA ones but I wasn't drawn to them, and I'm pretty pro-IKEA and value driven (as opposed to low-cost driven, that is, I love lower cost but only if it's a good value). I suspect they are just LED tape strips, and I had decided I wanted bars and not tape. As for installing lights inside a piece of furniture, have you considered the stick-on lights that you can put anywhere and that are either battery-operated (so you can swap out batteries when the lights dim) or LED? They are usually sold in 3-packs at Bed Bath, Home Depot etc. and are not expensive, we put them inside our last kitchen's dark cabinets and they really kept us sane when looking in the back (and in our new kitchen we only did drawers and pull-out cabinets on the deeper bottoms, and regular cabinets up top, so we don't have that issue anymore). Follow up - I wavered between Environmental Lights and Juno, both with a dimmer, and ended up having the Juno's installed and decided I hated them, but couldn't afford to uninstall them and install the Environmental Lights, so returned the Environmental Lights and lost a restocking fee and shipping but was impressed with Environmental Lights overall and how they were helpful and customer service oriented and would seriously consider buying from them in the future - but I can't speak to how the lights would have looked or worked. As for the Juno's, I now fairly well love them, they are fully dimmable piece by piece and turn off piece by piece so the look is customizable from hour to hour, and when all 3 fixtures are turned on at the wall switch and fully "on" the light is brilliant and dramatic. So I'm fairly happy with them but not thrilled with Juno overall - the Home Depot dimmer-dial model I bought has NO diffuser which really hurts the eyes when used with a shiny quartz countertop (I used the Environmental Lights diffusers out of frustration), and Juno's customer service people had no fixes and no suggestions for this problem, and basically wash their hands of these models since they are the "Home Depot brand". Plus Environmental Lights responds to emails on weekends and Juno has no customer service outside of business hours. Overall while I like the Juno lights fine, I prefer Environmental Lights as a company....See MoreUnder Cabinet Lighting: Xenon vs. LED
Comments (24)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......See MoreIvan I
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