We redid our kitchen in 2009 and I STILL haven't decided what to do with my under and over cabinet lighting. We originally had a fluorescent box over the island and hard-wired 4-48" T12 (1 over the desk/over area and 3 over the main run of cabinets and some smaller fluorescent UCL (don't remember what). Halogen was too hot and LED wasn't ready for prime time yet so we put 2 of the old T12 fixtures back up top (the other 2 had croaked) and made due while waiting for LED to improve and come down in price. In the meantime I've been busy with other things and just kept putting it off but I NEED TO GET THIS DONE (so I can move onto the bathroom and a new deck)!

I currently have 4 Cree CR-6 (?) in recessed cans on one circuit, 2 pendants over the island on another circuit and a pendant over the sink on another. All are on currently on non-dimming 2-way switches. There are 3 windows, a french door 2 skylights in a sloped ceiling of the nook to the right of the sink that bring in light duirng the day too. While I definitely miss the UCL, the overall light level really isn't bad. I usually just turn on the recessed lights and maybe the upper lights (2 old T12s) when I'm actively in the kitchen and I leave on one or the other when we're in the adjacent family room. I seldom use the pendants except in the middle of winter when it gets dark early.

I have three circuits with existing romex wire available for the UCL and cove lighting:

• Cove: a 6' and 17' on a single 3-way switched circuit
• Desk UCL: 45" on a 2-way switch
• Prep UCL: ~ 11' on a 2-way switch

The light rail is 1 1/16", 1 9/16" trim above cabinets. We have a basement below, garage to the back and laundry room behind the prep area on the right.

I had (almost) decided to use T4 or T5 tubes up top because they were much less expensive, easier to install and they have the same or, in some cases, greater efficiency than the LED strip. Then I crunched the numbers for 23 feet of cove lighting for T5s vs several strip versions from Environmental Lighting and my original T12s got this:

• original 4 T12s is 160 watts and 10400 lumens but there were gaps

• T5s would be ~168 watts and 13300 lumens, overlaping slightly so no gaps

• 3528 60 LED/M strip (80+ CRI) is 35 watts and 2714 lumens

• 3528 120 LED/M strip (90+ CRI) is 79 watts and 6348 lumens

• 5050 60 LED/M strip (85+ CRI) is 70 watts and 6854 lumens

I've read that a lot of light is lost to the fluorescent fixture so I don't know how it would compare to LED in the real world but that sure seems like a lot more lumens and wattage (with no dimming and the mercury) for the T5s. OTOH, I don't remember the T12 being excessively bright but it's been ages since we had all 4 T12s working and the current bulbs are as old as dirt.

So...now I've decided to do all LED but I can't decide on: what brightness I need for the cove and UCL, whether I should have dimming and whether I need a diffuser for the UCL.

The upper cove lighting is the most likely to be used because there's a 3 way switch as you enter the kitchen from either side and it covers more of the kitchen. I like the idea of using the 60 LED 3528 at only 35 watts but that's only 2714 lumens. When I think of that as 3-4 bulbs it seems bright. But when I compare it to my prev T12, it's only about the output.

If I went with the brighter 5050s, do I really need a dimmer for that? The dimming power supplies are huge and expensive, especially for a long run like that.

Is there any reason I would need the brighter 5050 or 3528 for the UCL? It seems like I would need a dimmer if I went with that. I have a leftover piece of the bright 3528s from another project and I was trying to test it in the kitchen. It seems pretty bright but It's hard to tell because it's so floppy.

How much light do you expect to lose with a diffuser on the UCL? My granite isn't real dark and I don't think I'd mind the dots. Won't you just swap a reflection of a strip of lights for the dots with a diffuser? Or is the reflection dimmed down enough that it's much less noticeable?

Here's a pic of the kitchen.

I know most of this comes down to personal preference but I'd love to
hear the real world experiences of other people, especially anyone with
similar wood cabinet and granite colors so I can FINALLY finish this
project!

Thanks!