For the longest time, I was convinced that halogen is the king of lighting, and LED's were 2nd-choice at best. They seem brighter when you look at them, but the light gets weaker with distance - given a 20-watt halogen bulb vs a "20-watt equivalent" 1-watt LED bulb, the halogen bulb would provide more light --at the work surface--. However, it looks like the LED technology is catching up fast. The range hood I got has 4 1-watt LED bulbs, and they provide more than enough light for the cooktop. There was a choice between this model with LED's vs halogens, and even though it was a bit more expensive, I'm glad I went with it. It's a pure white light, which matches the rest of the kitchen lighting, and it's completely cool - I can leave the hood on for hours, and the temperature of the bulb never changes. Also, in the long term, the energy $avings and the longer bulb lifetime offset the initially higher cost of LED's. So, former skeptic convinced, my vote is for LED's over halogens.

In an urge to buy LED bulbs and other such lighting equipments one should not neglect the quality of the product one is purchasing. These products are usually good, power saving and environment-friendly. If there really have occurred instances where interference of remote controlling has been noticed, allegedly because of the usage of such products, or where the wattage has not been satisfactory, then, you definitely need to compare your purchase with other similar products. Your product might be lagging behind in terms of quality. Here is a link that might be useful: Buy LED Bulbs

Yes, they definately should have been closer to to the upper cabinets from what you describe. My kitchen installer marked the plan with the measurements that would make the lights center on each upper cabinet but be as close to the cabinet as possible. You want the light between you, standing at the counter, and the upper cabinet so you do not throw a shadow on the counter you are working at, which is what happens if the light is behind your head. Think of it this way, your base cabinets with counters are at least 25" deep (24" deep cabinets with 1"+ counter overhang. Your upper cabs are only 12" deep. You want the cans in that 12" space over the countertop. I had them put mine just a couple of inches beyond the upper cabinet. That way, even if I am bending my head forward or leaning over a little, none of the light is blocked and there is no shadow over the counter I am working at. UC lights are great for lighting the area under the cabinets, where the upper cabs cast a shadow. Using both, you would be amazed at the difference in lighting, and will end up with true "task" lighting with no shadows. I would think the areas on both sides of the range are prime work spaces that will need something. Even without upper cabs, if the lights are behind you, you are going to be working in shadow. Flurescent UC lights do not get hot at all. Even pucks or leds would help, although the pucks do get hot from what I understand, another reason I chose not to use them. Sue

It's important to note that a mixture of lighting options allows us to select which ones we're going to use at any time, which in turn helps cut the BTUs and the bill. It's a mistake to wire a room to be very bright in all corners at all times when all that's necessary sometimes is one or two bulbs for reading the paper at the island. One of DH and my goals was to make selectable lighting. Our house tends to be quite dark in the interior even when the exterior walls are lighted by windows, so we tried to work this out. A couple new or improved doorway openings will help. We have planned a lot of new lighting--perhaps too much. But we will be able to leave much of the room dark-ish if we want it so. We like the term "task lighting" and have employed it. We spent a lot of time asking ourselves "what lighting will we want when we ____" and we tried out a lot of scenarios: walking through the space and returning again quickly; working for hours at the peninsula; eating at peninsula; eating at table; washing dishes; etc. We tried to avoid overkill by choosing a range of lighting types and sites. Example: a single 2-bulb ceiling light over the main corridor section alongside the kitchen, the "walk through and leave" light, which will also serve for "go get the salt in the kitchen" trips. But our decisions also required a lot of wall switches, esp. because we can enter the space through 5 different doorways. My wallet is glad DH was the electrician.