Kitchen under cabinet lighting

tazman007

Hi All

Looking at lighting to go under the kitchen cabinets when the kitchen finally gets done. Right now, have got tube lights (fluorescent tubes I think), but am interested in getting LED spotlights for the new kitchen.

Question really is, will these be bright enough (looking to have about 3 spotlights to go under 3 wall cabinets). Anyone have LED lights at the moment and what do you think of them?

All thoughts (for and against) appreciated

Cheers

Jeannine

I'd also like to know people's views on the different types of lighting for under kitchen cabinets. I understand that LEDs might not give off the brightest light - what does anyone feel about halogen lights? How can we compare them? Any stores we go in never seem to have all the different ones on display!!

Mankysteve

While LED are the future there not ready yet. I personal think the Florence strip lights are best.

laney456

I'm very interested in this too.

Just had a kitchen fitted and looking to buy some kitchen cabinet lights. Look all over the net and just not sure what to get.

Seen some LED triangle lights, at Traditional Lighting Company..they have 21 LEDS per light.

The only other Lights I've seen are the LED strip lights.
..I guess the more LED's per strip...the brighter it will be.

Problem is I just have no idea how bright they are going to be.

Anybody fitted LED lights...how bright are they? Any pics anywhere?

laney456

Have a look at this website.... simplelighting dot co dot uk (sorry can't post links)

They have a range of LED lights & strip lights. The linkable strip lights 550mm lights have 121 LED's and there is a picture of them lighting up a kitchen. They look quite bright.

bockster

2 years ago i installed 2 sets of these;- http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00119419
the multicolour version, as undercabinet lighting.
i would say the light o/p, without the main lights on, is just about good enough to work under, but when set to white the colour is very unatural, not ideal when preparing food. they are best if you just want them for background lighting. the white version says 'warm white' so may be different.
hth
bockster

CKdesigner

Hi

We use these a lot, you can use the LED lamp fitting or the fluorescent one. Both provide more than enough light under the wall units.

http://www.sensio.co.uk/GX53-Energy-Saving-Kitchen-Lighting-85-2.html

chrisbawden

Hi, Hopefully I can be of help. I work for a lighting company (i wont post the link as I do not wish to be seen to advertise the company.. I do not think that this is aloud)

There are many many different LED lights on the market currently.

The problem is, that not all LED lights are upto scratch. There are many companies selling inferior products which puts people off buying.

If you purchase from the correct company what you will get is a fantastic LED product which is more then a suitable replacement for the old fashioned fluorescent & halogen. Infact, there are some LED products which are brighter than halogen and fluorescent.

We sell a few products which are absolutely fantastic;

LED Tape
LED strip lights
LED lightbulbs (Gu10 & Mr16)
LED Under cabinet lights, shaped lights like triangles, wedges (21 LED per light) like mentioned on a previous post.

LED tape is a sticky back product, ideal for under cabinet, shop displays, coving and recess lighting. The standard stuff we sell which is £15 per metre is bright enough to illuminate a worktop and the more expensive stuff at £45 per metre is super super bright!!

The LED Striplights, are very similar looking to Fluorescent lights and come in 3 sizes. 250mm, 330mm & 550mm these are a pretty much exact replacement in brightness to fluorescent lights.

LED Light bulbs, three types from £5 to £18.95 the more expensive is as bright as a 50w halogen in lumens and brightness.

Finally, the LED under cabinet lights are probally about 85-90% as bright compared the there halogen G4 type.

I suppose, the bottom line is... if unsure buy one and check it before a larger order. The company I work for only supply quality lights, we are not always the cheapest but we certainly provide quality, expert knowledge and a full 14 day return policy.

Remember the benefits of LED lighting are;

Ave 50,000hrs life.... no need to keep buying replacement bulbs at £2-3 per bulb
They run cool to touch.... so that there is no risk of damage to cabinets or burns
Energy saving..... between 10-15% of the energy used compared to those old fasioned halogen or fluorescents.

In the long term you get your money back and save money....

I hope I have helped people, and if anyone needs any help whatsoever I will be delighted to assist!

Thanks, Chris

ListysDad

My two penneth.

In my view, in terms of value for money GOOD LEDs, those that Chris talks about, cannot yet compare with compact flourescents. Whilst there are many LEDs that will indeed do the job they currently best serve the more commercial aspects of lighting as the cost of replacement can then be a legitimate part of the cost benefit anaylsis. For a typical home user labour costs do not come into it.

CFLs are very bright, relatively low cost to run and relatively low cost to buy. They are also available in various colour temperatures to suit your application.

HTH

themacster

LEDs last the longest and have lower running costs but are the most expensive to buy initially. Another who do the mains led strip lights is energysmart, and there are a number doing 12V versions, though these need the extra expense of transformer/drivers. You need to be careful to choose the right ones with strips or tapes, you get what you pay for, the ones with the higher spec 5050 smds tend to be more exopensive than the 3528s but give off more light as they've got 3 leds per chip. The T4 flourescent tubes that are easily available don't use much power, we've got 20W and 12W ones under our wall units and they illuminate the worktop fine, though I am considering led replacements - would save a few pennies but don't justify the expense in replacing what we already have and works well.

Flourescent tubes and cfls contain mercury and have to be disposed off safely, you can't just chuck them in the bin. Halogens use more power and get hot and don't always last very long.

Personally I would go for led strip lights if they are a first time fix as they give a more uniform light than spots, but I wouldn't replace T4 or T5 tubes with them if you've already got these.

Just my thoughts anyway.

totalsolutions

5 new 3' x 30w tubes and starters for £13 -odd, and even brighter / whiter than ever. Cheap and still going.