Under cabinet lights single switch

UncleZen

Im in the planning stages of a new kitchen.
And I'm just thinking through a few ideas.
I will have 3 locations where I could have under cabinet lights, each location has access to power.
I only want 1 switch, but to avoid rewiring, I was wondering if there is such a thing where you can switch on and it would send a signal to the other lights to switch on, and reverse when you switch off. E.g. Bluetooth, via mains etc.
Is there such a thing?

Mark_d

Not sure if it's practical for you but there are many possible solutions.  In our flat we have wifi lightswitches all round.  With simple voice commands to Alexa we can switch different light or combinations of lights on and off.

MyRealNameToo

UncleZen said:

Im in the planning stages of a new kitchen.
And I'm just thinking through a few ideas.
I will have 3 locations where I could have under cabinet lights, each location has access to power.
I only want 1 switch, but to avoid rewiring, I was wondering if there is such a thing where you can switch on and it would send a signal to the other lights to switch on, and reverse when you switch off. E.g. Bluetooth, via mains etc.
Is there such a thing?

Not sure of one where you wire up one and it signals the others but you can have a controller on each and then use a digital button to signal to all three to turn on/off. Something like the Flic2 and Ikea Trådfri drivers could do it for you but the problem is that it doesnt look like a regular lightswitch so not sure if thats a problem or not. 

Andy_L

UncleZen said:

Im in the planning stages of a new kitchen.
And I'm just thinking through a few ideas.
I will have 3 locations where I could have under cabinet lights, each location has access to power.
I only want 1 switch, but to avoid rewiring, I was wondering if there is such a thing where you can switch on and it would send a signal to the other lights to switch on, and reverse when you switch off. E.g. Bluetooth, via mains etc.
Is there such a thing?

Do you mean 3-pin sockets or the kitchen lighting circuit?

UncleZen

@Andy_L there are 3pin sockets nearby.

casper_gutman

You could replace an existing light switch with a larger grid frame and use spare slots for wireless grid switches from the likes of Quinetic or Ener-J. The wireless 'switches' act as remote controls for receiver/control units wired to the lights. The switches themselves are self-powered needing no batteries or power supply - they just work on the energy provided by the user pushing the switch.

We have these and they work really well. You can control the lights using smart apps etc. too, but having actual switches on the wall means visiting in-laws don't have to go on a training course to be able to turn the lights on!

ic

If you're fitting a kitchen (assuming new units, flooring, tiling, etc), it should be possible to run in some cable between the locations so that all the lights can run off a single feed - even if its still plugged in somewhere.

casper_gutman

Good point @ic, and one I'd missed. If you're at the planning stage of a new kitchen then things are much easier. Can't your just wire it up properly so all the undercabinet lighting can be on a single circuit switched in the usual way?

grumpy_codger

casper_gutman said:

Good point @ic, and one I'd missed. If you're at the planning stage of a new kitchen then things are much easier. Can't your just wire it up properly so all the undercabinet lighting can be on a single circuit switched in the usual way?

Also, it make little sense to waste three sockets on under-cabinet lighting.

Watty1

Miner were an afterthought and are rechargable and work off one remote control (found on amazon) so no wiring needed.

Yorkie1

No idea how it's done, but my parents' kitchen has under-cabinet strip lighting which is governed by a rocker switch which lights more than one strip light. (There are about three switches in total).

The kitchen was designed and installed probably 15 or so years ago (give or take xx years!), so if it was possible then, I'd assume it is still possible these days ...