Adding under cabinet lighting is a great way to add functionality home while adding some nice ambiance. Under cabinet lights give more visibility to your countertops which makes it makes prep work easier, while giving a nice flare. There are a few types of lighting, with all different effort levels and cost. Here are some things you need to know before you jump into this little endeavor.
Before Purchasing
The first decision that you should make is how you want to power your lights. There are all sorts of options; hard wired, battery operated and plug in. Battery operated is definitely the easiest and most cost effective -but- you have the hassle of replacing batteries when they die. Plug in is also fairly simple, as you just plug it into an existing wall outlet. Downside to this is that you will be sacrificing the outlets you use for your appliances. The most convenient, but costly, option, is hard wired. This will most likely require a professional, but you’ll have the ease of turning them on with a switch or setting them to a timer.
Puck Lights
Puck lights are little, round lights that are very popular because of how easy they are. They come in multiple styles, and can be used by any of the power sources listed above. The best part about these is that they come in many “peel and stick” varieties. These will be battery operated, but with all the LED options, batteries should last a while!
Fluorescent Strips
Throw everything you know about fluorescent lighting out the window. Current fluorescent lights are so much better than they used to be. With great light output, and no more humming noises, they are a very viable option for the modern kitchen. Fluorescent strips are usually hardwired, but can also be plugged into a wall socket.
LED Strips
LED strips are similar to fluorescent, however the bulbs have a much longer life. There are many typed of LED strips available. Diffused, exposed diodes, etc. The nice thing about LEDs is that they are cool burning, so they don’t produce much, if any, noticeable heat. Traditional white LED lights generally has a cooler temperature, so make sure to test them out in your kitchen before purchasing. However, with LED, there are RGB options available. With infinite color options available, you can really have any color you’d want. (You could even throw a dance party in your kitchen with all the fun effects RGB LED lights offer these days)
