Electrician Tips: Transform Your Kitchen With These Fancy Under Cabinet Lights | Conway, SC

11/24/2021

Photo By lavi37 at istock

Did you know that most homeowners in the United States spend approximately 50 percent of their waking hours at home in the kitchen? Well, the kitchen is the heart of your home in Conway, SC, where most activities such as eating, doing chores, and even chatting after dinner take place, hence it’s not shocking that you’ll spend most of your time at this place.

To conveniently carry out their kitchen chores, some homeowners prefer to install under cabinet lights. This offers lighting for stirring the pot, frosting cookies, and chopping vegetables and defines your kitchen space’s unique style. Overhead lighting gives your kitchen the general lighting, but under cabinet lighting makes usual activities such as preparation, cooking, or reading a recipe a walk in the park.

With quality under-cabinet lighting, you can give your kitchen a touch of elegance, achieve greater efficiency for your cooking, and connect your kitchen with smart-home devices for optimal energy saving.

In this blog, we’ll highlight common under cabinet light fixtures to help you choose the type that compliments your kitchen. Under cabinet lights are not just limited to your kitchen but can also be installed in all places with cabinets, for instance, dining room and basement bar.

Xenon Fixtures

Although an older technology, xenon is still preferred because of its perfect color rendering index (CRI). These babies effortlessly emit a pure, white light that makes marble countertops or granite look magnificent.

They are cheap compared to any under cabinet lighting option but will cause you to spend more electricity because they use a large amount of energy, which is wasted as heat.

Due to their excess heat, electricians recommend using them for task lighting and not an all-day lighting source. Also, xenon bulbs should not be near fruits, meltable food, or fresh flowers.

Before contacting an electrician to connect xenon fixtures in your kitchen cabinets, first ensure that the material on your countertop can handle the heat produced by these bulbs.

Fluorescent Fixtures

Fluorescent fixtures are still popular in pantries and kitchen cabinets, especially for homeowners looking for energy-efficient and budget-friendly options.

Currently, they use T5 bulbs, which are smaller in diameter than the previously T12 bulbs. The color rendering index is not high compared to other under cabinet lighting fixtures, but the good news is that fluorescent fixtures do not emit a lot of heat. This option is suitable for individuals looking for an under cabinet lighting alternative that can work with many applications and is not too fancy.

To produce more lightning, an electrician can connect fluorescent fixtures together. Also, these fixtures are cooler than xenon and halogen. However, they could be dimmer, and their CRI may not be sufficient for some applications. But if you still want to achieve that classy look in your kitchen, you can go ahead and contact an electrical company in Conway, SC, to help you with wiring.

LED Strip Light

Some homeowners may not prefer a ‘fixture’ under their cabinets but still need more light, which may not be possible with puck lights. In such cases, an electrician will recommend an LED strip light. The LED bulb will be invisible when a licensed electrician appropriately installs it. This lighting option is not very brilliant like other under cabinet fixtures; therefore, it’s best for accent lighting or a room that already has intense overhead lighting.

If you are working on a tight budget and need under cabinet lights with a long life span, you can choose LED strip lights. Also, they come in waterproof options and can be fitted end to end for even lighting without forming any dead or dark spots. In addition, LED under cabinets have a higher color rendering index, hence highlighting a colored backsplash, which gives your kitchen that stylish modern look.

Despite their numerous benefits, LED strip lights are dimmer compared to other options, and you may end up spending more because lens and track may be required.

In some cases, color rendering may not be high for some applications or preferences, and a separate power supply may be required for other fixtures. A competent electrician in Conway, SC, can help you decide whether this option is the best fit for your kitchen and handle the wiring.

Puck Lights

Puck lights are popular because they can use halogen, xenon, or LED light bulbs depending on your personal preference or where you want to use them. If you are interested in color purity, you can use halogen or xenon bulbs, which have a CRI of almost 100. Folks seeking a durable option can select LED bulbs.

If you are renting or don’t want to incur the wiring costs, puck lights are the ideal option because they are available in battery-powered models and are stuck on the underside of cabinets.

Pluck lights are also preferred because they are affordable, dimmable, durable, and offer more focused light. But, they can be very hot, primarily when used with xenon bulbs, and may not produce even lighting.

Halogen Lighting

These bulbs generate higher luminous light efficacy and have a more blue spectrum than other incandescent bulbs, hence an excellent choice for kitchen cabinetry lighting.

For excellent illumination, an electrician can space out halogen bulbs underneath the cabinet. These light options provide a perfect task lighting choice and offer a dramatic splash of lighting to your kitchen.

This type is still popular among many folks because of its high luminous efficacy, making it perfect for task lighting. Besides appealing for cabinet lighting, halogen lights allow for a compact light fixture because of their small size.

The downside of halogen bulbs is that they produce a lot of heat, hence working in a kitchen, especially during summer, can be uncomfortable. Also, these bulbs are being phased out, hence difficult to find.

Need Help?

If you need help selecting the perfect under cabinet lighting that brightens your kitchen space contact Mister Sparky of Myrtle Beach. Our licensed electricians will not only help you with wiring but also ensure you pick the right under cabinet lighting style and finish that complements your overall kitchen décor.

Besides lighting services, our electricians can help with electrical services, including lighting, sub panel, surge protection, wiring, smoke detectors, and ceiling fans.