Our comprehensive guide will walk you through the step by step process of choosing and installing the best under cabinet lighting fixture for your home.

Why Choose Under Cabinet Lighting?

Under-cabinet lighting is ideal for both accent and task lighting. With a properly lit kitchen countertop you can distinguish the sugar from the salt, and in the living room you can highlight your family pictures and art work. Under-cabinet lighting can also be used to emphasize your china cabinets, bookshelves and other niche areas and toe spaces in the den, home office, or living area. No matter what the location or purpose, there is an under-cabinet lighting style that is right for your needs.

Once overlooked in kitchens, laundry rooms, offices, ceilings, and large desks with built-in overhead cabinets, under cabinet lighting has gone from an option to a necessity. Increased lighting with minimal glare in task areas like the kitchen or home office can increase task efficiency. In addition, the more task lighting is used, the less general lighting is needed, reducing the number and size of lamps needed for overhead lighting. This can be an attractive and efficient way of lighting your home while cutting down on your energy costs.

Types of Under Cabinet Lighting

• Incandescent: Incandescent bulbs are the most commonly used lights. They offer a softer, warmer light, and are the cheapest source of under-cabinet lighting. The downside of regular incandescent lamps is they have a short life span (about 1,000 hrs.), they are not efficient, and the light emitted is not ample enough for most task lighting needs. Consider using incandescents in smaller spaces, but beware of using a dimmer at low levels because it can result in very yellow light.
• Halogen: Often used for task lighting situations, halogen lighting offers a number of benefits. These lamps offer the best color rendition of all task-oriented lamps providing a bright, white light without being as harsh as a fluorescent. They are one-third more efficient and last about twice as long (2,000 hr. life) as traditional incandescent lamps. Although halogens do produce a great deal of heat, high quality fixtures can dissipate the heat or enclosed lamps can absorb most of the initial heat. If excess heat is a concern, remember to look for lower voltage halogen units.
• Xenon: Xenon lights are improved incandescent bulbs with very long life. They operate at lower temperatures than halogens with comparable efficiency. Xenon bulbs cost about the same as halogens, but they last up to 10,000 hours. They offer adequate light for most task lighting needs, but do not have as a high a level of color rendition as halogen fixtures.
• Fluorescent: Fluorescent cabinet lighting is the most commonly used in kitchens and other task lighting areas. Compared with a 100-watt incandescent, fluorescents use 75% less electricity and last much longer. In corporate, hospitality, and restaurant kitchen areas, fluorescent light fixtures work well because they produce low amounts of heat and provide an overall diffusion of light. A special dimmer and ballast is needed with fluorescent fixtures. Look for units that have instant starts to avoid flickering and humming.

Plug-In versus Hard-Wired

You have two choices in under cabinet lighting: plug-in or hard-wired.

• Plug-in units are the easiest to install. Simply attach the fixture to the underside of the upper cabinet and plug the unit into a nearby outlet. You turn the units on and off with the switch that's built into the fixture. Plug-in units are a good choice if you only have a small area to illuminate or if you have no problem with exposed wires.
• A hard-wired system is more attractive because there's usually no exposed wiring and a dedicated wall switch controls the unit. However, this system is also more difficult to install, because you need to tap into a nearby power source, or pull a new circuit to the desired area. Either way, major electrical work is involved, so you may want to consider hiring a professional to install your hard-wired system if you do not feel comfortable doing it yourself.

If you do feel comfortable doing electrical work, the following is a practical guide to installing hard-wired under-cabinet lighting:

How to Install Under Cabinet Lighting

Step 1: Connect to a Power Source

Locate the nearest fixture box as the power source. Make sure the circuit can handle the additional load. Turn the circuit off at the main panel, open the fixture box, and test for power using a neon tester. If it is off, punch a knockout hole in the box, and install a cable clamp and new cable to the box.

Step 2: Cut the Openings

Mark and cut an opening in the wall for the switch's electrical box. (For drywall, you can use a keyhole saw or saber saw.) Be careful not to cut any wires or pipes behind the wall. Choose a convenient area for the switch, such as near the fixture(s) or near an entrance to the room. Make the opening at the same height as the other switches, if possible. At the back of the cabinet base where you will attach the fixture, drill a small opening to accept cable from the fixture to the switch.  If you are installing more than one fixture controlled by one switch, position this opening at the fixture nearest the switch.

Step 3: Feed the Cable

Using fish tape and other equipment as needed, feed the power cable through the wall from the power source to the switch's location. Also feed cable from the opening at the cabinets to the switch location.

Step 4: Attach the Light Fixture(s)

Screw the light fixtures to the cabinets, and wire them to each other through a flexible conduit, following manufacturer's instructions.

Step 5: Make the Connections at the Power Source

At the fixture box where you're connecting to the power source, strip off sheathing to the new cable and its individual wires. Make the appropriate wire connections to the other cable(s) in the box and cover the connections with wire connectors. Close the fixture box.

At the Switch

Clamp the power and under-cabinet fixture cables in the switch box, and install the switch box in the wall. Strip the leads, and connect the black wires to the switch. Connect the neutral wires together and cover the connection with a wire connector. Connect the two bare copper ground wires together along with a pigtail and cover the connection with a green wire connector; connect the pigtail to the grounding screw on the switch.  Place the switch in the switch box, and then attach the cover plate.

Step: 6: Attach the Diffusers (for Fluorescent Fixtures Only)

Finish by clipping diffusers on the lamp cases. They help fluorescents cast a more even light on the counters.

Note:

Under cabinet lighting can sometimes produce problems with hot spots, veiling reflections, and glare. As a general rule, mount fixtures as close to the front of the cabinets as possible to prevent this from occuring. Also, use fixture with a frosted lens or shielding on the cabinet bottom to minimize the glare. Add a faceboard if necessary. Remember that under-cabinet lighting that's discreetly hidden from a standing cook may produce unsightly glare for those seated nearby. Install cabinet facing low enough to camouflage the light and prevent discomfort to those seated.