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LED or Xenon under my cabinets?
I"m putting white cabinets in a dark summer house kitchen. Grey/white granite. I want as much light under the cabinets as possible with the option to dim the lights from a wall switch. I also want to avoid "heat" if possilbe. I've seen conflicting circa 2010 reviews--Xenon " they get warm" and LED are "weird light". Does anyone have up to date information?
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I use LED lighting almost exclusively on our more recent projects because of its longevity and energy efficiency. The key to avoiding the "weird" light you're referring to is choosing the correct color temperature of the bulb. If you stay within the 2.5k - 3.5k color temp range you'll get a warmer white similar to incandescent and Xenon. (The higher the number, the "colder" or more blue the white looks. (Some people really dislike that). LED is also available in a ribbon or reel, making it very low profile, especially compared to other lighting. Here's an example from one of my kitchen projects.
~Steve
You're welcome. With regard to drawbacks of the ribbon type, I havent found any yet. We've been using them for about two years and they give us far more options than with more traditional bulkier fixtures. One of the benefits is that we can use low voltage wire which is much smaller also, so bringing that in and out of cabinetry is far easier and more practical. Also, we can join lengths of ribbon light together to create very uniform lighting (More so than with regular fixtures).
You'll need to size the transformer correctly of course, and select one thats dimmable if thats a feature you'd like. I place the switched outlet (which powers the transformer and lights) in a cabinet thats out of the way, and all the LV wiring is run from there (either inside the walls or inside the cabs or a combination)
Btw, there is a large variation in cost on the LED ribbon, so do shop around. Compare warranty with quality and cost to find the best option. We've used products from Amazon and they've been great and have lasted well.
~Steve
Thanks so much. Heres the product Ive used several times, Ive been very pleased with the results. http://www.amazon.com/Ledwholesalers-Cabinet-Lighting-LED-Flexible/dp/B007JF2A6G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1P01BGEGZ4CEE&coliid=I3EVWWHU73VC4P
On many of my projects my electrician actually supplies the ribbon light, but I know that he has used this exact product when he was researching different brands.
Hope this helps,
Steve