I was obsessing the same as you are now. Have you read Pegasus's text about their T4 and T5 fixtures that says both are too small to hardwire without an additional power box that is 2 inches deep? That was a deal breaker for me. On the advice of amsunshine on this forum, I ordered W.A.C. Lighting's T5 fixtures that are 7/8 inches deep and 2-5/8 inches wide, but do not need a separate wiring box. They also come in bronze as well as white, and I ordered the bronze. I haven't received them yet, but amsunshine liked the way the fixtures looked and worked. I still plan to order the Pegasus T8 fixtures for over-cabinet lighting.

maydl, do you have the model #'s for those fixtures? In searching online I'm only finding WAC fixtures that measure 1 1/4" X 5". TIA.

maydl - great point about the additional power boxes. Can you post the exact link for your W.A.C. Lighting - several possibilities came up when I did a search. It looks promising.

I also obsessed about this issue FOREVER and, when it was time to decide, I still didn't know what I wanted. My electrician recommended putting in strips that are basically encased rope lighting because they were super inexpensive and would give me some light there until I finally decided. He also didn't want the hardwiring to stay loose in the meantime until I decided.

Well, guess what? These lights are just fine, and I think I'm going to stick with them. They are dimmer than some of the other choices, but that's OK with me. I do the vast majority of my prep work at the island, and my hood has bright halogen lights for the stove. With so much other light from my recessed cans, pendants, and hood, I can count the number of times I have actually needed the extra light from the undercabinet fixtures on one hand. I use them more for "mood" lighting or as a kitchen nightlight when we have had guests. For something I use so little, I'm now glad I didn't spend more.

chefkev: here's the link to the light bars I have. If you click on "specification sheet" toward the bottom, it will take you to the specs that show these are 7/8" deep. I do really like these light bars.

Here is a link that might be useful: WAC fluorescent light bar

Thanks to amsunshine for posting the link for chefkev; I'm not sure I'd know how to do that! Can't wait to see my W.A.C. fixtures!

chefkev, that was me last week - agonizing. I have now ordered WAC under cab xenon lights. I know you are moving away from that idea because of the heat. A friend has these and swore she didn't have problems so I'm going with these.

Here is a link that might be useful: xenon under cabinet lighting

We ended up going with Xenon also - CSL Mach 120 series - 1 1/8 depth. Still in boxes waiting on cabinet installation - keeping our fingers crossed.

Here is a link that might be useful: CSL Lighting

Holigator - I didn't even think of that option - it's a nice one to have.
maydl - Thanks for checking back in and especially for pointing out those wiring boxes.
amsunshine, tartanhabit, tkbalt - Thanks so much - I'm poring over your links. Really appreciate the help!

holligator - where did you or your electrician find the encased rope lights? I'd like to do under the cabinet lighting, but only for "mood" lighting. I will end up doing most of my prep on my island, which will have either cans or pendants over it.

Seems like what you're describing might be a better, more economical option!

I have the Xenon strip lighting. Because the bulbs are so spread out they don't get noticeably hot from any place I work near them. And the light is very even.

those of you who have xenon--do you notice the cabinet above getting hot? I currently have halogen which are DEFINITELY going in our remodel--they heat up the cabinet and whatever is below--I can't even leave a bag of bread on the counter because the heat makes it start to mold in a day or so. Like chefkev I am leaning toward flourescent for this reason...but curious about those who say they haven't noticed heat with xenon.

this is a very helpful thread, I am printing the whole thing out.

Hollylh - why are "halogen DEFINITELY going in your remodel"? It has been widely reported on this Forum that halogen is way too hot for undercabinet use, including people reporting scorched cabinetry and ruined food. The other options of xenons or microfluorescents are so much more preferable. In fact, I didn't think anyone was even installing halogen undercabs any more.

I have xenon undercab lighting. They do not get hot. But I think it is important to get the xenon strips that are open, not closed (closed meaning having a plastic cover over the strip). I believe the closed xenons strips can get a bit hot, but nothing like the halogens. Alternatively, you can get the microfluorescents as discussed on this thread. They cannot be dimmed, if that is important to you. The Xenons can be dimmed.

I dont know if you want more options, rather than fewer, but I have GE T5 undercabinet lights from HD, of all places, and I'm super happy with them. They are direct wire, with no boxes, and I'm very happy with the amount of light output. They come in 18", 24", 36", 48". The are just under 1" thick (basically 15/16"). I was about to buy pegasus lights, but went with buying them from a brick and mortar for the ease of return if needed.

This cabinet shown was best filled with one 24" and one 36" fixture, and the light output ended up being very even and full.

{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

akchicago -- I think you misunderstood holly's post. I think she meant the halogens are "going" as in "going bye-bye". But she can correct me if I'm wrong.

I used Juno T5, which I ordered from Beverly Hills Electric online. They came in stainless, rather than white plastic.
I like them very much

For those of you who posted about Xenon lights, I don't expect that they will make the work area overly hot. I do worry about them warming up my cabinet as I'll have spices (which can rapidly degrade in quality with heat) in at least one the cabinets.

But the big concern is if someone accidentally touches the lights (we tend to gesture a lot in my family) it will be unpleasant. When I touched the cover on the xenon lights in several store displays it was unpleasant (even the "low wattage" ones). My hands are a lot more heat resistant than most, so I could easily live with it, but am concerned DW and 11yr old DD will not be happy.

Thanks again to everyone for their help and ideas. I found some 1" thick direct wire capable T5 fluorescents from Pegasus that will allow me to fit in the most wattage (8,16,21) for my perspective cabinet sizes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pegasus Fluorescent T5 Thin-Inch Light Fixtures

chefkev: Are you sure you want the cool white bulbs that come with the fixture? If not, you'll have to pay extra to get warm white or daylight bulbs.

But congratulations on finding the right fixture. No more stressing and obsessing!

maydl - do you have a recommendation on which bulbs to get?

Chefkev, the only undercabinet lights I have experience with so far are the ones we've been using for the last 20 years in our "before" kitchen (demo starts 4/28). I recently removed a bulb to see what it was: a T12 "warm white". I've ordered warm white bulbs for my new T5 fixtures, too, but I have to admit that I'm intrigued with the idea of daylight bulbs for task lighting, especially with food. Maybe others on this forum have used daylight bulbs for this purpose and can tell you what the difference is--worth a new query?

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