This is wired for direct-wired fixtures. I would recommend Xenon or LED over fluorescent. For the Xenon, NSL makes the best and easiest to install.

We've had Kichler Series II xenon strips for 3 years and couldn't be happier with them. Nice warm light. Haven't had to replace a bulb yet, but we don't use them all the time.

I can't see any good reason to use pucks instead of strips. The strips are only about 1 inch thick and you don't notice them unless you bend down and look up under the cabinet. They're available in various lengths with 1, 2, 3, 4 or more bulbs per fixture. They have on/off switches on them, but we control them all from a single 600 watt dimmer switch. Sounds like the rough wiring for your kitchen was done exactly like ours.

If the electrician skipped some "adjacent cabinets", maybe the intent was to run short feeder cables (Romex) from cabinet to cabinet, where needed. You definitely want lights under every cabinet. The fixtures would have to be rated for "through wiring" (one cable in, one cable out).

Thanks everybody. Sounds like "through-wire" Xenon strip fixtures, one under each cabinet, including the "adjacent cabinets", may be the way to go. Are they typically mounted to the rear or the front? (BTW, would fluorescents with "warm light" bulbs look good, too? - I just installed 4' T8 fluorescents with 32w "warm light" bulbs a long closet and the light is surprisingly excellent.)

The Romex will have to be in some sort of raceway or wiremold, right? If so, any recommendations on which type is easiest to use?

Thanks again.

Just wondering....would 8-10 Xenon strips be "too much" power use for the average somewhat energy-conscious folk, not to mention bulb changing? I wonder if Xenon pucks would be an option with this wiring, and how that would be done? More wiring running everywhere, not to mention installing boxes, (right?)

Strip fixtures (xenon or fluorescent) have the advantage of not needing separate transformers, and most if not all of those intended for direct wiring have enough room inside the case to make the connections needed to daisy-chain them. The Kitchlers have multiple knockouts.

Some people do mount fixtures toward the rear of the cabinet, but for the best light, mount them close to the front. You'll have a short run of exposed cable up under the cabinet. This is normally considered a protected location, so wiremold isn't needed.

Thanks very much.

BTW, there will be a final inspection that will soon take place for the entire house, so I might just ask somebody local to be sure. (Arlington County, VA)

You can also place small switching power supplies under the cabinet.

They are often rated 60 watts per supply and come in singles and doubles (two seperate 60 W supplies on a common baseplate).

The supplies are about 1 inch high, 2 inches wide and 4 inches long.
Each can then run either three 20 W low voltage under cabinet lights or six 10W lights.
Pegasus Lighting has a decent selection of lights and power supplies.

Avoid 120 V 'puck' type lights.
The bulb filaments are very delicate, and the normal vibration of placing dishes in the cabinets will vibrate the bulbs enough to reduce their life, and at about $5 a bulb you really need them to last.