My bad: make that "under-cabinet." That woulda looked pretty strange under the counters.

Many people on the lighting forum recommend those fluorescents bars as an option instead of LEDs. Flourescents get a bad rap IMHO and have been improved. I'm wondering if I should use those or LED strips. My cabinets are flat on the bottom so I haven't figured out how to conceal them.
Does your daughter have pendants ? If so is she using energy efficient incandescents(these are halogen I think) or CFL. I really hate CFL. I'm considering buying pendants that are not open on the bottom and in a design to conceal a bulb, such as schoolhouse. I'm anticipating the eventual phase out of the 75w bulbs. If you read the lighting forum you will get a headache, why is it that everything seems so complicated today? I'm just happy to be putting in pendants and a ceiling fan, if I had to research "cans" also I would not bother with them.

My daughter doesn't have pendants in her kitchen, only the under-cabinet lights and some track lighting. It's a loft and the ceilings are way high. I have a feeling the track lights are halogen.

I already bought pendants for my kitchen and plan to use incandescents in them, Title 24 be damned.

linelle you were lucky to see a real world example of something that is happening. No one else in this GW forum has ever been willing to admit that modern fluorescent tube lights are high quality, quiet, affordable, and good. I think it may be sociology. The tube light shape reminds people of the wrong crowd.

Davidro1, hahaha. Totally. I confess I did not like the idea of fluorescents, but the reality brought me up short. It was very instructive for me, esp. with the different temp. bulbs she's using (sigh). As much as I don't want to be in the wrong crowd, being smart with money actually has more appeal. And it's not like I live in Rancho Deluxe.

We have fluorescents as under cab lighting. I have to confess that we were so tired of all the various decisions that go into a kitchen remodel that we just went with the GC's and the electricians recommendation. They are great. Our cabs were ordered with a rail that hides them. I use these lights more than any others in the kitchen. The color they give off is quite natural and they really highlight the cab/bs/granite. Perhaps someday there will be a better selection of affordable, energy efficient, green lighting, but for now these work just fine.

Not sure why there is a visceral reaction to fluorescents, and not sure why they remind people of the wrong crowd("those people"). Never heard of a speed oven before this forum so I might be one of those people LOL and quite frankly the way we are sold many(not all)luxury products in this country is a marketing gimmick. And can I just say not everyone needs to install recessed can lighting...:)

Linelle,

Thank you for posting your experience with fluorescents. My head has been spinning about the under cabinet light decision. I turned on my UC fluorescent in the about to be demo'd kitchen. It really isn't that bad. Its very old so I would assume the newer ones are better quality.

EATREALFOOD, Glad I'm not the only one with a headache from UC light info. I will need to check the lighting forum again for fluorescent bar recommendations. All I see is "get LED".

davidro1, you made me laugh about "sociology". My college student son takes a sociology class. He is always talking about classmates that are out of touch with the real world. It's good to know that fluorescent lights are still alive in the "real world".

I now have hope and can find affordable UC lighting that won't break the bank.

debrak: good for you :) Yes, I think you'll see fluorescents have come a long way. A good lighting store should be able to help. I would avoid HD. I was trying to find out about dimmable LED bulbs for pendants...headache..hate CFL...headache

Wow. Next thing you know people will admit to buying appliances at Sears and Best Buy. (raises hand)

suzannesl, appliances from Sears here! TVs too.

Hand clapping to both of you.
I think if I can't find suitable and not tooooo expensive UC lighting, I will buy beeswax candles from my farmer's market in the meantime and put them on the soon to come(I HOPE) soapstone for my ambient lighting. They smell really good too. I'm in an eclectic kitchen anyway...

ERF, I love beeswax votives for ambient lighting. Only problem is I have two 7-month-old kittens who are very naughty and swipe everything off the counter.

I just had under-cabinet lighting installed ~ was a nice surprise, as it was something I didn't think could be done to *older* cabinets.

Our son's friend is a master electrician and installed halogen puck lights. And I LOVE all the light in my kitchen ... can't believe I cooked/cleaned in here for 32 years *in the dark* so to speak.

When the BS gets installed, he will put in the new outlets (just kinda hanging for now); and install dimmers.

I have to say, I LOVE them, BUT they do get hot. I guess this is the nature of the halogen lights .... but at first it made me a little nervous!

linelle .... we also have our Ollie (2 yrs. old), who every so often, thinks the counter is his playspace!!! He's rotten, and we love him to pieces!! lol He gets in sooo much trouble!

jody

linelle -

can you post what kind they are - model number or any details? under cab lighting is next for me after back splash...

thanks

Hey babushka_cat, I wish I had that info myself. Try as I may, I couldn't find any tags, labels or other identifying marks on the units. Although her loft is very nice, the kitchen is small and seems put together with cheap materials, including the UC fluorescents. The bulbs don't even match! However, the one unit with a warm temp. bulb looked so good that I'm convinced that a budget unit will work very nicely.

The following photos were taken with my iPhone under dubious light conditions. The first is the overall impression of the light:

This one is interesting in that the camera picks up the dark area between the two bulbs in the unit, but with my own eye, it isn't that noticeable. Funny how the camera sees things we don't. As you can tell, it's just a plain, low-profile unit.

thanks so much for posting, much appreciated!

I installed undercab fluorescent lighting and love it!
Slim profile, warm color temp, never gets hot and it's super bright. This particular brand is "Liteline" that I got from both Rona and Home Hardware. It's not dimmable, but I have pendants that I can dim when I need mood lighting :)

Not the best of pics, but all I have...

{{!gwi}}

I actually have round puck-like fluorescents and I love them. they are not dimmable/do not hum and come on almost automatically AND.....i bought them at HOME DEPOT. LOL

barbarany, do you have a picture or the model number or anything? I'm very curious about this. Our HD and the HD website have pucks that use LED, xenon, halogen, but not fluorescent, and I can't imagine how that could work.

The only round fluorescent lights I've ever seen have been very large--well over a foot in diameter, so I'd love to see what you mean.

jjean, I too have halogens and they do get hot. I can feel the bottom of a can of beans on the bottom cabinet shelf and it is slightly warm. Is this something to worry about? I was going to post this question.

writersblock - I will post the info tomorrow. Didn't see your question until just now and I am at work. they are round (slightly bigger than a regular puck light). The lights are encapsulated in a round holder (only way I can think to describe this). the whole think screws off and you just replace with another. I bought a few extra replacements but have not used any in three years yet. Will get info to you tomorrow

Now that my kitchen remodel has actually begun, I should probably give an update.

Before I had a chance to say "wait!" my GC installed xenon puck lights under my cabinets. The temperature of the light is lovely, but they were mounted at the back and the shadows are ugly, very pronounced. Having had no experience with UC lights, I didn't realize that illuminating the backsplash isn't my preference. I'd much rather have a good task light. Moving the pucks forward improves neither the shadows nor task lighting.

The pucks were inexpensive but my costs were in the labor for the low-voltage wiring and transformer. After a little testiness, my GC agreed to make any changes I wanted in the lights. Since I have the low-voltage wiring done, I'm considering LED light tapes. I would need a different transformer. Or, I can get the wiring redone for 120V and go with fluorescents--less expensive units but more $$ for labor. I figure it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

At this point, I'm sick to death of thinking about UC lights. What I want is something that gives good light (they do not have to be dimmable). If they can be seen sticking out a little under the cab rail, so be it.

I'm hoping one of my local lighting stores (not HD) will have a display so I can evaluate the light output IRL.

I anguished over UCL in our remodel of 1978 ranch. We have Lowe's Diamond cabs and no light rail was installed as DH had to be convinced. I got the Utilitech fluorescent ones from Lowe's that are one inch deep. Can't see them and I love them.

I've had under-cab fluorescents for 21 years. They go on without
delay, stay cool, and put out terrific light. Because they do not
get hot, I can keep spices and chocolate on the bottom shelf
without affecting the spices, or melting the chocolate. Xenons
and halogens get hot. My friend had to move her chocolate to
a higher shelf because it melted, and was told to keep her spices
away from the hot lights, too.

Another great thing about the fluorescent tubes is how long they
last. I think in the 21 years, the most used tubes have been
replaced maybe 4 times. And, believe me, those lights get used
everyday, several hours a day.

We're so pleased with our fluorescents, they've already been specced
into the kitchen of our new build.

darbuka, glad to hear of your success with UC fluorescents. Is there a brand/make you recommend?

I've seen compact fluorescent (CFL) puck lights:

A surface-mounted CFL undercabinet puck light....

The problem with CFLs vs tube fluorescents is that CFLs must be
left on for a long duration before being turned off, or they burn out
quickly. Not so with tubes.

Linelle, my son is the lighting expert. I'll check with him as to what
brand he prefers, and get back to you.

I have Xenon now (never will do that again... they burn out fast, hard to find bulbs, $$$). I had halogen at one house and my poor son got a burn from them (long story - but grandma thought the counter was an ok place for an 18 mo). I'll go back to fluorescent at my next house.

Thanks for the pics, lee676. I haven't seen anything like available locally. Very interesting.

We had UC fluorescent lights installed and never regretted it. Cool, quiet, low profile, nice warm light. It never entered our mind to consider dimming these and going with LED's at the extra expense. Our recessed lights, the mini pendants over the sink, the pendants over the peninsula and a small cafe table are all dimmable.There is no reason why every light in your kitchen has to be dimmable. These are dirt cheap compared to the alternatives and wiring is a cinch. No transformers or wondering if the wall switch dimmer is compatible. Ours work off a wall switch but you can also switch off individual units if you want but we have never found a reason to.

I anguished over UCL in our remodel of 1978 ranch. We have Lowe's Diamond cabs and no light rail was installed as DH had to be convinced. I got the Utilitech fluorescent ones from Lowe's that are one inch deep. Can't see them and I love them.

> Thanks for the pics, lee676. I haven't seen anything like available locally. Very interesting.

Home Depot has them in their stores (link below)

> The problem with CFLs vs tube fluorescents is that CFLs must be left on for a long duration before being turned off, or they burn out quickly. Not so with tubes.

Fluorescent tubes burn out more quickly if turned on and off frequently too. To a lesser extent, so do halogen or xenon lights. Only LEDs aren't affected, which is why the blinking lights on your computer router still work.

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Depot CFL puck lights

I'm seeing CFL puck lights everywhere (Home Depot, lighting stores).

Took the plunge and bought Juno low-profile fluorescents. My local lighting store has a cool under cabinet lighting display which was all the evidence I needed. So glad I made this decision. Now low-voltage wiring needs to be replaced with 120v.

My UC fluorescents are in, the nasty pucks and their low-voltage radio interference are gone, and I'm a happy camper. Now that's one less thing to obsess about.

Glad it all worked out!