LED light strip under cabinets

last year

Our builder installed LED strips under the upper cabinets for under cabinet/countertop lighting. They are bright enuf to blind a person. He is going to change them for us - coming here for advice on the appropriate lighting strength for the situation.

Related, he spoke at one point about an LED strip that contained multiple strengths and could be adjusted via some sort of attached device. He has now backed off of that saying it “won’t work” but asking here in case there is something we should be pushing him on.

Ideally we’d have bright enuf light (but not blinding/antiseptic) for tasks, that could perhaps be dimmed at night.

Thanks.

Featured Answer

3onthetree

last year

If you want better lighting design, these shadows and hotspots are exactly what you try to avoid:

You are already addressing the "brighter" backsplash. You can see in this pic the somewhat-lit oven stack/soffit area, the "dark" open shelves, the "dark" coffee station cabinets, "darker" floor/toekick, and really "dark" soffit over there. The goal is to have even lighting unless you are deliberately using shadows for positive/negative visual space.

So it appears you might have less-than-ideal lighting in the entire Kitchen, which is contributing to the uneven lighting. Undercabinet lighting is just supplemental to task lighting the counters. UCLs lean more toward accent lighting, because of highlighting the backsplash, they cannot possibly provide task lighting for inside upper cabinets or inside lower cabinets, and there might not be upper cabinets over every counter/full height cabinets.

To avoid the hotspot on the wall, stop UCLs at least 1" away from the wall.

To avoid the hard shadows requires a bit of experimentation depending on the style of LED strip and diffuser. First, diffusers help - a lot, if you aren't using them. You can adjust the 1" clear space parallel from valance. You can go to a 45d diffuser.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (16)

millworkman
last year
*enough, not enuf..............................
cafleter
Original Author
last year
Yes I know that’s the proper spelling -but short hand comes in when typing on your phone.
Related Professionals
Alpena Interior Designers & Decorators · Bowling Green Furniture & Accessories · Oklahoma City Furniture & Accessories · Detroit Furniture & Accessories · Spanish Fork Furniture & Accessories · Dothan Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Lynchburg Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Albany Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Panama City Kitchen Remodelers · Bainbridge Kitchen Remodelers · Fort Worth Kitchen Remodelers · Kankakee Kitchen Remodelers · Salt Lake City Kitchen Remodelers · Middletown Custom Countertops · Platteville Custom Countertops
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
Sounds like you want a dimmer? That’s easy to install. Or are you talking the color of the light? That measured in Kelvins (no idea why) with warm being 2700 and cool being 6000. Some brands have adjustable color temperature and some you have to choose up front.
cafleter
Original Author
last year
Talking the color of the light. What is an appropriate Kelvin measure for this purpose - under cabinet lighting
PRO
PPF.
last year
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
Depends on your style. In traditional houses I use 2700, in more contemporary I use 3000. I never use cooler than that in residential.
chispa
last year
Here are mine. Color is 3500K to match my 3500K recessed lights throughout the house.

They are also on a dimmer.
millworkman
last year
" but short hand comes in when typing on your phone. "

For TWO letters? Shorthand drives me crazy.
darbuka
last year
Ours are a warm 3000k throughout the kitchen. Would never go more than 3500k.
3onthetree
last year
last modified: last year
The Kelvin should match any other lighting in the kitchen. And the lumens should not overpower those other lights either, you don't want your eye to solely focus on the backsplash.

The "proper" Kelvin depends on your personal preference, the color of the materials they illuminate, etc.

Lumen output can be dimmed, however, it is better to start with a diodes/foot that befits your layout.

Other information you haven't provided, which could affect your interpretation of "enuf to blind a person" could be placement, whether there is a diffuser, and the other light styles and locations.
cafleter
Original Author
last year
Thanks everyone. Here is the current situation. Appreciate the insights on Kelvin ranges and will find out the Kelvin metric of our recessed lights for a match. These were taken in early afternoon with a lot of light in the house; early morning or in the evening they are just crazy bright. We will test some different strips this week!
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
Those are very blue. 4000 k or higher. Very harsh. Maybe they are switchable but more than likely the tape will have to be replaced. Who selected them? Regardless you also need a dimmer
cafleter
Original Author
last year
The builder selected them. We will replace the strip and make sure we have the right color, then add a dimmer.
porkchop_z5b_MI
last year
Oh yea, wow, those are very blue and harsh, particularly against your recessed.

I have 3000K throughout my home, including undercabinet lighting.

A lot of people confuse color temperature and brightness/amount of light. Kelvin is the measurement of the color temperature (how cool or warm the light appears), not the amount of light coming from the fixture -- that would be the lumens. You can light up a runway with 3000K lighting if the lumens are high enough, and conversely 4000K or higher bulbs can be dim because the lumens aren't high enough.

Your undercabinet lights don't look extraordinarily bright, but they do look VERY blue (cool), that's probably what you find displeasing. Figure out what K your recessed are and match that -- I'm guessing 3000K but best to look on the bulb (or pop out the fixture if it's an integrated fixture).
Clyde Kalvin
last year
We have 3000k. Anything above that is too blue for my liking.