Kitchens (and other) lighting

[Doc Daneeka 6793]

The search feature isn't returning any results even for "kitchen" so it's possible this discussion already exists and I just can't find it at the moment.

Anyway, I started looking at under-cabinet lighting for the kitchen. As usual, something like that progresses. The lights I was looking at went from pucks to something like workstation lights to LED strips. Then, yeah, might as well have over-cabinet lights, too.

Started looking at Hue and the like since they're relatively ready-to-go and ubiquitous. And expensive, for what they are. And they're not very configurable in that their lengths can be altered only in fairly big chunks.

Then I looked at bare LED strips, channel, diffusers, controllers, power supplies, etc. And CRI. And lights per meter. And lumens. And so on.

At this point, I'm thinking I want some 90+ CRI, RGBWW, chips-on-board LED strips with a controller that supports Zigbee so it would at least be compatible with a Hue bridge and other Hue stuff, along with Alexa, Siri, and whatever other voice control that's out there.

Who's gone down something like this path? What are the things to look for and avoid with kitchen lighting, in general, and LED strips, in particular? It looks like some soldering might be in store, at least to jump across the space in the cabinets where my range is. I'm going back and forth on whether to treat the top and bottom of each section of cabinets as one unit or two so I could make them different colors for holidays, game days, etc. if the mood struck me.

Anyway... any insight or experience would be appreciated .

[ztejas 44249]

Sounds like you already know more about kitchen cabinet lighting than literally everyone that posts here. 

[Celery Man 21100]

i've got a canister bulb sitting here, looks like we go 650 lumens 2700k. Honestly I'm a little surprised the temperature is that warm - the kitchen doesn't feel that way. But I do hate the goddamn bulbs that look like the inside of the refrigerator

i wanted to do some under the cabinet lighting in my old kitchen but haven't felt the need in this one. lots of bulbs, more space, more light.

[Updawg 2387]

I jdid led strip lighting since it pretty flexible and cheap nowadays. Either hue (overpriced) or Feit from Costco.

I replaced the phone Jack with a fake power switch that’s remote to the outlet by the oven vent fan (hidden). Everything is controlled by remote or apps. Lots of options out there

I’d get little brackets to nail it in from Home Depot though. That sticky stuff doesn’t work to hold them up

[Doc Daneeka 6793]

27 minutes ago, Updawg said:

I jdid led strip lighting since it pretty flexible and cheap nowadays. Either hue (overpriced) or Feit from Costco.

I replaced the phone Jack with a fake power switch that’s remote to the outlet by the oven vent fan (hidden). Everything is controlled by remote or apps. Lots of options out there

I’d get little brackets to nail it in from Home Depot though. That sticky stuff doesn’t work to hold them up

You mean use the channel with brackets? I was thinking I’d go that way just to make sure the lines are super straight, but the backup with be 3M double-sided, not the default sticky tape. 

[Doc Daneeka 6793]

34 minutes ago, Updawg said:

I jdid led strip lighting since it pretty flexible and cheap nowadays. Either hue (overpriced) or Feit from Costco.

I replaced the phone Jack with a fake power switch that’s remote to the outlet by the oven vent fan (hidden). Everything is controlled by remote or apps. Lots of options out there

I’d get little brackets to nail it in from Home Depot though. That sticky stuff doesn’t work to hold them up

Feit looks to be $35 at Costco. Might be worth it just to see even if it ends up in the garage or something. 

Hue seems to be banking on quite a premium for an easy setup and environment. 

[NoName 17164]

On 7/15/2023 at 7:15 PM, Doc Daneeka said:

The search feature isn't returning any results even for "kitchen" so it's possible this discussion already exists and I just can't find it at the moment.

Anyway, I started looking at under-cabinet lighting for the kitchen. As usual, something like that progresses. The lights I was looking at went from pucks to something like workstation lights to LED strips. Then, yeah, might as well have over-cabinet lights, too.

Started looking at Hue and the like since they're relatively ready-to-go and ubiquitous. And expensive, for what they are. And they're not very configurable in that their lengths can be altered only in fairly big chunks.

Then I looked at bare LED strips, channel, diffusers, controllers, power supplies, etc. And CRI. And lights per meter. And lumens. And so on.

At this point, I'm thinking I want some 90+ CRI, RGBWW, chips-on-board LED strips with a controller that supports Zigbee so it would at least be compatible with a Hue bridge and other Hue stuff, along with Alexa, Siri, and whatever other voice control that's out there.

Who's gone down something like this path? What are the things to look for and avoid with kitchen lighting, in general, and LED strips, in particular? It looks like some soldering might be in store, at least to jump across the space in the cabinets where my range is. I'm going back and forth on whether to treat the top and bottom of each section of cabinets as one unit or two so I could make them different colors for holidays, game days, etc. if the mood struck me.

Anyway... any insight or experience would be appreciated .

GE Enbrighten (manufactured by a third party, not GE) has been pretty universally recommended by folks I have talked to. granted, I have a direct wire to a switch and am replacing the switch with a smart one, but i too don't want to go down the road of figuring out LED strips, channels, diffusers, etc.

https://enbrightenme.com/productsindoor-lighting/under-cabinet-lights

[Doc Daneeka 6793]

18 minutes ago, NoName said:

GE Enbrighten (manufactured by a third party, not GE) has been pretty universally recommended by folks I have talked to. granted, I have a direct wire to a switch and am replacing the switch with a smart one, but i too don't want to go down the road of figuring out LED strips, channels, diffusers, etc.

https://enbrightenme.com/productsindoor-lighting/under-cabinet-lights

Ha, that site is a repository of all the stuff I’ve looked at, from the puck lights up to the LED strip lights. Good stuff. 

I don’t have a direct wire to a switch, but I do have outlets on all the walls with the cabinets I want to light. I’m no electrician, but maybe that would be enough of a foundation for an actual one to put in the necessary switches, etc. without breaking the bank. 

In the meantime, I have some lighting strips, a controller, and a power supply on the way from Amazon. Should be here today. It will give me a chance, I hope, to see how reflective such things will be — will I need diffusers for the under- or even the over-cabinet lights, for example — and whether they’re in the ballpark for giving me the look I have in mind. Worst case, I learn some things and my garage gets a little fancier. Best case, I figure out exactly what I need and now it will compare in price and effort to more polished out-of-the-box solutions like Hue, Govee, etc.

I mean, I have time to kill before football season, anyway, so might as well try out some things. 

Thanks for the link. 

Edited July 17, 2023 by Doc Daneeka