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Installing hardwired undermount cabinet lighting is a great way to add light to dark corners of your kitchen. It’s also perfect for adding ambiance and accenting your countertops or any other type of surface that you’d like an extra bit of light on. These are some instructions on how to install hardwired under cabinet lighting in your own home!
Installing wiring for under cabinet lighting is usually done during a kitchen remodel. But if you want to do this and aren’t planning on doing any other renovations, that’s okay. We show how to plan the wiring in this article. The wiring can be installed without causing any damage to your walls and it only needs access from the inside of your cabinets.
Table of Contents
1: First, find where the knockout in the back of your light fixture is. This is a hole that only needs to be punched and not drilled. Take out this plate using a screwdriver.
2: Make sure that you know where you want your light to go and then mark it with an X on the surface on either side of the knockout hole. This will show you where to put screws on the other side so that you can hang up your new light. Be careful, though! You have to make sure there are no studs around because they won’t let cables through otherwise!
3. Drill a hole into the X that is big enough for the cable to go through. We recommend using a ½ inch spade bit for this.
4. Put the cable through the hole towards the electrical box after you have measured how far away it is from it. Then use your hand to pull it out of the wall and then put it in place at that electrical box.
5: Remove the cover and then the socket strip.
6: Insert a cable clamp into the hole.
7: Take off the plate that locks the clamp and screw it back in from where it is now on outside of light fixture.
8: Run the cable through the hole in the wall to where you want it.
9: Remove the wrapper around your cable and connect your wires to the corresponding wires in the fixture. Place lightbulbs in for under cabinet lighting.
10: After you have connected everything, turn the power back on to the room to see if it works. Hopefully, your new lights are on and they look great!
There are a few key things to consider when choosing your lights such as brightness and lumens or whether they are dimming/”>dimmable under cabinet lighting.
Brightness is measured by lumens. To make sure that your kitchen has enough light, you should look for fixtures that produce at least 250 lumens per foot. If the fixture is 24 inches long, it should produce at least 500 lumens. This way there will be enough light across your counters. If you are installing puck lights, measure the spacing and then calculate how many lumens each one gives off so that you can decide what to buy or how far apart to space them.
If you have a fixture that has just one color temperature, make sure you pick the right one to match the color scheme of your kitchen. If you are unsure and need to make a decision, then go with 3000k.
If you can, get a light that you can control how bright it is. If your light cannot be dimmed, then use a switch to change its brightness. Read about how to buy a switch so it will work with your light.
Installing the light fixture is hard. You must read instructions to learn how. Some lights need lots of wire work. Others just have a sticker that goes under the cabinet. I will not choose for you, but if installing is hard, then it will be good when it is finished.
If you have hardwired under cabinet lighting but it is not working, there are a few possible reasons.
First of all, make sure that the power to your light switch is turned on. If this doesn’t work then check how many lights are connected to how many switches and see if one or more isn’t in use anymore because sometimes they can be switched off when someone was just turning their kitchen lights off before going home from work without realizing that they had left them on for days!
Another reason why it might not turn on could simply be a bad fuse which probably needs replacing with a new one at an electric store like Lowe’s or Home Depot – whichever chain near where you live carries these kind of things. And lastly, you might have forgotten to connect the ground wire!
If you are considering under cabinet lighting, then you are on the way to a big improvement in your kitchen. Under cabinet lighting brings an extra element that can really make a difference. There are many types of under cabinet lights available. I will tell you what they are so that you can decide which one is best for your needs and for your kitchen.
You can install a wireless LED light bar under your cabinets. It is easy to install and usually comes with the option to put it on the bottom of the cabinet with adhesive or screws.
Some of these lights come with a remote control. They also have the ability to change the light color. Something that you should keep in mind is that they will eat up batteries, so if you plan on using them for more than a few hours each day, then you may want to get hard wired ones because it’s cheaper in the long run.
Under cabinet puck lights are popular for under the cabinet lighting. They are good for a low price. They can be changed by remote control. Also, they can change colors too!
There are two types of puck lights. One is battery powered and wireless while the other is wired. If you want to install them yourself, then get the LED hard wired fixtures because they provide better results. You can also choose to use battery operated fixtures if you do not want to install any wires.
LED strip lights or tape lights are used around the home and not just under the cabinets. They come in a long roll and can be cut into pieces that you need. You can control them with a remote and change colors too!
Strip lights are usually not the same colors as other light bulbs. You will find them in different colors like those on a Christmas tree. One thing to keep in mind is that you might see the reflection off of your counter tops if you have these lights.
This is an old technology. LED lights are better because they provide more light and they are more efficient (they make things cooler). You should not buy the old type of light.
Yesterday’s technology is not as good as new technology. Yesterday’s technology is like an incandescent light, and it might be more efficient than a traditional bulb, but it is also hotter and can’t do what LED can do.
These are a type of fluorescent light that is more energy efficient than regular. They are also hot, so you can keep food warm near them. You should buy these lights only if you need them.
One thing is how bright they are. Make sure that you check how many lumens the light has before making a purchase. Also, look at how far away it can reach, and how wide of an area will be lit up by these lights. This should help determine how much money you want to spend on your hard wired under cabinet lighting!
In conclusion, installing hard wire LED lighting in your kitchen cabinets is not as difficult as most people think. Once all of the required materials have been acquired from a local hardware store or online retailer alike, installation takes no more than 30 minutes with only basic household tools needed such as screwdrivers and pliers/wire cutters if Hardwired Undermount Cabinet Lighting?
The most energy efficient under cabinet lights are the LED hard wired under cabinet lights. Tests might show that rechargeable lithium battery operated LED fixtures can be more energy efficient.
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