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Undercabinet Lighting Puts Light Where You Need It Most
Your body and the upper cabinets often block the light from centrally located ceiling fixtures, keeping it from reaching the countertops where you need it most. To avoid working in dim shadows, install lights beneath the upper cabinets to illuminate those cutting boards and cookbooks.
Fixtures installed beneath cabinets cast bright, unobstructed light directly onto the work surface. Install them toward the front of the cabinets with a small valance, if necessary, so lights don’t shine in your eyes. Halogen lights (right) burn hot to create a pure, bright light. Fluorescents (left) are long-lived, inexpensive to operate and easy to install.
Undercabinet lighting is available in three varieties:
Fluorescent lights are reasonably priced and long-lived, and they cast an even, “cool” light. They’re available in varying lengths to accommodate different cabinet widths. Designers warn that fluorescent lights used in proximity to certain strong wall or countertop colors can create an “unappetizing” glow. T-5 fluorescent bulbs—about half the diameter of standard fluorescent bulbs—provide good illumination without being obtrusive.
Halogen lights, most commonly in the form of small discs or pucks, cast a white, highly focused light that’s easy to work by. Halogen light closely resembles sunlight. Surface-mount and recessed fixtures are available.
Incandescent lights come in a variety of wattages and conurations. Strips of incandescent minibulbs tend to be of lower wattage and work better for ambient light than for true “working” light.
Whichever type of lighting you select, install it toward the front edge of the cabinets so it illuminates the entire countertop rather than the wall. Install a 1- to 2-in. valance along the lower edge of the cabinet to keep light from shining directly in your eyes. Where possible, install continuous lighting so countertops are evenly lit. If you have shiny countertops, use frosted bulbs or frosted lenses over the bulbs to minimize harsh reflections.
According to electrical code, the cord of a plug-in-type fixture can’t be permanently secured to the cabinet or wall with staples or other fasteners (although it can be draped over an open-ended hook). A more permanent, but more involved, solution is to install lights that can be “hard wired” directly into the home’s electrical system and controlled with a wall switch.
Special Recessed Light Trims Focus Light Where You Need It MostStandard recessed lights, especially those installed in soffits or around the perimeter of a room, tend to light up walls, floors, cabinet fronts and the top of your head—places where light isn’t really needed. Most recessed light manufacturers produce a basic “can” fixture that can be fitted with a variety of trims ranging from the basic baffled cylinder to adjustable eyeballs and wall washers. These last two versions in particular allow you to direct light where it’s needed—to the inside of cabinets or specific areas of the countertop. The cost to swap out a trim is usually less than $20 per fixture and the job takes only a few minutes.
Most recessed light "cans" can accommodate a wide array of trims. Eyeball trims (left) can be adjusted up to 30 degrees to cast light into deep cabinets. Light from wall washer trims (right) can illuminate cabinets, highlight artwork and reflect to provide general lighting.
Make sure your new trims are produced by the same company that manufactured the recessed can housing and that the trim is compatible with that specific “can.” Look inside the can for the manufacturer’s name and the model number.
Add a Dimmer Switch for Flexibility
Improving kitchen lighting doesn’t simply mean adding more lighting; it also means adding flexible lighting. Many designers divide kitchen lighting into three categories: general lighting (for overall illumination), task lighting (for detailed tasks) and accent lighting (for setting a mood or illuminating glass-front cabinets). A dimmer switch allows an existing light to serve all three functions. Install the highest wattage bulbs your fixtures are rated for, then use them full blast for chopping carrots, slightly dimmed for putting away groceries, and greatly dimmed for enjoying romantic dinners.
Replacing a standard switch with a dimmer takes less than an hour and costs as little as $8. Fluorescent and low-voltage lights need special, more expensive dimmer switches.
Simply Switching Bulbs Can Make a Huge Difference
Improving your kitchen lighting can be as simple as switching to different light bulbs, and there is a wide range to choose from. A standard reflector-type floodlight casts a beam of light (beam spread) of about 70 degrees, which is good for general lighting. A spotlight confines the beam spread to about 20 degrees—much better for task lighting. A narrow spotlight bulb (NSP) can narrow the beam spread to 12 degrees for bright, highly focused light. A standard A-type light bulb casts its light very broadly. So check your bulbs. A standard light bulb mistakenly placed in a recessed or track light fixture will provide only a fraction of the light that the recommended spot or reflector bulb would provide.
AS DISTANCE INCREASES between bulb and surface, light levels fall off dramatically. For optimum lighting, keep fixtures close to the surface you’re illuminating—and use the correct bulb.A bulb’s capacity to light a particular surface is dramatically affected by distance. If 100 percent of the light from a bulb reaches a surface 1 ft. below it, only one-fourth of that light hits the surface if the bulb is raised to 2 ft. above the surface, one-ninth at 3 ft. and a mere one-sixteenth at 4 ft. You math whizzes get the equation, right? So when you need bright task lighting, keep the light as close to the work surface as you can, use a bulb that focuses more light and/or use a higher wattage bulb if the fixture is rated for it.
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