Under cabinet kitchen downlights Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[oceansplasher]

Hello everyone, been reading this site for a while, but first post asking for advice.

We have had a new kitchen fitted and I have fitted the tiles. Now I want to install some under cabinet lighting which I have bought from Screwfix. The wiring is already in place and I wondered what the general rule for installing the lights is. The lights have a small transformer unit and obviously a set of 3 lights are connected by wire. Is the general rule that you drill a hole into the new cabinets and run the wires/ transformer inside the cabinets thus keeping the lights tidy, or should I link the lights together and run trunking underneath the cabinets to hide all the wires?

Any help/advice is appreciated.
I wondered if there was a topic an this already but couldn't see it.

Thanks, Stuart

[thedoctor]

The project is called, electrical, lights in kitchen units

[oceansplasher]

[quote="thedoctor"]The project is called, electrical, lights in kitchen units[/quote]

Thanks for the direction. I had already looked at that project. It is not specifically abour under cabinet lights though, more about plinth lighting, which is much easier to hide the wiring.

I wanted peoples experienced opinion on whether to drill into the cabinets and hide cables,transformer inside, or trunk it around the edge of the tiles, thats all really.

Thanks.

[singer]

Hi Stuart
Usually kitchen wall cupboards are fitted with cornice around the top and pelmet around the bottom to finish them off. If yours is the same then the pelmet should be around 2-3inches deep giving plenty of room to hide cables without drilling into interior of cupboards.
Transformer should screw to underside of cupboard and cables clipped or trunked along to each light.
Make sure no live 240volt connections are exposed underneath when complete - if the transformer is pre-wired with a short length of flex and you need to connect this to the existing wiring, use a connector block enclosed in a plastic box readily available from wholesalers.

PS I suppose you've thought about how you're going to switch them on & off?
Cheers

[tom hass]

hard-wired installation for under cabinet lighting is almost the same, today LED under cabinet lighting is the most featured option for lighting under cabinet you can check http://www.ledunder-cabinetlighting.com/2014/09/how-to-install-led-strip-under-cabinet.html this installation steps, i wish you find it helpful.