LED under cabinet lighting

I'm renovating the kitchen and want to use LED under cabinet lighting, as it seems like a nice idea as the tape is flexible and easy to hide and it draws little energy. I have the walls open right now and want to hard wire the right places with the right stuff to do this properly.

Looking around online, there are plenty of places that seem to sell them, but it also seems hard to tell which are the good ones, which ones are crap, etc.

What I want is a tape kit (unless there is a reason not to), that is dimmable, and that is hard wired, not plugged in. This will be under 5 different cabinet sections, all but one are reasonably in line to be on the same transformer, the other is across the room and needs its own.

I thought I saw someone not long ago espouse the virtues of one of these kits, but can't find it. Has anyone used any of them to give any good or bad advice? Thanks!

I've done several, I usually put a switched receptacle above the cabinet where it's not visible and plug the transformer into that. I doubt that they are dimmable, but they are cheap enough to try out.

Link

SuperBrightLEDs Dot Com looks to be pretty good for what you want to do. If you want someone to physically look at what you're ordering before you do, I work a few blocks from their facility. They aren't a walk-in store, but a sales person should be willing to show off some toys.

You have to have a dimmer circuit to make them dimmable. I don't know about buying one but you can build one

https://www.youtube.com/embed/r9GMUYa_DvY

In reply to minivan_racer:

I may be wrong, but Diode Dynamics may sell one on their online store. Once again, they are around the corner from my work. Lots of LEDs around there apparently.

In the theater I use them all the time. $10 gets you 17 feet of LED tape. $35 gets the same thing in RGB letting you set the color you want.

You will need some means of attaching them other than the tape. The tape doesn't stick for long. Staple gun won't work because the tape is the same width as the staples and you will put a staple through an important part. Plus the strip itself is not that durable. The clear plastic part of the strip is made of a kinda silicone-like stuff that tears pretty easily.

The downside is that the tape itself is not really dimmable. You have to dim after the transformer which means either wiring in your own or using a kit that has a little dimmer with it.

But they're cheap, so get a few and play with them. Here is where I buy for the theater:

Amazon LED tape

I use the LE brand because it seems to do well and comes in the right configurations for cheap. You'll want 60 diodes per meter, and choose your color. The link is for 3000k warm white, but they come in all kinds of colors as well as RGB controllable with a remote.

In reply to curtis73:

Thanks for the link! I'm ripping out the drop ceiling in my basement and painting the joists/ducts/etc black, and I think these RGB-adjustable strips will be a cool addition for when the kids have friends over.

Thanks everyone, ended up with the LED strips and a hardwire transformer that works with LED dimmer switches.

Curtis and others: What do you think is the best way to connect multiple strips? I've used the little wire extensions with clips on both ends, but they don't seem to work well long term.

Sonic wrote: Thanks everyone, ended up with the LED strips and a hardwire transformer that works with LED dimmer switches.

Link?

I used these as the dimmable hardwire transformers: Amazon link

These LED strips: Amazon link

Some 20 gauge wire to go between them, and some Lutron LED spec dimmer switches. I'm going to run the 20 gauge wire behind the wall as I have it open already, mount the transformers in a cabinet where I have the 12awg from the switch going.

Gonna bump this page. Originally I wanted to go hardwired but now I'm thinking this may be a better option.

I have 3 strips of cabinets that I would like to add undercabinet lighting to. 1 on each side of the microwave and 1 across the way above the dishwasher. The good part is I should be able to hide all the wires through the crown molding and behind the cabinets because the ikea cabinets sit off the wall a centimeter or so. I just need to install the lights before I finish the crown.

There is also an in cabinet plug above the microwave. The plan was to get power from that plug and mount the transformer there as well. In order to give it a built in look I was going to use the lutron wireless lamp dimmer + pico remote. Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to dim with the remote. Just on and off.

Anyone see any flaws in my plan? The only thing I can see as being an issue is the lights are gonna switch to the default color everytime i turn them on and off. Hopefully that color is white.

Lights:

https://www.amazon.com/WenTop-300leds-Controller-Kitchen-Bedroom/dp/B01DBP1T28/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1503582190&sr=8-5&keywords=led+light+strip

Lutron switch kit:

https://www.amazon.com/P-PKG1P-WH-Wireless-300-watt-100-watt-Control/dp/B00JJY1QG0/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1503582276&sr=1-4&keywords=lutron+pico+outlet

Wall plate adapter so it looks built in:

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-PICO-WBX-ADAPT-Pico-Wallplate-Bracket/dp/B00JZRAFEA/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1503582223&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=lutron+pico

Extensions to run through crown molding: https://www.amazon.com/EvZ-Color-Extension-Cable-Strip/dp/B00DPQMKBS/ref=pd_sim_60_7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2XVC3FE2WQWK6XT44453

why not hardwire with touch switch dimmers? you can hang it up under the front corner of the cabinet(s), avoiding having to put another switch or switches in your wall.

they arent an analog dimmer per se, they switch from OFF-DIM-MEDIUM-BRIGHT

Hi... I have always liked fluorescent UC lights, so I want to find LED's that are inexpensive and give out the same type of light with no hotspots and flare reflections.

turnkey pcb assembly