Karl wrote:
I have no idea how to lay out the lighting - that is, how many lights of what
wattage to use where. Anyone know of a good design guide online?
Any advice, what to watch out for, what to use and not to use, etc.?
We just finished our under-cabinet lighting, so I'll share what we gleaned
from the process.
After experimenting with some of the puck style lights, we went with 12, 24,
and 36" fluorescent tube fixtures. My wife didn't like the "spotlight effect"
of the pucks, claiming it created shadows and provided uneven lighting
(function over form). I tended to agree, but I was more interested in the
lower energy/lumen that the fluorescents provided--they use a fraction of the
power our overhead spotlights (hi-hats) require. We also decided that
dimmable lights were not necessary because other lights in the kitchen are
dimmable and as my wife said: "they're my task lights, so I want them to
always be bright." That said, my neighbor has the puck style lights over a
nice dark granite countertop with a stainless backsplash and the effect is
quite striking, especially when dimmed.
If you aren't pre-wired for all of your cabinets, I image the low-voltage
style of lights will be easier to install. My brother-in-law has a set of the
low voltage pucks that were a straight forward install: plug transformer into
a counter outlet, run the wire up into a cabinet where the transformer lives,
then string the pucks along the bottom of the cabinets.
Ian
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