Under cabinet lights

[carreauchompeur]

Hi folks,

I’m in the midst of a kitchen refit. Sparky is coming in 2 weeks, fitter the week after. Considering under-cabinet lighting as spark mentioned it. Sounds like it would look nice and be a good default illumination.

Any suggestions/tips?

I’m thinking motion sensitive as I don’t want the faff/mess of putting in another light switch, I presume sparky would just fit connection points… only have 2 short runs of wall units, one about 2m round a corner, one 1.2m.

This is one of those exercises where money just keeps being thrown!

[LennyM1984]

Kinetic (in think the brand might be something like Quinetic) could be a good option. That's what I fitted with the light switch placed in a convenient location

ETA: ... And they're pretty cheap. Think mine was £15 including the receiver

[Panamax]

carreauchompeur said:

I don t want the faff/mess of putting in another light switch

Even if you want to keep things simple and tidy I would always have a single switch to control all of them, or link them to your existing main switch. For a separate switch you can always mount the switch up under the cupboards, out of sight, or even inside one of the cupboards.

If you fit movement detectors you'll have lights flashing on and off all the time.

If you fit multiple switches for multiple lights it'll drive you crazy.

Be very careful with the colour temperature of the lights you install. First up, you want all your lighting in the room the same colour and second up, I can't stand anything other than "warm white" (2700 to 3000K). IMO the bluer the lights the worse they look. Colour chart on this link,
https://www.doublebayhardware.com.au/blogs/light-b...

[PorkInsider]

LennyM1984 said:

Kinetic (in think the brand might be something like Quinetic) could be a good option. That's what I fitted with the light switch placed in a convenient location

ETA: ... And they're pretty cheap. Think mine was £15 including the receiver

Yep, I'd agree that's the way to go.

Quinetic stuff isn't usually that cheap though is it, unless they saw me coming when I bought some gear last week - and I think only TLC sell it?

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Quinetic/i...

[Russet Grange]

Can be done dirt cheap with an LED string from Amazon. I used this in my bathroom for a hidden strip:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B098PHLZ3N

Tapo app on phone, link to Alexa once, job done. Full control of colour and brightness just by asking.

Mains powered with the usual adapter so you'd need a socket in a cupboard.

[thebraketester]

PorkInsider said:

LennyM1984 said:

Kinetic (in think the brand might be something like Quinetic) could be a good option. That's what I fitted with the light switch placed in a convenient location

ETA: ... And they're pretty cheap. Think mine was £15 including the receiver

Yep, I'd agree that's the way to go.

Quinetic stuff isn't usually that cheap though is it, unless they saw me coming when I bought some gear last week - and I think only TLC sell it?

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Quinetic/i...

That's what we did. 2 sets of under counter lights both 'linked' to the same quinetic switch. One receiver before each of the LED drivers and one switch. Works great and ment that hard wired linking wasn't required which would have cost significantly more.

Edited by thebraketester on Sunday 15th March 21:20

[Acuity31]

I used a kit on aliexpress which came with a motion switch, you just wave your hand over wherever you mount it and they turn on. Really bright and dimmable too. Cost me £15 for 4 strips, the driver and switch

[LennyM1984]

PorkInsider said:

Yep, I'd agree that's the way to go.

Quinetic stuff isn't usually that cheap though is it, unless they saw me coming when I bought some gear last week - and I think only TLC sell it?

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Quinetic/i...

I think I used a knock off version but it has been fine for the time it has been installed

[clockworks]

I had under cabinet light strips with a proper wall switch installed when the kitchen was rebuilt 10 years ago.
Because I had to manually flip the wall switch, they were never really used - room lights were good enough.

Last year I wired in a Shelly switch, and added a Tapo motion sensor and a home-made Lux sensor.

The under cabinet lights now come on automatically when someone is in the kitchen area, and go off again when leaving after a 30 second delay.
If it's sunny outside (so bright enough already) the lights don't come on.

Now that it's automated, we only turn on the main lights if doing food prep. For making a cuppa or grabbing a snack, the under cabinet lights alone are fine.

Dining area lighting is also automated, but using smart bulbs and 3x motion sensors and a presence sensor, as well as a Lux sensor.

I'm using Home Assistant to tie everything together, but it can be done without it as long as your smart lights and sensors can talk to each other (same smart platform).

[Mark V GTD]

Very interesting - hadn't appreciated that completely powerless/wireless light switches had come to market!

[Cabbage Patch]

My advice would be to do it properly now. Switch the under cabinet lighting from a 2 gang light switch along with the main ceiling lighting. You’ve got the electrician coming and the kitchen is yet to be fitted. If there’s a bit extra mess because some cables need chasing in then it can be rectified easily.

[carreauchompeur]

Thanks all. Currently kicking around a few ideas but the Quinetic system looks great for low hassle purposes. I can put a new circuit in but may be more hassle than benefit. Will see what spark reckons.

[carreauchompeur]

Cabbage Patch said:

My advice would be to do it properly now. Switch the under cabinet lighting from a 2 gang light switch along with the main ceiling lighting. You ve got the electrician coming and the kitchen is yet to be fitted. If there s a bit extra mess because some cables need chasing in then it can be rectified easily.

As luck would have it, when I removed the old wall cabinets, surprise! A loop of cable popped down, separate lighting circuit already there. Just sorting out teething problem with LED dimmer but jobs a good un