How to make under cabinet lighting in the kitchen

1. Get to grips with the basics

What backlights are

To organize additional lighting, spots, spotlights and LED strips are most often used. The first two options are good as decorative lighting, but they are not suitable for the work area.

The most convenient and practical for these purposes are LED strips, which give a uniform and powerful light, are easy to install and are relatively inexpensive. We recommend using them, and it is this option that will be discussed in our instructions.

How to choose LED strip

LED strips are sold in coils of 5 m, they can be cut into pieces in multiples of a certain size, which ranges from 25 to 100 mm. This is done in specially marked places with simple scissors, and the fragments, if necessary, are interconnected.

These products have several key parameters that should be considered when buying:

• Supply voltage. There are 12 and 24 V DC. If possible, the latter option should be preferred. These tapes are safer and draw less current, allowing you to use a less powerful power supply.
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• Power. Measured in watts per meter. The higher, the more light will be. To illuminate the working area in the kitchen, ribbons with a power of 10 W / m are best suited.
• Colour temperature. Measured in kelvins. In fact, this is the color of the glow from warm yellow (2500 K) to cold bluish (7500 K and above). For high-quality workplace lighting, at least neutral white (4,500–5,000 K) is needed, and colder white (about 6,000 K) is better.
• CRI, or color rendering index. It shows how natural the shades of the colors of the illuminated objects will be. It happens from 65 to 98 - the more the better (100 for the sun). Tapes with a CRI below 80 tire your eyes, so it's better not to take this one.

What to attach the backlight to

During operation, the LEDs get very hot, so they require a radiator, which is an aluminum profile. The tape is glued to it from the inside, and it also serves as a protective case and is covered from above with a light flux diffuser. The profile usually indicates the amount of heat that it is able to remove - it is important that this parameter corresponds to the power of the tape, and even better has a margin.

Profiles are laid on (straight), angular and mortise. The latter are completely hidden in the kitchen cabinets, they are not visible and they do not interfere in any way. If you did not provide lighting at the repair stage, then your choice is a straight or angular profile. It is better to stop at the first one, since the second one will make cleaning difficult and may dazzle those sitting at the table.

Which mounting method to choose

The tape itself must be fixed with an adhesive layer from the back to the profile for effective heat dissipation. But the aluminum part can be fixed on the cabinets in different ways: with the help of complete brackets, with screws through drilled holes or with double-sided tape.

The last option is the easiest and fastest, but also the most unreliable. It is best to use complete latches that are screwed to the cabinet with screws - it is not difficult and it is always easy to remove the profile if necessary.

If, for aesthetic or other reasons, the clip-on option does not suit you, then you can drill holes in the part and screw the rails directly to the cabinets. The main thing is not to forget to slightly drill the hole with a large drill so that the screw head hides in it, otherwise the tape will not fit snugly against the profile and the protruding LEDs will quickly burn out. It is also worth considering that in this embodiment, the LEDs are glued on top of the fasteners and it will be problematic to remove the profile in which case.

How to position the backlight

With straight kitchens, everything is simple - the tape in the profile stretches along the wall. But if you have an angular one, then you can’t do without turning the backlight.

You can’t just turn the tape at a right angle, but there are several other options. The easiest is to double fold, as shown in the video above. This method is suitable for inexpensive thin products without a protective sheath.

If you have a less pliable tape, then you can use a special corner connector. It connects the pieces of the product by snapping onto the contact pads of both fragments. Due to the dimensions, the corners leave unlit areas and may not fit in the profile.

And, of course, you can always simply connect two tapes by soldering them with short pieces of wire: plus to plus, minus to minus.

What else do you need to connect

Power Supply

To operate the LED strip, you need a power supply unit (PSU) with the appropriate voltage. They come in closed and open cases. The first is necessary for installation in places where there is moisture, and the second is for dry ones. The PSU plugs into a power outlet and outputs 12 or 24 VDC.

Its power should be with a margin of 20-25%. For the calculation, it is necessary to measure the length of the tape, multiply it by its power in watts and add another 20-25% on top. For example, a 11.5 W/m piece of product with a length of 3.2 m would require a 44 W or 50 W power supply, whichever comes closest to this:

3,2 × 11,5 = 36,8; 36,8 × 0,2 = 7,36; 36,8 + 7,36 = 44, 16

Sometimes the power supply indicates current, not power. In this case, you should divide the total power of the tape by the voltage in order to find out the current consumed by it and compare it with that of the power supply. In the example above, this would be 3.68A at 12V. Thus, you need a 4 A PSU:

44,16 / 12 = 3,68

Switch

To control the backlight, you need a switch, and here, too, there is plenty to choose from. If you are planning lighting at the repair stage, then you can install the usual keyboard option next to the socket block above the countertop.

In a finished kitchen, it is easier to integrate a compact cord switch, similar to those used in wall sconces. Better yet, install a part with an IR sensor that will be triggered by a wave of your hand.

An important point: any switch should be placed in front of the power supply, and not after. So the transformer will not work constantly and will last longer.

2. Prepare everything you need

• LED Strip Light;
• profile with diffuser and plugs;
• power unit;
• cable with plug;
• switch;
• mounting bracket (if necessary);
• stranded copper cable 0.75–1.5 mm²;
• network cable with plug 220 V;
• corner connectors (if needed);
• degreaser;
• double sided tape (if needed)
• masking tape;
• insulating tape;
• soldering iron and solder (if necessary);
• screwdriver;
• drill;
• scissors;
• knife;
• hacksaw, angle grinder or miter saw;
• roulette.

3. Prepare the tape

Using a tape measure, measure the length of the kitchen cabinets above the work surface and cut the required amount of tape according to the special marks with scissors. They are marked with a dotted line or a scissors icon and cross two copper pads in half.

If you use the entire tape as a whole, then you can connect to standard wires. For cut fragments, solder stranded copper wires with a cross section of at least 0.75 mm², and preferably 1.5 mm².

When the length of the illumination zone is more than 5 m, never connect the tapes in series, one to the other! In such cases, use separate cables from the power supply or one from the PSU, and branch the power from it to each tape.

4. Make a test assembly and fitting

To avoid errors after installation and not to redo the entire structure later, it is better to first assemble all the components together and make sure that they work.

If you have chosen a proximity switch, connect everything according to the diagram above. Connect the cables from the LED strip to the power supply: red to the +V terminal, black to COM. Next, connect the L and N terminals on the PSU to the OUT terminals on the IR switch (no matter in what order). Then, connect a cable with a plug to the IN input terminals of the part and plug it into the socket. It remains to connect the sensor, hold your hand next to it and make sure that the backlight works.

If you use a conventional switch (keyboard or with a cord), then it's even easier. In this case, one of the wires from the plug should be connected directly to the PSU, and the second one should be cut, stripped, and connected to the switch terminals.

At the same stage, consider the location of the wires, look for a place for the power supply, and also figure out where you need to drill the cabinets in order to pass the wires through the holes.

5. Saw off the profile

Measure and cut the desired amount of profile. Do not forget to take into account the size of the plugs - if this is not done, the part will stick out behind the cabinet. For cutting, a hacksaw, angle grinder or miter saw is suitable.

It is more convenient to cut immediately with the diffuser installed. And so that the latter does not fidget and does not chip, wind two or three turns of masking tape around the cut.

6. Attach the profile in place

Attach the profile to the cabinet. If you use complete clips, fasten them with screws, stepping back from the edges of the guide by 10–15 cm, and snap the part into them.

When fastening the profile directly to the furniture, make holes in its base every meter or only along the edges if the length is short: first with a 4 mm drill bit for screws, and then lightly ream them with an 8 mm tool to form a chamfer where the hat will hide self-tapping screw. Then screw the profile to the cabinet.

If you don't want to mess around, use good quality double sided tape. Be sure to degrease the surfaces of the cabinets and the profile, glue the adhesive tape and put the metal part in place, pressing it well.

7. Glue the tape to the profile

Thoroughly degrease the inner surface of the profile, and then glue the LED strip to it, gradually removing the protective film from its reverse side. In order for the part to hold firmly and the profile to dissipate heat, press it well along its entire length, pressing on each of the elements.

8. Install diffuser

Remove the protective film from the diffuser and insert it into the profile. Be careful not to break this plastic part. After that, put on the ends of the profile plugs.

9. Place the switch

If you planned a fixed switch at the repair stage, then it should already be installed. In the case of a drawstring switch, embed it in the bottom of the cabinet, pre-drilling a hole. Or use the mounting plate: attach it to the kitchen ledge or in another convenient place, and then insert the switch into the plate.

When using a proximity switch, hide it in one of the cabinets, and bring the IR sensor to a suitable place by drilling a hole of the required diameter in the bottom or wall of the box.

10. Assemble the electrical circuit

Connect everything according to the diagram from point 4. Place the power supply, cables and other elements in their permanent places. Isolate the electrical connections with electrical tape, close all covers on the housings and make sure that water does not get on the lighting elements during operation.

11. Check backlight operation

Plug the power cable into a socket and turn on the light.