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https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl DIY Forum >> Electrical Questions >> Undercupboard kitchen lighting https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1240389092 Message started by Tika on Apr 22^nd, 2009, 9:31am

Title: Undercupboard kitchen lighting
Post by Tika on Apr 22^nd, 2009, 9:31am

Is LED undercupboard lighting bright enough to be of use? I don't have a plinth so I chose "delta" lights as they look good.
They have a choice of LED or halogen and I think if I pay a lot more they may be available in a fluorescent version.

I have been told completely contradictory information about these lamps by sales staff. eg :
LED's are the brightest/they are only a romantic glow,
LED's last forever/ they need changing frequently and the bulbs are very expensive,
halogen bulbs need changing frequently/very infrequently.
if one halogen bulb goes (out of a row of 4) and it's not changed immediately, the transformer will be damaged/ it's perfectly alright to carry on using the other 3 without damage
halogen are too yellow and get too hot, so it's uncomfortable to have them that close to a worktop,
fluorescent are too bright without a plinth/ they are the only ones to give a good light.

You see my dilemma! I really fancied LED's but don't know if they'll give enough light for purpose - and my cooking needs all the help it can get!!

Title: Re: Undercupboard kitchen lighting
Post by Zambezi on Apr 22^nd, 2009, 12:51pm

Lighting is a fairly specialist field and some people make a good living out of designing lighting plans.
I can only give you my 5p worth, based on my likes and dislikes.

LED is a fairly new product (it has been around for years but it is getting used more and more) and it still has some way to go to beat halogen lighting, unless you have a large cheque book. It is also a cool white (very white light), you do get warm white LEDs now but I have not seen any to compare to the standard ones you normally get. It uses very little electricity, runs fairly cool and is supposed to last 1000s of hours (I have had them fail after 10 minutes but I think it was a bad batch). They are the most expensive to buy but the cheapest to run. They are normally a very tight beam (spot), so you may find they are very bright directly under the light but not bright enough anywhere else. Again they are bringing out new lamps that have more of a flood but I have not seen any yet. As you can tell there are new products/versions coming out all the time as manufacturers race to fill the gaps in the market.

Halogens are bright, run very hot and use the most electricity out of the 3 types of lights you mentioned. They have been around for years and there are different wattages, beam angles, colour tones etc. The cheapest to buy but the most expensive to run.

Fluorescent is available in different shapes and sizes. They are probably the best for task lighting because they give wide flood of light as opposed to spot beam of the other 2 types. They don't use much electricity, don't give off much heat and the tubes can last ages (more than halogen, less than LED).

If I had to choose I would go for compact fluorescent under cabinet lights, something like
http://www.aurora.eu.com/ProductPages/LampProductDetails.aspx?g=3285&c=65&b=71&oc=65
There are other makes and style, look at the Aurora website.

Title: Re: Undercupboard kitchen lighting
Post by wozzy on Apr 22^nd, 2009, 10:50pm

out of personal preference i would use halogens with decent OSRAM lamps to increase lamp life and use less energy (i forget the name of the OSRAM halogen range that use less energy than standard halogen lamp of this type).

My reasoning is based on, the other two types just dont give out enough light for most of the situations i come across. Although everyone is different and so are most kitchens.

Title: Re: Undercupboard kitchen lighting
Post by Tika on Apr 23^rd, 2009, 9:44am

Thank you very much for your information. I looked at the site Zambezi recommended and found some delta lights much less expensive than any I'd seen so far, but I couldn't make out what they were. Is this yet another alternative form of lighting, and if so, is it any good? The site is
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/98011/Lighting-Lamps/Internal-Lighting/Kitchen-Lighting/Brushed-Chrome-Triangular-Downlight-Cabinet-Light-Pack-of-3
Thanks again.

Title: Re: Undercupboard kitchen lighting
Post by Zambezi on Apr 23^rd, 2009, 10:44am

They are halogen lights.

Title: Re: Undercupboard kitchen lighting
Post by CWatters on Apr 23^rd, 2009, 7:30pm

Many under unit lights use these 12-20W halogen G4 capsule bulbs...

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=YVYKBAR11YXQ2CSTHZPCFFA?_dyncharset=UTF-8&fh_search=G4+capsule+lamps+

We had a Ikea units in out last house that used this bulb. Very bright but we found they run quite hot and only lasted about 9 months. Bit fiddly to replace upside down in a dark place.

The most powerful LED ceiling downlights are now about as bright as a 35W halogen downlight (500-600Lumens) but they cost £40-£50 each. You won't find them in DIY stores and I don't think any are standard form factor bulbs. In theory bright LED under unit lights should possible but they won't be cheap.

Title: Re: Undercupboard kitchen lighting
Post by Tika on May 15^th, 2009, 10:34am

I have been looking on the internet for four halogen stainless steel "delta" lights and found they varied between £17.99 to £164.00 for what appears to be the same thing!! Is there much difference in quality between different manufacturers?

The £17.99 ones state:
"4 Triangular Kitchen Cabinet Lights with fitted lamps and 2 Quality Transformers.
Manufactured from Stainless Steel
Fitted with 20w G4 Capsule Lamp
IP20
Light fitted with 1.5 meters of cable
Plastic Connector plug supplied to connect straight onto transformer.
12 Volt Fitting
Quality Transformers
Installation is easy just plug the lights into the connector block on the transformer and attach a three pin plug and plug in. It only takes seconds"

Is there a catch??

Title: Re: Undercupboard kitchen lighting
Post by Lectrician on May 15^th, 2009, 10:42am

I would never be looking to pay much for these type of lights.

The cheaper one seem fine.

Title: Re: Undercupboard kitchen lighting
Post by Tika on May 18^th, 2009, 10:35am

Thanks for all your help and advice.