Anyone have experience with LED strip lighting for kitchen lighting?

[skamp]

Hi, I was wondering if you can help validate my design for LED strip lighting for under counter and above counter lighting and provide any suggestions. The total length of the strips will be ~24' for one area and ~16' for the other area. My plan was as follows.

Areas​

Area 1 (24')
Place driver on top of the cabinet (location 1). Drivers in both areas will be wired to the same dimmer.
Run 18ga 2 wire to the other 3 locations (LED segments). All runs will be < 20 feet.
All 4 locations will be connected in parallel to the driver. Each location will have a strip about 6' in length.

Area 2 (16')
Same plan as area 1 except strip length will be about 4' per location.

Products:​

LED Strip - Auxmer 60LEDs 14.4W per meter 2700k 95CRI https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832766080638.html

Drivers - Area 1 will need ~105 watts, Area 2 will need ~70 watts. Was thinking of getting 2 of these 120 watt drivers. Was not sure if I get different wattages, if that will cause the dimming level to be different in the two areas due to possible different ELV curves between the drivers.

https://www.amazon.com/Emitever-Dim...er-Dimming/dp/B0B58WRF13?tag=atomicindus08-20

Wire - 18/2 CL2/3 security wire. Could go to 16/2 but each run is pretty short (less than 20 feet) and no run has more than ~30 watts. Looking at voltage drop tables 18/2 seemed fine for that length and wattage.

Dimmer - Both drivers will be run from the same dimmer. Was going to use a Lutron Sunnata PRO LED+ Touch. Says it supports up to 500W ELV.

https://www.prolighting.com/st-pro-n-sd.html

Channel - Was not sure if I should get normal channel or use 45* channel. Could use some advice here.

Below are the cabinets I will be lighting. Its basically a pair of 48"x12" and a pair or 24"x12" cabinets. Was going to mount the strips in a U shaped arrangement shown in the detail view. Appreciate any guidance here. Thanks!

 

[Steve W.]

Just did pretty much the same thing at home.

Our lights are installed in three levels: under edge of counter; under upper cabinets, shining on the counter top; above the upper cabinets. The under-counter lights and the over cabinet lights are on the same switch/dimmer, the 'shine on the counter' lights are on another switch/dimmer. The drivers are inside the lower cabinets, behind the drawers where they won't get hit. Wires to the under-counter lights are fed through a slot at the top corner of the cabinet to the LED strip. The strip(s) are then run around the edge of the counter.

The wires going to the 'over the cabinet' lights are fed back into the wall (all planned during the reconstruction phase) to a box above the cabinets, where they then come out and feed the upper strip(s).

Could not see anything in your first link, so not sure what you are planning there. (might be nanny filters at work )

That dimmer seems to be WAY overkill, especially WAY overpriced. I used a more-standard Legrand dimmer that cost about $30.

Can't tell if your diagram is a front view or a top view, but I will say that the lights nearest the ceiling don't necessarily need to be in a U shape, they can simply run along the front edge. Under the upper cabinets (shining on the countertop) might be the same, it would depend on how easy it is for your strips to go around corners.

With just the LED "can" lights in the ceiling:


Just the "shine on the counter" lights:


Just the under-counter and "shine on the ceiling" lights:


All strip lighting:


All lights (except for the can light over the sink):


.

 

[skamp]

Hi Steve,

What you have is pretty much exactly what I am looking to do. Didn't think about doing lights under the countertop or toekick but now you have me thinking!

I fixed the link but the LED's planned are 2835 LED Strip Light 60LEDs/m, CRI95/CRI90, 14.4W/m, 24V. I am using that dimmer as all the switches/outlets are color matched Lutron for the backsplash we selected. I could use a Diva Lutron in the same color.

The view is kind of top down with the long side of the lights being at the cabinet edge furthest from the backsplash. Few questions for you.

1. Did you use a single driver or multiple drivers? If you used a single driver did any of your segments have different dimming? My segments will be ~6' each for area 1 and ~4' each for area 2.
2. Did you use channel/diffuser? If so, did you get the kind that shines straight down or at 45*?

Thanks!
Steve

 

[Steve W.]

One driver for the top and bottom lights, another driver for the 'shine on the counter' lights. My son did all the ordering of the lights and accessories, so I am not sure about all the details. The upper/lower lights are about 22' long and are fed by a 45 watt driver, the 'counter' lights are about 16' long and are fed by a 35 watt driver. (All this stuff was sourced on Amazon.)

I have a channel under the edge of the counter only. The individual LEDs in the strips are just barely visible from across the room, the channel covers their edges just a bit to reduce the effective viewing angle so you don't see them.

There is trim molding above and below the upper cabinets. To eliminate the need to cut and re-join strips at corners (the corner cabinet to the left of the stove), I installed the strips to the back side of the trim molding. That actually has them shining on the wall, but the glass backsplash reflects it right back to the countertop, so it's all good. I did the same thing with the upper trim ("crown molding"), and just attached the strips to the back edge.

Here is a great advantage of the lighting under the edge of the counter (just make sure you have clearance for your drawers to open).
Please excuse what my son called "low-profile butcher block counter tops". It's just some scrap plywood to prove the concept.










Our drawers opened less than 1/8" from the bottom of the counter, so we had to install spacers between cabinets and counter to provide enough clearance for the lights. To keep the top of the counter at standard height, the legs on the cabinets were not extended as much as suggested in the instructions. Overall, we are pleased with the results.

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