Budget Under Cabinet Lighting

[clutch93]

What are you guys using for your under cabinet lighting? These will not be actual work spaces, just trying to give some cheap lighting to fill in any shadows caused by the cabinets i'm installing.

I came across a snap together LED light strip at costco. They're remote controlled and plug in, so no need for a ton of batteries. Has anyone used these? Sorry I dont have a model number, but they were only $20 bucks per pack. So it seems like a good option.

 

[54FordPanel]

Run to your local Lowes, and see if they have any close-out halogen lights left. Just in the last week, they had 24" halogen lights that were plug in/linkable for $10, down from a retail of $43.
The 18" ones were $13, the 12" ones were $15. (Larger=cheaper...go figure)
I bought all they had, about 12 of them in various lengths. I went to 3 different stores to get all they had.
They don't put out a huge amount of light, but I'm going to use them as accent lights on the tops of my kitchen cabinets.

 

[StevePgh]

I used Home Depot's LED pucks (search item # 202067961) which I bought 3 in a pack - cost between $30-$40 if I am remembering correctly). I mounted a standard Radio Shack transformer (not the wall wart that came with it) into a utility box and ran the low voltage through two DPST switches to create a 3-way like switch and placed one light under each cabinet and a switch at each end. The light is 'adequate' and you can enclose/recess mount them - which is exactly what I needed to do for this specific project.

One thing to be careful of with the Xenon or Halogen pucks is the amount of heat they generate - you can't enclose them and even when mounted on the underside of the cabinet they generate so much heat they can turn the bottom shelf of the cabinet into an Easy Bake Oven that solidifies coca and melts marshmallows. Don't ask how I know.