Choosing LED Undercabinet Lighting when Designing your Kitchen Lights
Choosing the right lighting when planning the ambience of your kitchen is very important. In recent times, kitchen designers have opted for the new trend of LED undercabinet lights and they can be seen in almost any contemporary kitchen showroom. Other types of fashionable lighting are still popular of course, for instance, pendant or spotlights are still ‘in vogue’. However, in this article Sparks will ask why it is that LED undercabinet lighting has risen in prominence to the extent that it has. The different kinds of undercabinet lighting There are two main types of under-cabinet lighting to choose from. You can place under-cabinet lamps either inside cupboards and cabinets, or underneath them to illuminate the worktop below. Downlights provide a focused light and are typically installed in multiples - along a straight line over a countertop, for example. Generally, downlights are a good choice for highly positioned cabinets. The Recessed Cabinet Undershelf light from Eterna Lighting is an excellent example of this type of under-cabinet downlight. It has an impressive Energy rating of A+ and its LED lamp has a long life of 25,000 hours. The second type of under-cabinet lighting is strip lights, which run seamlessly and evenly along the length of a cabinet. Sparks went into great detail on cove lighting in this article, which includes many of the upsides of LED strip lights. You can even use strip lighting to illuminate entire surfaces. This means you may choose to have undercabinet lighting recessed into the cabinet itself, which gives it a streamlined look. Alternatively, you could have it surface mounted. Surface mounted under-cabinet lighting is easier to install, as you don’t usually have to disrupt your mains supply to connect it. This 28.8W/m strip light from Teucer provides a wonderful 3000K of warm white light for your kitchen. Why is LED undercabinet lighting so popular in kitchens? Safety is key The primary reason that under-cabinet lighting is so common in kitchens is because it allows for safer food preparation. Often, when you are preparing food on a work surface, ceiling lighting can cast shadows which may be obtrusive - especially if you are using the kitchen at night. Traditional exposed fixtures mounted in the ceiling are known to produce harsher radiance and shadows. This can be for several reasons, for instance, the person cooking blocks the light. However, undercabinet lighting shines directly on to the work surface which eliminates shadows and makes it far easier to see what you’re doing. This is especially useful if what you are doing involves cutting food with a large blade! Most under cabinet lighting have wide beam angles which are designed to reduce (or completely get rid of) shadows. This is a feature which is fairly unique to under cabinet lighting and part of the reason they are considered so ‘chic’ right now among interior designers. Why is LED undercabinet lighting so popular in kitchens? Delightful design Another reason why kitchen designers appreciate under cabinet lighting is because it can bring ambience to the room. Any interior designer worth their salt knows that it’s essential to have different types of lights which perform different functions: task, accent and ambient lighting. Accent lighting usually comes in the form of a floor lamp or a wall sconce which highlights features of your room. An excellent example of a floor lamp that would boost the design credentials of your kitchen is the White Ascoli Floor Lamp. This free-standing floor light features a flexible head for directional lighting, with a rotational adjustment angle of 330 degrees. It has an IP20 rating so should be placed well away from the sink. Ambient lighting is designed to lend a certain mood to a room, and is often controlled by a dimmable switch. Task lighting is where the undercabinet lighting comes in – it succeeds in providing a bright and focused light. However, under cabinet lighting can make a room look more contemporary and warmer, depending on the colour rendering for the light that you choose. Sparks has a multitude of under cabinet lighting to choose from, manufactured by some of the best LED strip specialists in the world such as Foss LED and Teucer LED. Why choose LED undercabinet lighting for your kitchen? There are many advantages in choosing LED undercabinet lights to illuminate your kitchen. LED lighting has long been recognised as the most energy-efficient lamp type, and choosing it to light your kitchen tops is an environmentally friendly move. You only require a low wattage (as low as 5W) to get an adequate level of illumination, which uses less energy and can save you money on your electricity bills. LED lights also produce almost no heat, which means that they won’t cause scorch marks on the worktop or damage the interior of your cabinet in any way. This is an advantage for wooden kitchens where wood can be easily contorted to change shape. LED lamps are more easily manageable than other types of lighting; they are directional, so you can control how much light there is and they are also easier to control (to dim, for instance). This makes them ideal for creating ambience in your kitchen. So the professionals and designers have given their view: LED undercabinet kitchen lighting is the way forward - so why don’t you look at purchasing some today?
