One of the most common features of many modern kitchen interiors is the presence of under cabinet lighting. How does under cabinet lighting work for your home? As the name suggests, these lights are mounted under a section of cabinets to illuminate the surface directly beneath them. Typically, you’ll find them in the kitchen, but others also use them in their wardrobe or home office.
When buying your LED under cabinet lighting, you need to consider what colour you’ll get and in which part of your home you will be placing them. So, if you are clueless about this, here’s what you need to know.
What is the best colour for an LED under cabinet light?
Since LED under cabinet lights often have several colours of light to choose from, you might find it confusing if it’s your first time purchasing. But with this guide, you’ll be able to find the perfect colour that will fit your lighting plan!
When talking about the colour of your LEDs, one of the aspects you need to consider is the colour temperature. This is the number that shows how blue or how yellow your light’s colour will look. Here’s a simple guide to know what they look like:
- 2700K – This colour temperature is very warm and resembles a classic incandescent bulb.
- 3000K – This colour temperature is similar to a halogen bulb. It has a yellow tint and is a warm and inviting colour. (Ideal for very traditional kitchens)
- 4000K – This colour temperature is also known as “neutral white” or “natural white” since it has neither a blue or yellow shade. It’s in the middle of the temperature scale. (Our most popular colour)
- 6000K – this colour temperature is known as “natural daylight” or “cool white”. You can associate it with the colour of outdoor lighting. (Perfect for ultra-modern spaces)
If you’re installing your LED under cabinet lights in the kitchen, you need a colour that’s between 3000K & 6000K, meaning a warm white light, a natural white light or a cool white light. That’s because anything below 3000K will cast a yellowish-orange hue, which makes it hard to perceive the colours correctly. With this kind of lighting colour in the area where you do your meal preps, it won’t be easy to distinguish what colour of bell pepper you are using or if your greens are still green!
With a higher colour temperature like 4000K, you’ll get a balanced natural white light with no hint of yellow or blue. With this, you’ll be able to differentiate colours correctly.
If you’re using your LED under cabinet lights for lighting an industrial area, then 6000K or cool white is recommended. But if you’re only using it for your home, you probably don’t need something this bright. Why? That’s because it’s highly probable that most of the lights in your kitchen or your home are around 3000K – 4000K. If you have LED under cabinet lights with a higher colour temperature than the rest of your kitchen, you will end up with a lighting mismatch.
What is the Perfect LED Under Cabinet Light for you?
Now that you know one of the most integral parts in choosing your LED under cabinet lights, here are other considerations that you need to keep in mind.
Available Space and Positioning
Even before you start scrolling through the various LED under cabinet lighting options, you need to go to your kitchen or wherever you plan to install your lights to see what you will be working with. How much space do you have for these lights? How many can you fit?
If you want your LED under cabinet lights to have a seamless look, you need to keep the lighting fixture hidden behind the cabinet’s face. You need to make sure that you can tuck it up against the bottom of the cabinet or recess it into your cabinet so that it’s not in the way of the usable space below. Make sure to measure the area correctly before you make your purchase. Some people like to be able to see the fittings and prefer to go for something larger, ensuring even spacing between lights is even more important in this scenario.
Another thing to check before you start buying is the positioning of your lights. Light Bars and triangle lights are thicker, making them ideal to place at the back of the cabinets, next to the wall, to keep them out of the way. If you know where you’re putting them, you can also consider which fixtures to get so your lighting plan will work.
Power Selections
Under-cabinet lights have several power options that you can choose from mains powered, Low voltage ‘plug-in’, or battery-operated lights. In your lighting plan, after considering the colour of your LED under cabinet lights and knowing where you’ll position them, it’s time to think about how you will light them.
If you choose to install mains-powered lights, you might need to hire an electrician. So, be ready to add this to your expenses. Mains-powered lights can be pretty complicated to DIY, especially if you don’t have any prior experience.
Plug-in under cabinet lights is much easier to DIY. Low voltage LED lighting will need to be connected to an LED Driver that will have a cable you can simply wire a plug onto – plug them into a spare plug socket and you’re off.
Battery-operated under cabinet lights can be useful if there are no plug sockets nearby but may require frequent battery replacements.
Type of Fixtures
When choosing the fixtures, the area where you’ll place them is important.
- Kitchen countertops- since this area requires task lighting, it’s best to get under cabinet lights with a large beam angle so you can illuminate your extended workspace and ensure you don’t have any shadowy areas. As for the colour of your LED under cabinet light, you can stick with natural white light for sufficient brightness.
- Areas that don’t need high impact lighting – you can go with single lights with a lower amount of lumens to illuminate smaller surfaces.
- Display cabinets and shelves – LED Tape with a natural or cool white light are perfect for bringing out the stunning colours of your display.
- Small recessed lights – also known as kickboard lights
There you have it! By knowing the right colour temperature for your LED under cabinet lights and considering other aspects of your lighting system, you’ll surely get the best illumination for your space. And with that, you can check out our website, Simple Lighting, for our extensive range of under cabinet lights that you’ll want to take home!
