Adding lighting to your kitchen can make it easier to work in and allow you to have a safer working environment. If you are updating the kitchen, new lighting is likely already on the list, but if you are not remodeling, you may want to consider some options added to the existing space.
Light The Dark Areas
One of the most significant issues when it comes to working in any kitchen is dark spots that exist in areas that you need to be able to see what you are doing. Counters that are under the cabinets are often covered in shadows and can be challenging to work on. Adding some additional lighting under the cabinets is a good option, but there are a few different options that offer different levels of light.
Some undercabinet lighting plugs into a wall plug, while other models require an electrician to wire the lights for you. If you want them on a switch, that may be a better option for you, but you will need to determine that as you shop for lights.
LED Lighting
LED lighting that is installed under the cabinet uses low-voltage wiring that is easy to hide under the cabinet, and the fixtures are small, so once they are installed, they are hard to see unless you are specifically looking for them. If you need a lot of light, you can add several fixtures under the cabinets to adjust the amount of light that works for you.
There are many styles of LED under cabinet lighting to choose from. You can add some small round lights or maybe some longer bar lights that cover more area under the cabinets to tailor the lighting to the places you find it more useful and practical for your needs.
LED under cabinet lighting will not draw a lot of power from the system, so it will not run the electricity bill up if you use the lights a lot. Often the under cabinet lights are the ones that get left on in a kitchen at night or when people go out so that they have lights to see by when they come home.
Installing Your Under Cabinet Lighting
Depending on the lights you purchase, the installation may be as simple as adding some super sticky tape to the light and sticking it under the cabinet that running the wires to the plug. More advanced installation often requires an electrician to wire the lights to a switch and drill holes in the cabinet to run the worse through.
You can determine if you want to install your own lights when you are shopping for them and buy a kit that fits your skills or hire an electrician to come and install under cabinet lighting in your home for you.
When we purchased our first home, we realized that there was a problem with some of the electrical work. Some of the lights flickered when we turned them on, and others really seemed to have issues if they were left on long term. I thought the issues was the light bulbs themselves at first, so I replaced several of them. However, after making those changes, it seemed like things were still having trouble. I began going through and thinking carefully about how to identify and resolve the challenges, and it occurred to me that working with an electrician could be helpful. I turned to the professional for help, and it was a good thing I did. Read more about electricians on this blog.