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Light inside kitchen cabinet


Best Inside Cabinet Lighting Options for Kitchens

Best Inside Cabinet Lighting Options for Kitchens
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Take your kitchen from good to great by installing inside kitchen cabinet lighting that best suits your needs and space

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If you want to improve your kitchen’s organization and efficiency, installing lighting inside the cabinets can help keep things in order. By lighting up the interior, you’ll be able to see exactly what you have in your kitchen.

Organizing your kitchen cabinets—and maintaining that level of organization—can be a tough task in any circumstance. However, it’s much harder if you literally can’t see what you’re doing. That’s why one of the most surprisingly useful upgrades to your kitchen is adding lighting inside your cabinets to accent what’s inside or illuminate workspaces.

Best Kitchen Cabinet Lighting Fixtures

There are a variety of creative cabinet lighting options that you can use in and around your kitchen cabinets. Plus, it can be fairly simple to customize one or more of the various options in order to perfectly light up your kitchen.

Task Lighting vs. Accent Lighting Inside Cabinets

When designing your kitchen and inside cabinet lighting scheme, keep the purpose of the lighting in mind. Do you need the light for accents or ambiance only, or do you need to shed some light on the tasks at hand? 

If you want to showcase or accent what’s inside an open cabinet or highlight a space, you may not need especially bright bulbs or serious illumination. On the contrary, for task lighting, you’ll likely want to choose something bolder and brighter to help you see what you’re doing in the kitchen (or anywhere else).

1. Puck Lighting

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These small canister lights resemble miniature spotlights that can be mounted to nearly any surface or recessed for a more seamless appearance. You can use puck lights to light up a countertop or the inside of cabinets. Place them 8 to 12 inches apart below your cabinets or center them behind a cabinet door to light up your kitchen with a scalloped or spotlight effect.

Puck lighting inside or around your glass-front or open kitchen cabinets is an excellent way to showcase some of your favorite pieces, such as a unique serving platter or glassware collection.

2. Strip Lighting or Bar Lighting

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Strip lighting or bar lighting is exactly what it sounds like: strips of light designed to fit your cabinets. This kind of lighting provides a wide and even beam of light, making for an excellent way to illuminate open or glass-front cabinets.

Bar lights or strip lights are typically used for under-cabinet lighting but they also work well to light up the interiors of cabinets for ease of use and organizational purposes.

3. Rope Lighting, Ribbon Lighting, or Tape Lighting

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These are long clear flexible tubes covering a string of incandescent or LED light bulbs that illuminate areas with a soft wash of ambient light.

Often used for accent lighting, since they are not as bright as puck lights or strip lights, rope lights are available in a variety of lengths and are fairly simple to place. In fact, LED tape lights or ribbon lights typically have a peel-and-stick backing that allows you to affix them to kitchen cabinets (or anywhere else) quickly and easily.

This aspect, along with their relative affordability, makes tape lighting, ribbon lighting, or rope lighting popular with homeowners, interior designers, and remodelers. However, the plastic tubing used in rope lights may become discolored over time and can be difficult to wire in place. 

With ribbon LED lights—as in most things home improvement related—you get what you pay for, with high-end LED lights lasting longer and shining brighter. Tape lights with incandescent bulbs are also often bright and may be easier to wire and more customizable.

Best Light Bulbs for Kitchen Cabinet Lighting

Once you have the fixtures for your inside cabinet lighting in place, you need to consider the type of bulbs that work best for your kitchen situation and the amount of illumination you prefer.  

You should also consider the amount of heat the bulbs emit since that may affect the contents of your cabinets, as well as whether you need them for accent lighting or task lighting.

1. Fluorescent Light Bulbs

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While fluorescent lighting fell out of popularity due to the annoying flickering and humming accompanied by unnatural brightness, these cool-toned bulbs have been improved and are now cost-effective, energy-efficient, and easy to install. 

However, you can’t dim fluorescent lights, but their brightness does make these bulbs suitable for task lighting.

2. Halogen Light Bulbs and Xenon Light Bulbs

The natural glow of these incandescent light bulbs has made them preferable to fluorescents. You can dim both xenon and halogen light bulbs, resulting in a warm, flattering light. 

Halogen bulbs give off a lot of heat and use more electricity than alternatives, but they are fairly inexpensive. On the other hand, xenon bulbs cost more but last significantly longer (around 6,000 to 10,000 hours versus halogen’s 2,500+ hours) and use less electricity, making them a good choice for both task lighting and accent lighting.

3. LED Lighting

Homeowners and designers are choosing LED lights with increasing frequency because they are both long-lasting—many are rated for 50,000+ hours or six years of continuous light—and energy-efficient.

They do not emit significant amounts of heat and you can dim them to various levels. While LED inside cabinet lights may cost more than alternative options, this price can be offset by savings on electricity and infrequent bulb replacements.

LED lights are available in pucks, strips, or ropes (also referred to as tapes or ribbons), and they range in color from classic white to fun colors like red, blue, pink, or anything else you might want.

Best Kitchen Cabinet Lighting Installation Methods

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Once you have your cabinet lights picked out, you need to install them. If you’re relatively handy and inclined to DIY, you can certainly install inside cabinet lighting yourself. Battery-powered strip, tape, or puck lighting is particularly easy to install. However, if you’d rather leave things up to the professionals, a general contractor or home maintenance professional near you can likely do the job for a few hundred dollars.

1. Hardwired Inside Cabinet Lighting

Hardwiring your lights is often the ideal way to set up lighting in your cabinets since there are no dangling cords to contend with and no batteries to replace, and you can use nearly any sort of bulb or fixture. 

While you can easily change the bulbs in existing hardwired fixtures yourself, if you need to install new hardwired lighting in your cabinets, that’s a project best left to professional electricians or cabinet contractors in your area.

2. Plug-In Inside Cabinet Lighting

This DIY solution for inside cabinet lighting is simple as long as you have readily accessible outlets. You can get plug-in lights in nearly every style of fixture and type of bulb and they don’t require cutting holes in your walls or otherwise dealing with the electrical wiring in your home.  

While you will have visible cords, if you have electrical outlets inside your cabinets or behind the counter, you can disguise the cords with cord covers and use small clips to secure them neatly in place. Placing the cord behind countertop appliances like espresso makers or stand mixers also helps.

3. Battery-Powered Inside Cabinet Lighting

Battery-powered cabinet lighting is generally only available in the form of LED or incandescent puck lights. This makes it a solid option if you only need a couple of lights and don’t want to spend too much time, effort, or money on inside cabinet lighting. 

You will need to place each light separately (they usually have stick-on backing) and deal with replacing batteries on a regular basis, but the ease and efficiency of installation is undeniable and you can add a battery-powered puck light just about anywhere.

What Is the Best Inside Cabinet Lighting for Your Kitchen?

The sort of lighting you need in your cabinets depends on your goals for the kitchen’s appearance and your needs for task lighting or similar improvements. What’s more, different types of inside kitchen cabinet lighting may be required in various areas of the kitchen. 

Consider whether you need task lighting to help you get things done or simply accent lighting to highlight your style or a combination of both to best illuminate your cabinets. Brightness, the complexity of installing various fixtures, power usage, energy efficiency of the lighting, and cost should play into the final selection.

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10 mood or task illuminations |

(Image credit: Future)

It’s worth incorporating kitchen cabinet lighting ideas into a kitchen design. They can be part of the layers of illumination that make a kitchen a functional room in which to prepare food, but also allow a change of atmosphere for dining and welcoming guests.

Lighting kitchen cabinets can be a practical solution so it is easy to locate items when preparing and cooking food, but they can also make a display of items such as stemware or china in glass-fronted cabinets, so they’re always worth considering as an element of your kitchen ideas.

We’ve collected lighting ideas for kitchen cabinets to inspire along with advice from experts that will assist in realizing its practical and aesthetic benefits. 

Kitchen cabinet lighting ideas

Successful kitchen lighting ideas – and the scheme overall – include ambient or background lighting, task lighting, and feature or accent lighting, so when you are planning kitchen lighting, bear in mind that kitchen cabinet lighting ideas can act as task or as accent lighting. 

1. Backlight the cabinets

(Image credit: Martin Moore)

To create an eye-catching feature for a kitchen, consider backlighting your kitchen cabinets, which will create a soft glow behind what’s on show.  

‘With kitchens being the hub of our homes we design our furniture to be both highly functional and also to look beautiful both in the day and at night,’ says Richard Moore, design director, Martin Moore .

‘This cupboard not only provides capacious storage for wine glasses, wine, china and cutlery, but we have backed the piece with exquisite backlit faux onyx so it adds a sparkling focal point when guests gather for drinks and dinner.’

2. Change the mood with adjustable cabinet lighting

(Image credit: SieMatic at The Myers Touch)

Like, kitchen wall lighting ideas, lights in kitchen cabinets can be used to create a subtle mood. So, think about selecting kitchen cabinet lighting ideas that allow fine adjustment. This  SieMatic SLX PURE range kitchen has a sophisticated LED cabinet lighting system. 

‘The user can create a three-dimensional effect by changing the tone and brightness of the LED lighting system, which in turn also transforms the kitchen space atmosphere and mood,’ explains Helena Myers, director of The Myers Touch .

3. Speed up the morning routine

(Image credit: Brayer Design)

Lighting inside a pantry cabinet can make the early morning routine in a family house a little smoother with cereal boxes and other breakfast favorites easy to grab and prepare. 

‘I suggest adding a sensor to the doors, so that when they open, the lights turn on and when not in use and the doors are closed, the lights automatically turn off,’ says Allison Lynch, senior design consultant at Roundhouse . 

4. Showcase stemware

(Image credit: Life Kitchens)

Exploit kitchen cabinet lighting ideas for the storage for stemware. Lighting glass-fronted cabinets turns these essentials into a feature of the room as well as keeping them readily accessible, but free of dust. Glass shelves inside the cabinet allow the light to be transmitted from the top of the cabinet to the lower levels.

Follow the example shown here by specifying sufficient wall cabinets for this purpose to arrange glasses so they aren’t crammed together.  

5. Provide a beautiful backdrop

(Image credit: Tom Howley)

Consider the backdrop of the cabinetry that will be lit in your kitchen. Lighting can bring out the best in wood used within open-fronted cabinets, showing off its color, grain, and subtle sheen – in fact, these are great lighting ideas for small kitchens, enhancing space subtly by creating depth.

Equally, the lighting will highlight favorites in the room. ‘Adding integrated mood lighting ensures your finest pieces are never forgotten, says Tom Howley , design director at the eponymous company. ‘It also provides an alternative ambient light source when you’re enjoying a romantic dinner or cocktails with friends.’ 

6. Put cabinet lighting on a separate switch

(Image credit: Roundhouse)

When you are working out the answer to the question, 'how much light does my kitchen need?', it's really worth considering that not all lights need to be on at the same time – and that your needs will change, depending on how you are using your kitchen. So, ensuring kitchen cabinetry lighting can be operated independently of other lighting in the room to enable changes of atmosphere when the space is being used for different purposes is vital.

‘By putting the cabinetry lights on their own switch, you can turn off the ceiling lights and keep a lovely warm glow from within the cabinetry,’ says Allison Lynch. ‘There may be items on shelving that you want to showcase so lighting from above washing down a dresser unit is worth considering.’

7. Introduce illuminated niches

(Image credit: Ledbury Studio)

Modern kitchen lighting ideas allow for an element of surprise. Consider cabinets with illuminated niches as part of a kitchen design. They can take the place of shelving as a place for decorative display in the room. 

‘If you covet open shelving but don’t want to sacrifice wall cupboards, another option is open compartments on the island,’ says Charlie Smallbone, founder of Ledbury Studio . ‘It’s the best of both worlds, with open space to display pretty things combined with closed cupboards for storing less attractive essentials.

‘In this kitchen I wanted the small niches on the island to make a big impact. To achieve this, LED lighting was built into the furniture to cast an even glow across what is being displayed. In my opinion, this gentle lighting effect really comes into its own when the other lights in the room are switched off. ’

8. Expand the kitchen’s dimensions with cabinet lighting

(Image credit: Life Kitchens)

If a kitchen is relatively small, or the storage requirements large with extensive wall cabinetry required as part of the design, kitchen cabinet lighting ideas can be employed to make it appear larger. Wall cabinets with internal lighting will add visual depth to the room by providing a view right to the wall on which they are hung. 

The golden rules in this scenario? Dedicate these cabinets to the most attractive pieces in the kitchen, which might include glasses, platters, and even cookbooks. Don’t overfill them either to preserve an uncluttered view.

9. Illuminate a kitchen in a cabinet

(Image credit: Mowlem & Co)

A cabinet can contain an entire kitchen in a small home, or a contemporary open property where the kitchen is completely concealed when not in use, and here adequate cabinet lighting is essential. 

For this ‘secret’ kitchen, the cabinet lighting is task illumination, allowing preparation and cooking to take place safely. The light source is reflected by the red glass backsplash, which boosts illumination levels for the counters below.

10. Let shelves shine

(Image credit: Humphrey Munson)

Lighting individual shelves can fufill a practical role. ‘Kitchen cabinetry lighting is very important nowadays and is essential when designing a kitchen,’ advises Allison Lynch. ‘It’s deemed as “task” lighting as it helps you to more easily find what you’re looking for within the cabinet when working in the kitchen or pantry.’

In this pantry as well as making what’s on display easily retrievable, the lighting creates a warm glow, drawing the eye to this feature of the room.

How do you light inside a cabinet?

LED light strips or puck lights are both excellent options to use inside a cabinet. Puck lights are small spotlights which can be mounted on a surface or recessed. They can be a good choice to create accent lighting, showcasing a display of glasses, or favorite china, for example. Strip lighting can perform the same task, but it’s also an excellent way to illuminate the interior of a cabinet to allow you to locate items easily. 

It’s preferable that kitchen cabinet lighting is hardwired to create a seamless finish. An alternative is to consider battery-powered designs, which could be fitted without the need to call in a professional electrician.

Are LED lights good for kitchen cabinets?

How to choose kitchen lighting? LED lights are a good choice for kitchen cabinets. They are energy efficient, have a long lifespan, and don’t get hot. Another advantage of LED lights is that they can be dimmed, making them ideal if your kitchen cabinet lighting is part of the room’s feature lighting. They also come in different colors as well as white, which can make the room’s lighting design more interesting when they’re used for glass-fronted cabinets.

Sarah is a freelance journalist and editor. Previously executive editor of Ideal Home, she’s specialized in interiors, property and gardens for over 20 years, and covers interior design, house design, gardens, and cleaning and organizing a home for H&G. She’s written for websites, including Houzz, Channel 4’s flagship website, 4Homes, and Future’s T3; national newspapers, including The Guardian; and magazines including Future’s Country Homes & Interiors, Homebuilding & Renovating, Period Living, and Style at Home, as well as House Beautiful, Good Homes, Grand Designs, Homes & Antiques, LandLove and The English Home among others. It’s no big surprise that she likes to put what she writes about into practice, and is a serial house renovator. 

Lighting for kitchen under cupboards

When arranging lighting in the kitchen, it is most important to provide sufficient illumination of the working area, where the main actions for cutting and cooking take place. This can be achieved with minimal cost and energy savings if you place the lamps directly in the work area - this is more economical than lighting for the kitchen above the cabinets. The easiest way to do this is to attach lighting elements to the bottom of kitchen cabinets.

Contents:

Lighting can be implemented in several ways. to choose the best one, you should familiarize yourself with the types of lighting elements and methods of mounting on the lower surface of kitchen cabinets.

Under kitchen cabinet lighting is one of many kitchen lighting options that is economical and practical. Illumination of the working area in the kitchen can be done in different ways: install lamps on a kitchen apron or hide behind it if transparent glass is used, or you can attach lighting elements to the bottom of wall cabinets.

Illumination for the kitchen under cabinets is used more often and can be of the following types.

Downlights

There are two types of spotlights: surface-mounted and built-in, recessed ones are used to illuminate the bottom of the kitchen set.

Advice

One of the simplest options for organizing spot lighting at the bottom of the kitchen set is gluing compact lamps with battery-powered motion sensors. But, this pleasure is quite expensive and not very convenient from a practical point of view (requires periodic replacement of batteries).

Spotlights use incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, LED lamps. Since their design involves embedding in furniture, and conventional analogues have a height of more than 50 mm, installation problems arise, especially since the height of luminaires with incandescent lamps can reach up to 100 mm.

It is impractical to use incandescent lamps to illuminate the bottom of kitchen cabinets, not only because of their high height, but also because of the high heat during operation and low efficiency.

When installing a conventional halogen lamp on the bottom of kitchen cabinets, you will have to make an additional shelf inside the cabinet at a height of at least 50 mm. from the bottom of the cabinet (double bottom) to hide the lamp bases and mounting wires under it.

The second way is to install an additional panel under the cabinets, in which the lamps will be mounted. The option is more acceptable (the bottom of the kitchen cabinets will not be damaged in case of redevelopment, and the space itself inside will remain the same).

Currently, round LED panels are produced with a thickness of no more than 20 mm. It is convenient to build them into the bottom of the cabinets, but you will have to close the top of the fixtures with a shelf - this will take up much less free space inside than using incandescent or halogen lamps.

The disadvantage of all LED lamps is the need to use a separate power supply for 12 V. (rarely 24 V.). In this case, it will have to be placed inside the cabinet or on top, the latter being the more practical way.

The best option for organizing spot lighting for the bottom of cabinets is its design and implementation at the stage of making a custom-made kitchen set, and not an independent installation after purchase.

GX53 base

The modern designed GX53 lamp base has a low height and is most suitable for being built into the bottom of the headset. The luminaires used in the base have a flat shape and are available in two types: energy-saving (luminescent) and LED.

They are easy to install and remove from the socket, and due to the surface of the lamps protruding a few millimeters beyond the plane of the base, they provide a large angle of illumination.

Overhead lights and spotlights

Although it does not look too aesthetically pleasing, tastes differ - some homeowners use overhead lights or spotlights to illuminate the work area - sources of directional lighting.

The spots provide not only directional lighting in the kitchen under the cabinets, but also the ability to adjust the intensity of lighting thanks to a special control controller and design features.

Usually, a long bracket (railing) is attached to the bottom of the cabinets, on which a row of lamps is placed - the design makes up a single ensemble and looks quite interesting in the interior.

The installation of surface-mounted luminaires is quite simple, but inferior in aesthetics and functionality to built-in ones. In addition, when they are placed at the bottom of the cabinets, there are problems with the power cable, which, as in the case of built-in lamps, will have to be hidden somewhere. Its external connection will not look aesthetically pleasing; to hide inside the cabinets, it is more practical to use not a double bottom, but an ordinary plastic box for external laying of electrical wires.

Light bars

A low cost option that uses tubular fluorescent lamps, the mounting hardware for which is attached to the bottom of the cabinets. The devices are quite easy to install, the lamps are inexpensive and have a fairly long service life, but they have a significant drawback of all fluorescent devices - a long turn-on time.

An ordinary installed fluorescent lamp does not look very nice, so the industry produces special furniture lamps in a rather aesthetic case with a protective panel.

Light bars are one of the simplest and most budget options

LED lighting

LED lighting for kitchen cabinets is currently the best option for lighting the working area of ​​the kitchen due to the following properties:

Installation instructions

You can mount the LED strip under wall cabinets by simple sticking, or place it in a special aluminum box with protective frosted glass. Aluminum boxes are available in the usual straight or corner versions, which allow not only to avoid possible peeling of the tape, but also to protect its surface from dirt and soot settling, and also provide an additional cooling system.

A significant disadvantage of LED lighting is the need to use a separate control unit and 12 V power supply. These devices are of medium overall dimensions and require thoughtful placement when installing the tape.

When mounting on the bottom of kitchen cabinets, these elements can be placed inside the cabinet, but it is more practical to put them on top. This will allow them to be connected directly to the upper power line (usually a kitchen hood is connected in this place), and the wire to be lowered behind the back wall of the cabinets and connected directly to the LED strip.

Conclusion

There are several ways to implement the illumination of the working area in the kitchen by installing lamps on the bottom surface of kitchen cabinets.

The most budget option is the implementation of fluorescent lighting using tubular lamps. Installation of fittings for their installation is quite simple, the power wire can be passed inside the cabinets by placing it in a plastic box.

When installing spotlights, it is more practical to use modern models with a Gx53 base. Such devices have the smallest height and a wide angle of illumination, the lamps are inserted and removed by a simple twist in the cartridge. The device can use LED and energy-saving types of lamps.

Do-it-yourself organization of this type of lighting requires carpentry, special tools, and the purchase of additional materials, which is somewhat difficult at home. Therefore, the best lighting for kitchen cabinets can be implemented at the stage of manufacturing a custom-made kitchen.

A more modern way of organizing lighting is to use LED strip. In addition to the greatest durability and cost-effectiveness, lighting in the kitchen under the cabinets can be the easiest way to do it yourself. To do this, you need to glue the LED strip, connect the control and power unit to the electrical network and solder the wire leaving them to the end of the LED strip.

To prevent the LED strip from peeling off the surface and protect it from overheating and exposure to harmful factors in the kitchen, you can place it in a special aluminum box with a protective transparent panel. The corner version of the aluminum profile, adjacent to the surface of the wall cabinets and kitchen backsplash, in this case will look the most functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Video: overview of luminaires at the exhibition

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Kitchen lighting | Useful tips from the furniture factory Stiver 100

Along with the responsibility for the quality and functionality of custom-made furniture, Stiver-100 guarantees customers proper kitchen lighting, at least in the working areas of the set and in the internal compartments of the cabinets. If you are interested in thoughtful lighting of all areas of the room, taking into account the future arrangement of furniture and household appliances, then we recommend that you jointly create a common kitchen design project, which will be developed by experienced Moscow architects. This approach to planning eliminates uncoordinated actions between builders and furniture makers, providing the client with the best result from the work done.

Proper distribution of light fluxes and professional selection of lighting equipment make it possible to use natural light sources with maximum benefit, which makes it possible to save a lot on electricity bills during the operation of the kitchen set, as well as to ensure uniform coverage of all important areas in the room. At the same time, we pay special attention to the creation of convenient control of the lighting system in the kitchen, which significantly increases the level of comfort in this room.

A kitchen is considered convenient for cooking and eating, the lighting of the working area of ​​which is made taking into account sanitary and hygienic standards. Naturally, due to objective reasons, our developers of technical documentation do not always manage to exactly follow the recommendations developed by scientists, however, we meet some basic requirements:

• lighting of the cooking zone - 100 W/m²;

• general room illumination 15-20 W/m²;

• use of well-protected lighting fixtures in problem areas (hob, washing center).

If the Stiver-100 company fulfills an order for the manufacture of furniture after repair, in which our partners did not take part, then we are only responsible for lighting the working area of ​​​​the kitchen, as well as the interior space of the pedestals and decorative lighting, if such are provided for by the project. Our company guarantees safe and convenient operation of the kitchen lighting system.

This review is mainly devoted to the types of lamps for the kitchen, recommendations for their selection. We will also share on this page some tips from experienced lighting professionals to help you select an exclusive and efficient lighting system for your headset.

Types of lamps for the kitchen

Regardless of the shape of the body, design, type of lamps and design, all lamps for the kitchen are primarily divided into mortise and overhead. The type of lighting device is selected based on aesthetic and functional expediency. For the production of modern furniture, overhead models are mainly used, and recessed spotlights are used primarily for inserting into the overhanging visor of the headset and sometimes for internal illumination of hinged modules with showcases.

Due to their compactness, variety of body shapes, and design features, surface-mounted luminaires are considered universal devices that are suitable for both internal and external lighting. This modification of the lamps, depending on the type of lighting element, the method and place of installation, as well as the design features of the housing, is divided into several types, which allows you to choose lamps that are ideal for a kitchen with any design.

In addition, there are front furniture luminaires that are indispensable for design purposes, fixed on the facades of modules, as well as luminaires for glass illumination, which are mainly used to illuminate display elements. Frontal models are not yet so often used in our furniture manufacturing, since their installation is associated with a number of technical difficulties, but the popularity of these lamps and the scope of application are gradually expanding.

Illumination of the internal space of kitchen modules

This type of illumination performs two functions - decorative and purely practical. Moreover, the first option is applicable mainly for hinged modules with glass facades, and the second - for cabinets of the lower tier of the kitchen set. Accordingly, in both cases, different lighting technology is used - we are talking about the models of lamps themselves, and about how to turn on / off the lamps.

First, let's consider the option with illumination of the interior space of the lower modules. This option is still used extremely rarely in the manufacture of furniture, but in vain. Indeed, if we compare the practical benefits of this functionality and costs, the ratio will be in favor of the first point. This is especially important for voluminous corner pedestals that are not equipped with rotating grids or turn-and-pull baskets, since the operation of such modules without internal lighting is extremely difficult.

In addition, we recommend installing the lamps inside traditional cabinets with hinged fronts and regular shelves. But for modules that are equipped with retractable or rotating mechanisms, the function of additional internal lighting is optional, since the entire contents of such cabinets, when removed, is outside the case or directly in front of the doorway, and is clearly visible using existing light sources.

There are quite a few modifications of lamps for arranging the interior lighting of the lower base pedestals. The most practical are LED strips, which are compact and economical, as well as the ability to mount in any area of ​​the cabinet. LEDs are selected in the right quantity to provide the required illumination intensity, are inserted into a plastic or metal case and are usually fixed at the back wall. In this case, the lamps must be installed in each of the compartments of the cabinet, since the presence of stationary or removable shelves prevents the uniform distribution of light inside the case.

To control such LED lamps, it is most practical to use limit switches that are triggered when the facades are opened. There is also a more advanced automation that responds to the movement of the door leaf, however, reliable switches of this class are more expensive than time-tested limit switches, and inexpensive Chinese consumer goods can quickly become unusable. In general, the final choice is made by the client, and Styver-100 employees ensure trouble-free operation of the lighting system for the modules of the lower base of the kitchen unit.

To equip wall modules with built-in luminaires, taking into account the specifics of display cabinets, it is better to use more expensive, aesthetically attractive lamps, taking into account the design of the furniture. If hidden wiring is a desirable condition for lower cabinets, then it is a mandatory item for upper cabinets, and our company strictly observes generally accepted standards for equipping furniture with lighting fixtures. In addition to modules with showcases, installation of lamps may be required in corner hanging cabinets - these elements are equipped with lamps according to the same principles as the lower base cabinets.

LED light base for wall cabinets

Those who want to "kill with one shot" not even two, but three birds with one stone, can take advantage of the new development of Italian furniture designers - LED bottom for wall cabinets. Thanks to this structural element of the upper modules, it is possible to simultaneously provide lighting for the working area of ​​​​the kitchen, as well as the interior space of the mounted modules. In addition, these devices raise the status of the headset in terms of respectability. You can safely surprise your guests with such furniture - they will all be delighted with the design and technological solutions proposed by the Italians.

The shelves are made of safety tempered glass and aluminum profiles that can withstand loads up to 20 kg, that is, they ensure full loading of the hanging module compartments. This elegant lighting system features stepless LED intensity control, so you can change the setting to suit the occasion. Shelves with LED lighting have several dimensions - with a standard depth (328 mm) and thickness (21 mm) they are presented in the following sizes: 413; 563; 863; 1163 millimeters, which allows them to be used for mounted modules with a width of 450; 600; 900 and 1200 mm.

Double-sided shelf lighting diffuses cool white light, the intensity of which is changed by pressing the soft touch sensor. For these devices, a complete set of a transformer is required - its modification will be determined by calculating the total power of such built-in lamps. The Styver-100 company solves all issues related to the installation and connection of shelves with built-in LEDs, and also instructs in the operation of this furniture.

Overhead decorative lighting

Outdoor lighting in the upper area of ​​the kitchen unit performs mainly a decorative function, since the light fluxes from such sources almost never reach the places where they are needed. To a greater extent, this applies to work surfaces where food is directly prepared and dishes are washed. Some customers mistakenly believe that the overhead lamps are sufficient to provide the desired illumination of work areas. In practice, decorative lighting can only create a cozy and intimate atmosphere in the kitchen during an evening meal, as well as emphasize the design advantages of the headset - this is where its role ends.

Due to the above facts, in order to ensure proper lighting of the kitchen set, a number of measures will need to be taken, and overhead lights should be treated as an optional decoration of the set. When choosing lamps, there are practically no restrictions - neither by the method of installation, nor by design. Thanks to the use of Aventos or KINVARO lifting mechanisms by Styver-100 for kitchens equipped with vertical opening facades, it is possible to install any models of surface-mounted lamps.

Work area lighting

The most important part of the kitchen lighting system is the work area lighting set. Despite all the variety of appliances and design techniques, the correct option exists in a single copy - a uniform distribution of downward directed and moderately powerful light flux, which would be enough for comfortable cooking, cutting food and washing dishes at any time of the day. For these purposes, it is best to choose models of lamps of a simple shape with a smooth surface in order to simplify the procedure for caring for them, since pollution in the form of deposits of grease, salts and dust reduces the intensity of the luminous flux by an average of 20%.

Regardless of the location of the sink and the areas that are most often used for cooking, it is best to provide uniform illumination of the entire area of ​​the countertop, even if some areas of it do not require this. This requirement is optional. However, for those who are equally concerned about the aesthetic and functional components of the characteristics of a kitchen set, we advise you to take this recommendation into account. In addition, there are times when lighting of the so-called “dead zones” of the work surface is required, it’s just that such cases are not always taken into account when designing furniture, so a couple of additional lights under the wall cabinets will not bother you. It is recommended to use fluorescent or LED lamps as lighting elements. This is the most practical option that will provide a uniform flow of diffused light. These lighting elements are also advantageous in that, at low power consumption, they provide 4-5 times more light output than traditional incandescent lamps.

At the same time, the area above the hob does not require additional equipment with lamps, since absolutely all modern hoods have built-in lamps. In some cases, it may simply be necessary to replace the lighting elements with more powerful ones if the “native” lamps do not provide the required intensity of illumination of the plate. By the way, in no case can the hob be classified as a secondary zone, since in this case full control over the cooking process and checking the degree of readiness of dishes will not be performed. Therefore, we recommend immediately after installing the kitchen and household appliances to check this function on the hood and, if an unsatisfactory result is found, immediately replace the lamps with more powerful ones.

Illumination of worktops for the kitchen from the inside

Another design solution for respectable kitchen furniture is lighting from under the worktops. This system performs a more decorative than practical function, as it can only slightly illuminate the area above the countertop. The relatively low functionality of such backlighting is more than offset by great aesthetics, so the growth of its popularity is a matter of time and informing customers.

Ideally, a thick glass sheet should be used as a table top, which is illuminated by either fluorescent or LED lamps. However, other materials can be successfully used to implement this design project. For example, artificial stone. To do this, in certain areas of the tabletop, sections of acrylic plastic are cut out, which are replaced with glass inserts. Lamps are mounted under such “windows”, providing diffused light from inside the cabinets of the lower base of the kitchen set.

Like the LED wall mounted shelves, countertops with built-in lamps play the dual role of illuminating the interior of the cabinets and enhancing the aesthetics of the kitchen furniture, allowing it to dominate the interior of the room. We select all the necessary materials for such systems and advise clients on all issues related to the implementation of this project.

How to choose the right lamp

In the kitchen, the warm white spectrum should dominate as the main light - these are natural natural shades of light that provide a natural visual perception of objects and, most importantly, food. Colored lighting is recommended to be used only for interior lighting of wall-mounted modules with showcases. In all other cases, it will interfere with the normal process of cooking, as well as washing dishes - you simply may not notice some contamination.

The color of the light emitted by the lamp depends on the heating temperature of the direct light source. This does not mean that the lamp cannot be touched, and that it itself is a source of heat. For example, in daylight white fluorescent lamps, the gas particles are heated up to 6000 K, so that they evenly emit soft white light. Regardless of the type of luminaire, lamps for these fixtures are selected according to the following criteria:

1. Luminous flux measured in lumpen (lm).

2. Color rendering index, which affects the quality of reproduction of natural color shades on surfaces made of various materials.

3. Energy consumption level (W).

4. Luminous efficacy (lm/W) indicating the level of efficiency of the lamp and the degree of heating of its surface.

5. Dimensions and compatibility with the luminaire - conditional indicators depending on many factors - sometimes a compact lamp is required, and in other cases a volumetric lamp.

Based on the combination of the above parameters, which together would meet the requirements for the lighting system of a particular kitchen set, lamps are selected. Mostly halogen, fluorescent, and LED lighting elements are now used. Traditional incandescent lamps are almost never used due to high heat dissipation and low energy efficiency. LED elements are considered the most promising, since semiconductor lamps most fully meet the stated criteria.

Conclusion

When designing, Styver-100 can offer the client a choice of various lighting options for the kitchen, from which, in the process of drawing up the project, a lighting system is finally formed that provides the most comfortable operation of the furniture.

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