Kitchen Task Lighting
There are many ways to provide good task lighting. Some types of
lighting fixtures typically used for task lighting are recessed spot lights,
track lights, low voltage linear and fluorescents for under cabinet lights
and more. With task lighting as with all types of lighting, the theme or style
of your home can help you decide which fixture suits you best. The most
common room in which task lighting is needed is the kitchen. One of the
most frequently asked questions is what type of undercabinet to use.

There are basically three different types of light with varieties of all three.
First is fluorescent under cabinet lights. These are not the big bulky ugly
fixtures you remember seeing in your grandmothers kitchen. Today's thin
line fluorescents are only an inch thick and provide good quality light.
As you can see in the picture on the left, modern
fluorescents are much more attractive than they
used to be.
With fluorescents we
usually place them at
the back. The main
reason for this is the
wiring can enter in the
back making it a clean
installation. This also
gives full light coverage
on the back splash as
well as the counter top.
If for some reason you need
or want to mount these in the
front you still can. The light
coverage is not that much
different though you will lose
a little of the countertop light.
Another popular form of task lighting for kitchens is Puck lights. These need to
be placed well to give the proper light and do have a certain look. The
advantage to puck lights is in a cabinet with a flush bottom, they can be
recessed making them almost invisible. One attribute that is not very appealing
about pucks is if there is no hollow to hide the wires they will either be exposed
on the underside of the cabinet, or run inside the cabinets. Another point to
consider with pucks is they produce a cone of light which forms triangles of light
on the backsplash.

If you choose puck lights for your under cabinet lighting be sure to use Xenon
bulb type units as opposed to halogens. The xenon bulbs burn much cooler
and last longer than halogens. The best looking puck light units I have found
are the WAC HR86. These are xenon puck lights.
The fixture on the right is a WAC HR86. These
come in black as you see and several other
finishes such a polished chrome or brass, white
and silver. These are low voltage and require a
transformer.
You may have seen puck lights being sold in your local Home improvement
warehouse store. These are usually line voltage and halogen. The only way
these can be installed properly is with all wiring exposed and plugged into a
receptacle. Doesn't make for a very attractive finish.

Puck lights should be installed in the center front to back for the best effect.
The WAC HR86 pictured above has a very wide beam, much more than most
puck lights you will see. Below is a common puck light you may have seen.
These create a very pronounced cone effect and also protrude down almost
1/4" from the finish.
This is the most common puck light you will find.
These will, even when recessed protrude down below
the finish. Because of the design they cause a cone
effect with the light that isn't for everyone.


The next type of task lighting for a kitchen is low voltage linear lighting or
track. This type of light provides the most evenly spread light to both the
backsplash and the countertop. The advantage to this system is you can add
or take away lights to get just the effect you want to create. The light bulbs are
xenon, another plus. The only downside to this type of system is it is a little
more costly. There are three different systems we use and I am happy with the
results on all of them. Task lighting is one with Halo Linea and Juno Trac 12
the other two. The Task is a high quality system but does lack the ability to
add or remove bulbs as needed. This is because it is made up of components
that plug into one another. Each unit is about 4" long and has 2 bulbs.

Both the Halo and Juno products are actually a miniature track. Each bulb has
a holder which can be placed anywhere along the track giving it the most
flexibility of any undercabinet lighting system.
To the left is a typical Halo or Juno track lamp holder with a
xenon lamp. As you can see below the track is very low
profile and will be hidden by most cabinet light rails.
You can see in
these two photos
the startling
difference the
lights make
Low voltage linear systems are mounted on the front edge of the cabinet for
the optimal effect. One case where they work beautifully on the back edge is in
the case of a glass rack.

There is another option that can give you the advantages of the xenon bulbs
with the simplicity of individual hard wired fixtures is to use something along
the lines of a Kichler under cabinet light. These fixtures are self contained with
a transformer meaning the Line voltage wire can enter directly into the back of
the fixture. They make several sizes and the lights can interconnect. This is a
very good quality product with which we have had no problems to date.
This is a Kichler xenon under cabinet
light fixture. The switch on the unit has
a bright setting, a dimmer setting and
off. These in my opinion are the best
stand alone fixtures available.
Kitchen Task Lighting