How to Install Under Cabinet Lighting

There is a missing element in utmost American kitchens, and it’s not a$,500 range or a 4- acre refrigerator. No, it’s simply good lighting. And a well- lit kitchen begins with under press task lighting.

These retired institutions, which are fairly easy to build beneath upper wall closets, bathe the countertop in bright white light — a boon for everything from mincing veggies to reading fashions. Connect the institutions to a dimmer switch, as shown then, and you also have the key to dramatic accentuation lighting or a night light for night snackers.

still, do not worry, If you are a bit conditional about working with electricity. This installation is simple and shock-free, as long as you cut the juice at the swell box first.

For those who want to upgrade their kitchen with under press LED lighting( seen in the videotape over), the installation is n’t as straightforward and requires someone with expert electrical chops.
Under Cabinet Lighting Overview
Under Cabinet Lighting Parts
Illustration by Gregory Nemec
How to Install Under Cabinet Lighting
1. Trace figure of new electrical box
Man Traces figure Of New Electrical Box For Under Cabinet Lighting Installation
print by Kolin Smith

Turn off the electricity to the kitchen at the main electrical panel. To be sure the power is out, plug a radio into the countertop wall outlet you will be tapping for electricity, and make sure the radio remains silent when switched on. Or you can use a beacon — and make sure it does not light.
Wind the wall plate, also dissociate the cables from the container and remove it from the electrical box.
The box is nailed to a wall superstud on one side or the other. Find out which by skimming between the sides of the box and the drywall.
Hold a two- gang, old- work electrical box over the being box in the wall so the expansion of the hole is on the unattached side of the being box — down from the superstud — and also trace around it with a pencil.

2. Remove old electrical box
Man Removes Old Electrical Box For Under Cabinet Lighting Installation
print by Kolin Smith

After enlarging the hole, make sure the string coming into the electrical box is loose, also use a flat pry bar to remove it.

3. Run a new length of string
Man Runs A New Cable For Under Cabinet Lighting
Photo by Kolin Smith

Hold the light institution in place and detect the prescored knockout hole in the reverse.
Mark the wall straight out from this” knockout” draw. Use a superstud finder to see if there is a wall superstud between the mark and the hole for the electricalbox.However, move your mark to the other side of the superstud, If so.
Use a ½- inch- periphery spade bit to drill through the wall directly below the upper wall press.
Cut a length of12/2 NM( nonmetallic) electrical string long enough to reach from the ½- inch hole to the two- gang box hole, plus 24 elevation.
Feed one end of the string into the ½- inch hole bored in the upper backsplash wall.
also gently reach into the hole where the electrical box will be installed, snare the string end and pull it through into the kitchen.

4. Install the light institution
Man Drills A Light Institution Into underpart Of Kitchen Cabinet
Photo by Kolin Smith

Remove the cover and the essence socket strip that holds the bulbs from the light institution so you have room to work.
Hold the institution against the underpart of the press, also slide it forward until it’s hidden behind the press’s frontal edge.
squinch it to the press with the screws handed.
Use a slotted screwdriver to pry the round knockout draw from the reverse of the light institution.

5. Install string connector
Man Installs Cable Connector For Under Cabinet Lighting
Photo by Kolin Smith

Install a string connector in the knockout hole to hold the string in place and cover it from the institution’s sharp edges.
Strip down 6 elevation of the external plastic sheathing from the end of the string.
Feed the string through the connector.
Strain the connector screws to secure the string. Be sure the connector clamps down on the string’s plastic sheathing, not the individual cables.

6. Install the new electrical box
Man Installs New Electrical Box For Under Cabinet Kitchen Lighting
Photo by Kolin Smith

Hold the new, two- gang electrical box close to the hole you cut in the backsplash wall.
Feed the end of the being string — the bone that was attached to the container — into the two- gang box.
also pull the end of the string coming from the light institution into the box also. Next, push the box into the hole and press it tightly against the wall.
Note that the box has two screws, one in each slant corner. As you begin to strain the screws, the box’s plastic fins will flip up behind the drywall.
Continue to strain the screws until you feel the fins pull tight against the reverse of the drywall, locking the box in place.

Tip Before sliding the two- gang box in the wall, test it to make sure the fins pop up.
7. Install a GFCI outlet
Man Installs A GFCI Outlet
Photo by Kolin Smith

Join the bare bobby grounding cables from both the being and new string with a green cornrow connector.
Off the remaining string, separate the white line, and cut two 8- inch-long pieces. Strip ½ inch of sequestration off their ends and join them to both white cables in the box with a line connector.
Fasten the other end of one of the 8- inch white cables to the tableware GFCI screw terminal pronounced” white- line line.”
Cut two 8- inch-long black cables, strip off ½ inch of sequestration, and join them to the black line coming from the being( container) string.
Fasten the free end of one of these cables to” hot- line line” GFCI terminal.
Wrap the cornrow around the green grounding screw on the GFCI, leaving at least 4 elevation of line sticking out beyond the screw.
Peel the plastic sheathing off the remaining string you bought, separate the white line, and cut two 8- inch-long pieces. Strip a 1/ 2- inch of sequestration off their ends with line strippers and join them to both white cables in the box with a line connector.

Tip Twist cables together with lineman’s pliers before deforming on line connectors.
8. Connect the new dimmer switch
Man Connects New Dimmer Switch For Under Cabinet Lighting
Photo by Kolin Smith

Take the loose end of the remaining 8- inch black line and connect it to the black line on the dimmer switch, using a line connector.
Attach the dimmer’s unheroic line to the black line coming from the recently installed light institution.
Connect the bare bobby ground line coming from the GFCI to the dimmer’s green grounding line, using a line connector.
Connect the final white line to the dimmer’s white line, using a line connector.
Precisely fold the redundant cables into the box, also secure the GFCI and dimmer switch with the screws handed.

Tip For LED lighting, be sure the switch is designed specifically for LED use.
9. Finalize institution and wall plate
Man Screws In Institution And Wall Plate On Under Cabinet Lighting
Photo by Kolin Smith

launch by reinstalling the socket strip in the institution, but do not put the bulbs in place just yet.
Inside each institution are a white, a black, and a green line. Connect them to the cables of the same color coming from the string, using line connectors black to black, white to white, and bare bobby to green.
Once the wiring is complete, add the bulbs to the socket strip and install the cover on the institution.
also squinch on the two- gang wall plate.
Turn the power back on and test your work.

Tip noway touch a halogen bulb with your bare hands; your natural skin canvases can damage the bulb. It can also get extremely hot!
Different Types of Light Bulbs
Different Types Of Light Bulbs
Illustration by Gregory Nemec

There are three introductory types of bulbs used for under press lighting fluorescent, quartz- halogen, and xenon.

Fluorescents burn cooler, use lower electricity, and are more affordable; but they can hum, flitter, and produce a unheroic light. Choose a fluorescent institution with a high- quality electronic cargo for quick thresholds and quiet operation, and use a cool-white bulb. Fluorescent institutions operate at regular line voltage( 120 volts).

Halogen and xenon bulbs bring further to operate and replace, but they emit a veritably bright white light. Halogen’s light is brightest, but xenon burns cooler and lasts longer. Xenon institutions use low voltage; a motor steps the voltage down from 120 to 12 or 20 volts. Halogen institutions come eitherway.However, look for a institution with a erected- in motor, If choosing low voltage.

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