Need kitchen undercabinet lighting controlled by a wall switch

alekdavis · Dec 9, 2020

I am not an electrician, so have a hard time figuring out what to do for kitchen undercabinet lighting (for a brand new kitchen). My requirements are:

1. Hard wired (can be plugged into an outlet of a circuit).
2. Controlled by a wall switch.
3. Dimmable (via a wall switch) would be nice but not a must.
4. Not very expensive (under, $300 or so).
5. Minimal visible wiring.
6. Not too bulky.
7. Reliable (not break due to moisture from, say, electric kettle).

I am flexible on the type (can be puck, strip, or whatever). I assume LED would make more sense, but am open to alternatives. Since it will be an IKEA kitchen, I looked into IKEA lighting, but I was told that they must be controlled by a remote, and I want a fixed wall switch. Read through half dozen articles, looked at dozens of products and still cannot figure out which would work for my case. At this time I do not need the actual lights, but my electricians need to know what they will be, so that they can prewire for the right type, and I am totally lost. Any suggestions for the products? Thanks.

Spoon · Dec 9, 2020

Welcome to the forum mate.
Have you thought of using a wireless switch, like Quinetic, for the light? Then you only need a supply to the light. No wire to the switch/dimmer.

Jim_e_Jib · Dec 9, 2020

I have the IKEA Omlopp lights (UK) under cabinets in the kitchen, hardwired and controlled by a switch-it all works fine. I think the remote just talks to the driver for on/off and dimming.

I'm not sure if they can be dimmed from the switch. You might find you don't need dimming though - we just have different combinations of lights that can be on or off for different levels.

alekdavis · Dec 10, 2020

Spoon said:
Welcome to the forum mate.
Have you thought of using a wireless switch, like Quinetic, for the light? Then you only need a supply to the light. No wire to the switch/dimmer.

I do not want a wireless switch. I can put a wire, so I'd rather have a wired one.

Mindgirl · Dec 10, 2020

You don’t need anything fancy:

Dimmable Led tape for each cabinet
Appropriate profile to put led tape in if desired
Dimmable led driver at same voltage as tape
Dimmer Switch to driver
Cable to ot

if you are paying more than your budget for all of that you have a huge kitchen or you are paying for a too expensive product.
You can get what you want from Amazon, electrical stores etc