Custom LED lighting install under cabinets - looking for ideas

[Dr Evil]

This is a project I've been wanting to do for a while now. It is fairly dark between the counter tops and cabinets above due to the position of the crappy can lights that were installed. Then you get shadows wherever you are standing. That makes it hard to read cookbooks or see what you're doing sometimes. Here what I have in mind so far.

Long strips of copper or aluminum to mount the LEDs to. I'm thinking one every 8 to 12 inches. I'd like something in the 3500 to 4000k range with a high CRI. I'd like to be able to hide the driver(s) under the cabinet. I have no idea where to start for making or buying them though. That will probably depend on how many LEDs there will be and how much current the LEDs are going to be fed. Here's a couple pictures.

 

[SemiMan]

This is a project I've been wanting to do for a while now. It is fairly dark between the counter tops and cabinets above due to the position of the crappy can lights that were installed. Then you get shadows wherever you are standing. That makes it hard to read cookbooks or see what you're doing sometimes. Here what I have in mind so far.

Long strips of copper or aluminum to mount the LEDs to. I'm thinking one every 8 to 12 inches. I'd like something in the 3500 to 4000k range with a high CRI. I'd like to be able to hide the driver(s) under the cabinet. I have no idea where to start for making or buying them though. That will probably depend on how many LEDs there will be and how much current the LEDs are going to be fed. Here's a couple pictures.

I can say from experience that 4000K high CRI in a kitchen is an amazing light! That said, your options are pretty limited (Nichia 219). There are other options available at 3500K, but still the options are limited.

In terms of a driver, get a Philips Advanced, Meanwell, or other name brand (with proper certifications). ROAL has nice drivers that dim with a standard triac dimmer. There may even be some value in getting an outdoor rated driver as you don't need to worry about water ..and.. they usually have wires for connections as opposed to connectors that you may have a hard time matching (without proper tools).

If the high CRI was not essential, the low cost strip lighting provides pretty tolerable light for under cabinets. It is inexpensive enough to try it out and see if you like it. This will be way easier than trying to put LEDs on starts onto a metal strip, wire it, etc. The LED strips are sealed as well so no worries about water, etc.

Semiman

 

[DaMeatMan]

This project is actually allot simpler then you may think. I built an LED light strip for my kitchen cabinet about a year ago. I run it all day long during the day with no problems for over a year, and I actually have plants growing under it. I used 4 older Cree mc-e M bin 6000k in series with an AC to dc driver running them at 1amp each for a total of about 12 watts of power. I really like the contrast of the white light on the wall against my regular 3000K LED kitchen lighting. The green plants I have under the cabinets are flourishing too! I plan to add a bunch of fresh herbs now that I see it's sufficient to support plant growth.

See attached a pic I took a while back. Later today I'll take some more pics showing how it was constructed for your reference, but right now i'm at work and the attached pic is all i have available at the moment.

Essentially though all you need is some aluminum strip which u can pickup at home depot in the hardware section. If you ask for it they will most likely look at you with a blank stare, so have a look in the section where you normally find drill bit's, finishing nails, etc.. The aluminum strip is more then sufficient to keep the LED's cool and happy.