Most strip lights come with an adhesive back with a protective cover on top. You will need extra low-voltage wires if you plan to connect a dimmer to the strip. You just need to measure the length of your cabinet along where you plan to install the lights and then cut off the same length from your LED strip. Installing an LED strip is fairly easy and straightforward. To be safe, get the bright options and then install a dimmer for more control. On the other hand, if it is for decoration, you can do with less intensive LED strips. If you plan to use the light for illumination, the brighter the better. The most important thing to check is the brightness. The first step is choosing the right LED strip lights. Note that this is a general overview, different types and brands of LED lighting may have different variations of installation. Seeing that they are the most popular option for homeowners, we have provided a brief overview on how to install LED under cabinet lighting. How to install under OFF-GRID LED lighting Puck lights can be a bit more challenging. LED strips and ropes are the easiest to install. If you are planning to do some DIY installation, you need to consider how easy it is to install a certain type of under cabinet lighting. This is especially important in a kitchen where certain foods or food ingredients could be sensitive to heat. To recap, fluorescent, and LED lighting are best when it comes to heat output. We have already talked a little about heat output under ‘energy efficiency’. They also produce very little to almost no heat. An added advantage is that LED lights are easy to dim, adding to their energy-saving capability. Some LED fixtures use as little as 5 watts while still emitting adequate illumination. If you are looking for the most energy efficient under cabinet lighting option, LED is the place to go. Energy EfficiencyĮnergy efficiency has become an all-important part of residential lighting. Halogen and xenon lighting fixtures can be especially glaring making it necessary to include lenses in your purchase. Fixture Lensesįixture lenses are important in creating a uniform light distribution, minimizing bright reflections on the counter and reducing glare. When you do not need the bright light, dimming it can save some energy. While this may mean incurring extra cost for the dimmers, it gives you much more control over the lighting. We highly recommend that you get lighting with a dimming capability. Plug in draws power from a power outlet, often a wall socket. Power is drawn directly from a power source. Hard-wiring involves connecting the lights directly to the existing wiring in the house. There are two basic types of wiring used with under cabinet lighting hard-wire and simple plug in. There is no significant difference in energy savings, light quality and life span between high voltage and low voltage under cabinet lighting. In regards to voltage, there are two main types of under cabinet lighting normal (line) voltage (120V) lighting and low voltage (12V or 24V) lighting. The problems with premature LED burnout have been solved with the latest DC LED products, which use efficient power electronics to provide a constant voltage to the lamp no matter what the battery bank voltage, with built-in energy-saving dimming capability. (DC CFLs are available, but are expensive, difficult to find, and very sensitive to voltage drop in DC wiring, which shortens their life drastically.) A bonus with DC lighting is that because an inverter is not necessary, it is more efficient. In very small off-grid systems such as for cabins, RVs, tractor-trailers, and boats, DC lighting can make sense, though only with LED fixtures and lamps. Expect an efficiency loss of 10% to 20%-as with any appliance that has inductive or capacitive elements (ballasts, motors, computers, etc.)-and the possibility of flickering or audibly buzzing lamps. However, modified wave inverters used in smaller or older off-grid installations can cause problems with these newer lighting technologies. The cost of LED lighting is still high, but not as high as the cost of a new battery bank or adding PV modules.īecause most modern inverters provide a nearly pure sine-wave output, FLs, CFLs, and LEDs or dimmers usually work well. As my old FLs and CFLs burn out or get dim at my off-grid home, I am slowly phasing in LED lamps. Making sure your lighting is as efficient as possible takes on even more importance in off-grid systems due to expensive battery banks that should not be overdischarged and the winter double-whammy of more hours of darkness combined with a reduced solar resource.įor off-grid homes, the lighting focus will likely be more on efficiency than light quality, but you don’t have to compromise-much. Welcome to our comprehensive guide to OFF-GRID lighting for DesignerS
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