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LED Strip, Power and Control for Under Cabinet Lighting
I wanted a tunable light under the cabinet. My preference would be if could dim the lights at the switch, but control the "color" of the light with an app. Is this possible? We have three individual cabinet areas: 1) 80" span with a 30" gap over the stop and then continues for another 18" (we would not need to light under the stove) 2) 52" span (nothing special here) 3) 74" counter span (nothing special here, either) What products do we need to accomplish this?
Our FilmGrade Hybrid LED strip lights are designed for cinematography applications, but they could certainly be repurposed for an under-cabinet installation.
A very nice feature of the FilmGrade Hybrid LED strip lights is the ability to change the color temperature of the lights between 3200K (warm white) and 6500K (cool white). This will, however, require some additional third-party controllers to achieve, and would not be compatible with a wall-dimmer installation.
For under-cabinet installations, most of our customers utilize a single-color LED strip light installation using our CENTRIC HOME LED strip lights. While this product is fixed at a single color temperature, this product may be better suited for an under-cabinet installation as the color temperature options of 2700K or 3000K are better suited for residential installations. Additionally, it can be hard-wired to a wall switch, and also includes UL safety ratings for permanent residential installations.
Below is a link to an example installation diagram along with a parts list, which you may find helpful:
https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1A
Based on the cabinet dimensions we have approximately 18' linear feet of cabinets in three unique areas that will need lighting. Do we need three reels and three power supplies or could we do two reels and three power supplies?
The LED strip reels can be cut into shorter lengths, so the two reels with three power supplies sound like a better option for you!
The two reels will provide you with sufficient length to cover 32.8 ft, which is more than the 18 feet required for your cabinet dimensions.
In fact, a single reel will provide you with 16.4 ft, so if you are OK with shortening the LED strip lights for some of your cabinets (the LED strip lights most likely do not need to go all the way from one end of the cabinet to the other), that might also save some of your cost as you would be able to use just a single reel instead of two.
Here is an example layout diagram that you may find helpful:
https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B
We're not sure if we need the 12V or 24V, and also do we need a junction box with the power supply?
I also want to confirm our dimmer switches will be compatible with this. Below are two different dimmer switches I'm planning to purchase:
Both the 12-volt and 24-volt versions will work OK for your installation, but generally, we recommend our 24-volt versions as they perform slightly more efficiently than their 12-volt counterparts. For additional details, you may find our article below helpful:
https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/advantages-of-a-24v-led-system-vs-12v
The junction box is an optional accessory for the power supply but can be useful for mounting the power supply safely and securely.
In terms of dimmer compatibility, our dimmable power supplies are designed to work with the majority of Lutron and Leviton dimmers. Below is a list of all dimmers we have tested for compatibility:
https://www.waveformlighting.com/files/DC_3093.pdf
We do see both the MACL and MRF2 series dimmers on our tested list (I believe the letters and digits that follow are designators for non-electrical variations such as color, etc), so I do believe that either of those options should work well for your installation!
I don't believe we have any further guidance or recommendations, but you may want to review the following layout map for a visual preview of what you have in mind for the installation configuration:
https://www.waveformlighting.com/layoutmaps/3001_1B
Question posted under:
LED power suppliesLED strip lightsLED dimmersKitchen lighting
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