Comments on: New Home Project: Under Cabinet Lighting

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:48:58 +0000

Yes, I have spoken to the Canadian distributor for these lights and that would be the biggest issue. I don’t feel comfortable enough running these connector cables behind drywall and in fact the distributor doesn’t recommend it either. They are very user friendly in the right application, just not for me. I have found a local cabinet maker who stocks lighting for his own use (ie. customers whom he designs kitchens for) and he is willing to sell me what I need. They can be connected with 12/2 Romex and have knockouts at each end and 3 along the back! A little more pricey than the Home Depot lights but worth it in safety and convenience. Hence my Saturday! Thanks for all the help Chris, us DIY guys need the help sometimes!

By: Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:51:52 +0000

Ed - I would recommend the Xenon Line Voltage Thin Under Cabinet Task Lights that I installed in my kitchen (the topic of my blog post) and that we sell on our website. In fact, these our our most popular product we sell! They can be hardwired together using either your 12/2 wire (as I explained in my previous comments) OR connecting cables, and of course, can be controlled by one switch/dimmer. However, our connecting cables are also a maximum of 36 inches so you would still have the same problem you are having with your Home Depot lights.

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:20:11 +0000

Update! The lights are Illume brand, Xenon Linear System Line Voltage Models 3011 and 3019. They can only be connected using the proper connection cables which snap into either end as necessary to combine the lights in a series. It is a great system in that only the 1st light in the series needs to be hardwired and the rest literally ‘snap’ together. The only problem is that the longest extension cable available is 36 inches! In my case I want to connect the lights on opposite sides of the kitchen so I will need about 8 of these extension cables. I don’t know if I am comfortable running them inside the drywall in the event there is a problem and I have to access them where they connect. I’ve though about running them down through some PVC pipe or similar housing where they could be easily pulled up but that is a bit of extra work. In the meantime, can you recommend a Xenon system that can be hardwired fixture to fixture and controlled / dimmed from a wall switch! Look forward to your reply Chris.

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:31:02 +0000

Chris, the lights are from Home Depot, I will get the Model / Name later and hopefully you might be able to go from there. I will take your advice and consult an electrician friend. Thanks.

By: Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:01:47 +0000

Ed – From your fixture description I am not familiar with the xenon lights that you are installing. My previous comment about your 12/2 wire was specific to the xenon under cabinet lights that we sell and the ones that I installed in my own home. Did you purchase your lights from us? If so, which ones? I might be able to get some assistance from our supplier. Otherwise, I would recommend that you speak with a licensed electrician in your area.

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:12:02 +0000

Ok Chris, I checked the dimmers and they are Leviton Decora brand that are basically a sealed box-type unit so I didn’t see any ‘fins’ to remove. One of the dimmers in the double gang box is controlling one ceiling fixture with 3 incandescent 60w bulbs. The other will control one 60w incandescent and six 50w PAR 20 pot/can lights. With 3 or more ‘devices’ (I assume they mean individual lights) the specs allow up to 400w per dimmer so I am within range.

I also installed the first of my Xenon lamps (each one has 2 25w bulbs, one at each end of the fixture). The power source is from a junction box in the ceiling below that has only one 50W PAR 20 bulb and one switch running to/from it. The Xenon works fine but seemed to get a little hotter than I expected on the higher setting. It is hardwired and can be controlled from a switch, not a dimmer … yet! I want to continue to wire each of the fixtures together using the 12/2 Romex but since two of the four are on the other side of the kitchen, I will have to run a 10 foot connection, under the floor, up into the other wall to connect them. Ambitious but doable. My question is, do I simply connect the Romex to the other END of the Xenon fixture and continue onto the next one until all four are connected to the one wall switch OR do I make the Romex connection at the same end as the initial / existing connection. I hope the wording doesn’t make this sound more complicated than it is, I just need to know what wires to use in the fixture to connect all the lights together! Ok, I’ll stop there for now and see what you think! Thanks so much for the help.

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:32:43 +0000

Great info Chris. I’ve already calculated the wattage and I’m within the 80% (or the suggested maximum wattage) for a 15 amp breaker. I will have a look at the dimmers and re-read the specs on the packaging. I’m in the middle of a major kitchen reno so I’m sure I will have more questions. Thanks again, I’ll be back!

By: Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:55:21 +0000

Ed – I am glad that you found this post and related comments helpful. First, this under cabinet install is mine and I am in the US. We reached out to our supplier and our supplier tells us that YES you can use 12/2 wiring in these fixtures. However, there are orange stab connectors inside the fixtures and these may need to be cut off and wire nuts added and used instead. This is because the 12/2 wire is larger than the 14/2 wire and the orange stab connectors may be too small for your gauge wire.

Second, the “fins” I referred to in my post were on the dimmer. The Maestro dimmer I used has two fins on each side of the dimmer for heat management. If you are installing this dimmer in a single gang wall box then there is no need to remove the fins. However, if you are installing the dimmer in a two gang wall box, like I did, you will need to remove the fins on whatever side of the dimmer that is next to the other switch inside the wall box with the dimmer. In my case, I had an electrical outlet on the right-hand side of the wall box (see pic above). Thus, I removed the fins on the right-hand side of the dimmer. Removing the fins de-rates the max wattage of the dimmer since you are negatively impacting the heat management of the dimmer itself. This is why I stepped up to a 1000-watt dimmer for my installation. Make sure you add up your wattage and if you are removing fins think about increasing the maximum wattage if necessary.

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:26:11 +0000

Great forum everyone! I am in the process of remodeling and want to hardwire in the Xenons as well. A couple of questions! I am in Canada (not sure where you guys call home) but while reading your questions/replies I noticed a few things! Can I use 12/2 wire instead of the 14/2. Pretty well everything in the house is run off 12/2 and the power source for these comes from the same wire into a junction box. I also have two dimmers in the same box for two separate lighting projects. You mention that I have to remove the ‘fins’? What exactly do you mean? I’m an avid DIY guy and all this helps! Anything you can suggest would be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

By: Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:58:28 +0000

Yes, the 12V wires can be cut and spliced. I suggest that you first cut the 12V wire in a convenient location that will not be that visible under most circumstances – maybe tucked away in a corner. Then remove about 0.50in of insulation from each of the two cut ends. Then wind them around each other VERY tightly and cap them off with a small wire nut and then wrap electrical tape around the wire nut and a small portion of the two wires. Since these are 12V wires carrying very little current to LED light fixtures this should be fine. If these were 12V wires carrying 25 amps of current to a high wattage low voltage lighting system, this would not be a good solution.