Under-cabinet lighting is one of the most impactful kitchen upgrades you can make, both for everyday functionality and for the overall look and feel of your kitchen. Good under-cabinet lighting eliminates the shadows that overhead ceiling fixtures cast on your countertops, making food prep, cooking, and reading recipes significantly easier. It also adds a warm, layered ambiance that transforms a kitchen from a utilitarian workspace into the inviting center of the home that modern families expect.
For Aiken homeowners considering under-cabinet lighting, this guide covers the main options available, how each type is installed, the difference between hardwired and plug-in systems, and realistic cost ranges for professional installation in our area.
LED Tape (Strip) Lighting
LED tape lighting, also called LED strip lighting, is the most popular under-cabinet lighting option today. It consists of a flexible circuit board with surface-mounted LED chips spaced evenly along its length, backed with an adhesive strip for mounting. LED tape produces a smooth, continuous line of light without the hot spots and gaps that puck lights create.
LED tape comes in various brightness levels measured in lumens per foot. For under-cabinet task lighting, look for tape rated at 200 to 400 lumens per foot. Lower outputs (100 to 150 lumens per foot) work well for ambient or accent lighting but may not provide enough light for food preparation.
The tape itself runs on low voltage (12V or 24V DC) and requires a driver (also called a power supply or transformer) that converts your home's 120V AC power. The driver can be mounted inside a cabinet, behind a refrigerator, in a pantry, or in any nearby concealed location. A single driver can power multiple runs of tape, up to the driver's wattage rating.
LED tape can be cut to custom lengths at marked cutting points (typically every 2 inches on 12V tape and every 4 inches on 24V tape), making it easy to fit precisely under cabinets of any length. Connectors or soldered joints link tape segments around corners or across gaps above the stove or sink.
Quality matters significantly with LED tape. Inexpensive tape from online marketplaces often has inconsistent LED spacing, poor color consistency along the run, and adhesive that fails within months. Commercial-grade tape from manufacturers like WAC Lighting, American Lighting, or HitLights costs more but provides consistent light output, accurate color temperature, and adhesive that stays put on the underside of a cabinet for years.
LED Puck Lights
LED puck lights are small, round fixtures (typically 2.5 to 3 inches in diameter) that mount individually to the underside of cabinets. They produce a focused pool of light directly below each fixture, creating a scallop pattern on the countertop.
Puck lights are a good option when you want to highlight specific areas of the countertop rather than provide continuous illumination. They work well under short cabinets, in display cases, or as accent lighting inside glass-front cabinets. They are also a practical choice for retrofitting under-cabinet lighting in an existing kitchen because each puck is a self-contained unit that requires only a single mounting point and a power connection.
The main drawback of puck lights for task lighting is the uneven illumination pattern. The areas directly below each puck are brightly lit, while the spaces between pucks are dimmer. Spacing pucks 8 to 12 inches apart helps minimize dark spots, but the lighting will never be as uniform as tape or bar lighting. If uniform task lighting is your primary goal, tape or bar lights are better choices.
Puck lights are available in both hardwired and plug-in versions. Hardwired pucks connect to low-voltage wiring run behind the cabinets, while plug-in pucks connect to a small transformer that plugs into a nearby outlet. Battery-powered pucks are also available, but they are not recommended for primary under-cabinet lighting because battery life is limited and light output diminishes as the batteries drain.
LED Light Bars
LED light bars are rigid linear fixtures designed specifically for under-cabinet installation. They come in standard lengths (typically 12, 18, 24, and 36 inches) and can be linked end-to-end to span longer cabinets. Light bars produce a smooth, continuous line of light similar to tape lighting but in a more robust, self-contained housing.
Light bars have several advantages over tape. They are mechanically sturdier, since the LEDs are mounted inside an aluminum or plastic housing rather than on flexible tape. They typically include built-in optics (lenses or diffusers) that produce more even light distribution. And they are easier to install cleanly because the housing mounts with screws or clips rather than adhesive.
The trade-off is less flexibility. Light bars cannot bend around corners, and their standard lengths may not perfectly match your cabinet dimensions, leaving small gaps between fixtures or between the end of the bar and the cabinet side. Some manufacturers offer interconnecting cables of various lengths to space bars apart and maintain electrical continuity.
High-quality light bars from manufacturers like GE, Kichler, and WAC Lighting are available in hardwired and plug-in versions, and many are compatible with standard LED dimmers for brightness control.
Hardwired vs. Plug-In Installation
This is one of the most important decisions for under-cabinet lighting, and it affects both the appearance and the cost of the installation.
Plug-in systems are the simplest to install. The lighting fixtures connect to a transformer or driver that plugs into a standard kitchen outlet. The advantages are straightforward installation (no electrical work inside walls), lower upfront cost, and the ability to move or change the system easily. The disadvantages are visible power cords running from the cabinet to the outlet, the need for an available outlet in a convenient location (outlets are often already occupied by small appliances), and the transformer or plug occupying counter space or hanging visibly below the cabinet.
Hardwired systems connect directly to your home's electrical wiring, with the driver or transformer concealed inside a cabinet, in the wall, or in the ceiling cavity above. A wall switch or dimmer controls the lights. There are no visible cords, no plugs, and no adapters. The lighting appears built into the kitchen as if it was always there. Hardwired installation requires an electrician to run a new circuit or extend an existing circuit to the under-cabinet area, install a switch or dimmer, and connect the driver and lighting fixtures.
For most Aiken homeowners investing in permanent under-cabinet lighting, hardwired installation is the preferred approach. The cleaner appearance, dedicated switch control, and absence of visible cords justify the additional installation cost, especially in kitchens where the lighting will be used daily for years to come.
Color Temperature: Choosing the Right Warmth
Color temperature dramatically affects how your kitchen looks and feels with under-cabinet lighting. The wrong color temperature can make your countertops look dingy, your cabinet finish look off-color, or the overall kitchen feel harsh and clinical.
For most kitchens, 2700K to 3000K is the ideal range. This warm white light is similar to the tone of traditional incandescent bulbs and complements wood cabinets, granite and quartz countertops, and warm paint colors. It creates a welcoming atmosphere that most people associate with a comfortable kitchen environment.
Kitchens with white or gray cabinets and cool-toned countertops can look excellent at 3500K, which provides a slightly cooler, more neutral white. This temperature works well in modern and contemporary kitchens where a clean, crisp look is desired.
Avoid 4000K and above for residential kitchen under-cabinet lighting. While these cooler temperatures are common in commercial kitchens and retail settings, they tend to feel cold and institutional in a home kitchen. The exception might be a home with a true commercial-style kitchen that deliberately embraces that aesthetic.
Whatever color temperature you choose, make sure all of your under-cabinet fixtures match. Mixing color temperatures (for example, 2700K under some cabinets and 3500K under others) creates an inconsistent, distracting appearance that undermines the purpose of the lighting upgrade.
Dimming: A Worthwhile Addition
Under-cabinet lighting serves double duty in most kitchens. During meal prep and cooking, you want full brightness for task lighting. During dinner or evening entertaining, you want softer, ambient lighting that creates atmosphere without glare. A dimmer gives you both.
For hardwired installations, a standard wall-mounted LED dimmer switch provides simple, intuitive control. The dimmer must be compatible with the LED driver and fixtures. Not all LED drivers are dimmable, and not all dimmers work correctly with LED loads. Using an incompatible combination causes flickering, buzzing, limited dimming range, or premature failure. When specifying your under-cabinet lighting system, confirm that the driver is dimmable and select a dimmer switch specifically listed as compatible with that driver. Lutron is the most widely compatible dimmer brand for LED applications.
For plug-in installations, inline dimmers (a small dial on the power cord between the transformer and the outlet) provide basic dimming control, though the range and smoothness are typically not as good as a dedicated wall dimmer on a hardwired system.
Installation Methods and Concealment
Proper installation makes the difference between under-cabinet lighting that looks professional and lighting that looks like an afterthought. The goal is for the light to be visible on the countertop while the fixtures and wiring remain hidden.
Mount the fixtures toward the front edge of the cabinet, behind the face frame or front lip. This positions the light where it illuminates the countertop most effectively and uses the cabinet's front edge to block direct line-of-sight to the LED source from standing or seated positions. If the cabinet has no front lip, an aluminum channel with a frosted diffuser lens can be mounted to the underside. The channel conceals the LED tape or strip and diffuses the light into a smooth, glare-free wash.
Wiring between fixtures should be concealed behind or above the cabinets, run through small holes drilled in the cabinet sides, or hidden inside a channel that spans the gap between cabinet sections. Over the stove and sink, where cabinets typically do not continue, the wiring routing requires extra planning to cross the gap without visible runs.
Cost Ranges for Aiken Installations
Under-cabinet lighting costs vary based on the type of fixture, the number of cabinets, and whether the installation is hardwired or plug-in.
Plug-in LED tape or puck light kits (DIY): $50 to $200 for a typical kitchen. This covers the fixtures, transformer, and mounting hardware. No labor cost if you install it yourself.
Hardwired LED tape lighting (professional installation): $600 to $1,500 for a typical kitchen with 10 to 20 linear feet of lighting. This includes commercial-grade LED tape, a dimmable driver, a wall switch or dimmer, wiring, and labor. The cost depends on the complexity of routing wires from the switch location to the cabinet area and whether an existing circuit can be extended or a new circuit is needed.
Hardwired LED light bars (professional installation): $500 to $1,200 for a typical kitchen. Light bars tend to be slightly less expensive to install than tape because the fixtures are self-contained and require less custom fabrication on-site.
High-end systems with smart controls or tunable white: $1,200 to $2,500. These systems include premium fixtures, wireless or smart dimmer controls, and sometimes tunable-white LEDs that let you adjust the color temperature as well as the brightness.
Next Steps
If you are considering under-cabinet lighting for your Aiken kitchen, Unity Power & Light can help you choose the right option for your space, your goals, and your budget. We install hardwired under-cabinet lighting systems that integrate cleanly with your existing kitchen, complete with dimmer controls and concealed wiring. Contact us for a kitchen lighting consultation and quote.