Under-Cabinet LED Lighting: What to Plan Before Installation

[cedricuk]

When planning LED lighting under kitchen cabinets, there are a few details that seem worth getting right before the units and worktops are finished.

 

For a neat installation, how do people usually plan the driver location, cable routes and access for future maintenance? Hiding the driver inside a cupboard can keep things tidy, but it still needs to be accessible if it ever needs replacing.

 

I’m also interested in the practical differences between fitting LED strip in an aluminium profile with a diffuser and using ready-made under-cabinet light fittings. Is the profile approach worth it for better light distribution and heat management, or do integrated fittings tend to be simpler in the long run?

 

It would be useful to hear what has worked well in real kitchen installations, particularly when planning everything before the cabinets go in.

[Mr Punter]

With the integrated fittings, if they are discontinued or you alter the kitchen you may not be able to get the right lengths.  Make sure they are able to switch from the same place as the rest of the lighting.

[FarmerN]

Not sure this is relevant ,as you may be asking about floor level lights under main units.

Our LED strip lights under our wall units to light the work top are in a channel with diffuser.

They were mounted right at the front of the units ,behind the front trim strip of the cupboards.

Unfortunately this leaves an unlit shadow along the front edge of the worktop, they should have been set back a few inches . Didn’t want them at the back of the underside of the cupboards as we thought they might be visible from the far end of the large kitchen / living room.

Drivers on top of cupboards , wires down behind units.

[Russell griffiths]

All our drivers and led controls are in a central location with a flex running to the led strips. 
no driver or control needed near the strips. All dimming and colour changes done on an app, al switching on and off from a switch on the wall. 

[Bancroft]

1 hour ago, FarmerN said:

Drivers on top of cupboards

And with drivers on top of cupboards, make a box for them to go in (with side vents for heat dissipation).  Regardless of how good your kitchen vent is, the top of cupboards still tend to end up with a greasy film over time so a little protection is worthwhile.

[Alan Ambrose]

@Russell griffiths - I’m planning a similar set-up. Any other tips / detail / gotchas you can tell us? What app & dimmers did you use? Any pics? Also, what physical controls? And, if you don’t mind, what cable?

 

Strikes me that’s a lot of cable to run, but so be it.

Edited Sunday at 12:58 by Alan Ambrose

[Russell griffiths]

52 minutes ago, Alan Ambrose said:

@Russell griffiths - I’m planning a similar set-up. Any other tips / detail / gotchas you can tell us? What app & dimmers did you use? Any pics? Also, what physical controls? And, if you don’t mind, what cable?

 

Strikes me that’s a lot of cable to run, but so be it.

Electrician planned it all really 

all cable runs to led strip is flex as a bit of it is 5 core for colour change strip, I think white only requires 2-3 cores cable is relatively cheap take everything back to a central location, no need to hide drivers in cupboards or under kick boards. 
Robus is the make of the controler units. 
if I was to build this again I would not bother with 75% of what we installed, never use them, spend most night with a couple of table lamps on. 
do you actually need lights in cupboards lighting up some old shite tea set the wife was given. 
and for the life of me I don’t know why anybody thinks lights under the plinth in the kitchen is a good idea. 
I think I could have scrapped about £2000 worth of pointless lights we installed. 

[Spinny]

On 11/10/2026 at 15:57, Russell griffiths said:

I think I could have scrapped about £2000 worth of pointless lights

🤣 Well if you go through life and the only buyers regret you have is over £2k you will count yourself blessed I guess.

 

 

I am going for LED strips mounted in alu profiles which are then routed/recessed/plastered into shelves, rooflight upstands, worktop underside.

For kitchen undercabinet lighting I am using LED pucklights recessed into the underside of the cupboard panel - I have Sensio Hype R Pro https://www.sensiolighting.com/products/hype-r-pro which are 24V CCT and dimmable and I am controlling using Gledopto PWM CCT Zigbee controllers.

The LED strips I am using are mostly addressable strips just for the fun of it controlled using WLED controllers which Gledopto make now. Some will be Addressable dual IC strips with CCT white and RGB on the same strip.

 

There are actually a number of different control options and configurations possible, as I have realised in working out how to wire a 3 switch plate which is going on the end of the kitchen island. For example:

 

1/ Wire switches to power the 24V drivers on & off - not the best option IMO - if you want remote control like dimming or presets then powering the driver on and off also powers the controller on and off which then loses any wifi/zigbee/remote etc access to the controller.

2/ Most Gledopto controllers now have the ability to connect directly to physical switches by running a low voltage cable to the switch (never mix high and low voltages on any switch plate) .but this allows wiring to small touch/press switches etc

3/ Controllers often support wireless control via wifi, zigbee, zwave etc So controllable from a mobile phone App, or a Smart Home hub system. It is also possible to create associations between smart home devices so they connect without necessarily needing a hub.

 

I am currently testing out connecting my 3 kitchen island switches using a low voltage Shelly Wave i4 DC module. This connects to up to 4 switches, requires a low voltage 5-24V power feed, and then uses Z-wave to connect to a z-wave capable smart home hub/usb stick.

 

For the kitchen I have wiring threaded behind/under units - drivers and controllers in the island sink unit and on top of wall units for access. Elsewhere I ran some rectangular minitrunking behind plasterboard so I can thread cables up the wall to exit into the end of shelves for shelf led strips.

 

[Spinny]

PS Am having kitchen worktops routed on the underside front edge for LED strips which will light up the finger pull on the handleless drawers/cupboards. Takes some working out. Just managed to sort a way to run 3 wires down alongside the strip where access to the very end of the alu profile isn't possible. Needs to be carefully planned and suitable alu profiles sourced and tested out.

[Super_Paulie]

I have my worktop lights in an aluminium profile with diffuser routed in the underside of my cabinet panel. The router wasn't happy with the chipboard but it got there.

 

I ran the cable down the dead space that is covered by the filler at the end of the run, goes up over into the ceiling then down to the switch, the switch in turn is connected to the driver which I've got behind the kitchen plinth sat on some chipboard. Working so far!