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ktblue_gw

Contractor no help: LED undercabinet hardwire question

ktblue
9 years ago

Hi--My contractor has been no help, so with luck I might find it here! He installed Xenon bars under our new cabinets. The light from them is great, and the installation shows no wires whatsoever--but they heat everything in the cabinets up SO, SO hot that I had to toss food the next day. Totally unworkable. Sadly, they have to be replaced. But my contractor has no ideas for alternatives other than fluorescent. We'd do that as a very last resort, but really are hoping to go LED.

What we seek:
-- Dimmable
-- Cool to touch/ not hot
-- Warm color cast (2800K ideal, 3000K at most)
-- Hardwired so that no wires show

I found some perfect LEDs at Lowes, so I thought since they claimed to be "convertible", but the guy said he couldn't install them without various wires showing. He says we need to find some "direct wired" ones in order to have no wires showing--but all the ones I've seen at the box stores have plugs coming out the side.

Other issue is, what else will he need to know to convert from a Xenon to LED? Will he need to install a voltage converter? Will he need one for every fixture, since we are wanting to tie them into the existing wires and not "link" them manually?

Don't get me wrong, he's been great, but apparently he's no electrician! Is there a solution out there? I'm stumped, and feeling very helpless here. Thanks in advance!

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