Under Cabinet Kitchen Lighting

The kitchen is probably one of the most used rooms in any household. This is where food is prepared on a daily basis to feed either the individual or the household. The kitchen can also be a dangerous place if one is not careful. With the move towards smaller, compact homes, the kitchen is also shrinking. With space premium, cabinets have to be placed on walls leaving little space for sufficient lighting. Under cabinet kitchen lighting, therefore, becomes a possible solution to keep the compact kitchen a safe and friendly environment to work in.

Let us take a closer look at how sufficient under cabinet kitchen lighting can help to make the kitchen environment a safer place to work in. Of paramount importance is that sufficient lighting gives a person an immediate awareness of his surroundings. This allows a person to interact with the environment successfully without fear of any dangers that might be hidden. This is linked to the fact that sufficient lighting also allows a person to be aware of and to avoid any possible danger that might be in the area. In the kitchen environment where dangerous objects such as the stove, sharp knives and boiling water may be found, the ability to see and avoid these possible dangers is important.

People need lighting to be able to function successfully in any environment. Since the compact kitchen has its space reduced to keep it small and compact, light has to be introduced in some efficient way to allow a person to function in the environment. With the presence of wall cabinets, a simple roof light may not be sufficient as the cabinets may block the light. Therefore, worthwhile solutions are lights that are placed under cabinets placed on the walls. Kitchen lighting must be clear and have a luminosity of at least one candle to ensure that the kitchen remains a safe environment.

Under cabinet kitchen lighting has various benefits over more conventional lighting methods that are used in open plan kitchens. In larger kitchens one or more lights need to be switched on to provide sufficient light. The presence of numerous single lights, for example, under cabinets in the kitchen itself has two advantages:

Just as there are advantages to this method of lighting, there are also disadvantages. The most prominent disadvantage would be that lighting that is places under the cabinets, unlike a wide light that lights the entire kitchen, will provide areas of shadow in the kitchen where the lighting does not extend.

It seems that the best solution would be a combination of conventional kitchen lighting as well as under cabinet kitchen lighting. The kitchen must remain a safe environment. Ensuring that there is sufficient lighting can ensure this. Used correctly, any lighting scheme can make even the most compact kitchen a safe and comfortable environment to work in.