Recessed lighting in kitchen. LED's?

[Red Squirrel]

No hazardous waste disposal site?

They do have a hazardous waste pickup day once a year, but that's about it. Showed up at the landfill with a bunch of branches once and figured I'd get rid of some chemicals at same time. Paint stripper, old concrete, stuff like that. I asked where to put it and they said regular domestic trash lol. Kind of sad really.

They started charging to use the dump now so all this stuff is going to end up in the bush because people won't want to pay. I had to pay like $10 to dispose of tree branches... was very tempting to just throw them in the bush given it's natural waste, but with my luck, probably get fined anyway.

 

[Aikouka]

I really wanted to do recessed lighting (using the LED lights) in my kitchen remodel, but no one knows how to get to the area above the kitchen, and it would be quite pricey to add them without being able to get up there... unless I didn't care to keeping it up to code. (I wouldn't be able to properly tack down the conduit.)

However, I did go with some LED undercabinet lighting. I'm actually installing that at the moment. I'm using an MLEV driver dimmer switch to a 24V transformer. I've already got the conduit coming out the cabinet (on the inside), I just need to figure out how exactly to mount it. It seems kind of lame that I had to go and buy 25 feet of flex armor just to sheath about 6 inches of cable that'll go from a junction box to the transformer.

 

[paperfist]

I really wanted to do recessed lighting (using the LED lights) in my kitchen remodel, but no one knows how to get to the area above the kitchen, and it would be quite pricey to add them without being able to get up there... unless I didn't care to keeping it up to code. (I wouldn't be able to properly tack down the conduit.)

However, I did go with some LED undercabinet lighting. I'm actually installing that at the moment. I'm using an MLEV driver dimmer switch to a 24V transformer. I've already got the conduit coming out the cabinet (on the inside), I just need to figure out how exactly to mount it. It seems kind of lame that I had to go and buy 25 feet of flex armor just to sheath about 6 inches of cable that'll go from a junction box to the transformer.

You have lights in the ceiling now? You should be able to cut out the 6" or whatever size holes you'll need for recessed lights and fish power from the source to light to light.

For your LED system what do you house the power supply in? I want to add strip lighting in a bathroom I'm doing and use it for main lighting. I see they have these recessed aluminum channels I can use with lens covers, but I'm not familiar with how you actually go from the strip to the power supply and then house it.

 

[Aikouka]

You have lights in the ceiling now? You should be able to cut out the 6" or whatever size holes you'll need for recessed lights and fish power from the source to light to light.

That's what I considered doing since I did have an initial light up there (meaning I had power up there somewhere), and I actually found a hole that lead up to the area that someone must've drilled to run wires but never used. What worried me was that I would be forced to essentially toss wires across from light to light with only being able to tack them down right by the next light. I'd have to check NEC to be sure, but I know that for wires in the wall, they're supposed to be tacked down about every 2 feet and within 12 inches of the box. I could easily do the latter (just stick my arm up the hole), but I could never secure the wire between the lights.

Fortunately, the kitchen is only about 12'x12', which isn't really big enough to need recessed lighting. The reason why I wanted it is just that it's more modern, and it didn't seem sensible to update everything except for the lighting. However, I am changing the older light out for something a little nicer, so it will still look good. I'm also changing the super old light above the sink to a nicer pendant light, so it's fine.

For your LED system what do you house the power supply in? I want to add strip lighting in a bathroom I'm doing and use it for main lighting. I see they have these recessed aluminum channels I can use with lens covers, but I'm not familiar with how you actually go from the strip to the power supply and then house it.

The kitchen has one advantage in that it has upper cabinets, which can be used to house the power supply. The transformer that I linked is going in the upper right cabinet, which is where the conduit was run through. I'd prefer that it wasn't in the cabinet though. The problem is that my ceiling isn't that high (about 8 feet). So, the crown molding that comes off the cabinets actually goes all the way up to the ceiling. If I had higher ceilings, I would've been able to leave a space above the cabinets, and I would've put them on the top. In that case, the crown molding would've hidden them from view while leaving me able to access them in case of an issue.

For you, you could consider putting the power source in a bathroom base cabinet. You'd have to hide the wire going up (I assume the lighting is up higher since it's main lighting), but you could do that with some trim. The only negative about putting it in any cabinet is that these things do get a little warm, so having them in the open but out of sight is definitely preferable. If you have anything in your bathroom like a linen cabinet (those really tall ones), that might not be a bad idea either. Also, perhaps if you have a non-recessed medicine cabinet, that may have enough room on top to place the power supply given some trim to hide it.

 

[paperfist]

That's what I considered doing since I did have an initial light up there (meaning I had power up there somewhere), and I actually found a hole that lead up to the area that someone must've drilled to run wires but never used. What worried me was that I would be forced to essentially toss wires across from light to light with only being able to tack them down right by the next light. I'd have to check NEC to be sure, but I know that for wires in the wall, they're supposed to be tacked down about every 2 feet and within 12 inches of the box. I could easily do the latter (just stick my arm up the hole), but I could never secure the wire between the lights.

Fortunately, the kitchen is only about 12'x12', which isn't really big enough to need recessed lighting. The reason why I wanted it is just that it's more modern, and it didn't seem sensible to update everything except for the lighting. However, I am changing the older light out for something a little nicer, so it will still look good. I'm also changing the super old light above the sink to a nicer pendant light, so it's fine.



The kitchen has one advantage in that it has upper cabinets, which can be used to house the power supply. The transformer that I linked is going in the upper right cabinet, which is where the conduit was run through. I'd prefer that it wasn't in the cabinet though. The problem is that my ceiling isn't that high (about 8 feet). So, the crown molding that comes off the cabinets actually goes all the way up to the ceiling. If I had higher ceilings, I would've been able to leave a space above the cabinets, and I would've put them on the top. In that case, the crown molding would've hidden them from view while leaving me able to access them in case of an issue.

For you, you could consider putting the power source in a bathroom base cabinet. You'd have to hide the wire going up (I assume the lighting is up higher since it's main lighting), but you could do that with some trim. The only negative about putting it in any cabinet is that these things do get a little warm, so having them in the open but out of sight is definitely preferable. If you have anything in your bathroom like a linen cabinet (those really tall ones), that might not be a bad idea either. Also, perhaps if you have a non-recessed medicine cabinet, that may have enough room on top to place the power supply given some trim to hide it.

Yeah trying to staple the wires wouldn't be possible. I don't know what the code is for that either. I wonder if it would call for armored cable.

Thanks for the info! I was thinking the power supply had to be in some kind of electrical box.

That's what I was thinking, the bathroom space is just studs now so there will be a lien closet that goes to the ceiling. I planned on tucking it in there. I'm going to run it run in these channels:

http://www.ecolocityled.com/category/led_aluminum_extrusions

into the ceiling drywall so hopefully I won't have to hide any wires and just run straight to the power supply. I'm also hoping that they will provide enough light to be the main and only source.

 

[NL5]

NEC allows wires fished through existing walls/ceilings to not be tacked down.

NEC 334.30 (B) (1)

 

[Aikouka]

Thanks for the info! I was thinking the power supply had to be in some kind of electrical box.

Not to my knowledge. The box itself should be sturdy enough to survive any hits. The only rules that I know of are for exposed conduit in unsafe (I forget the exact wording that they use, but it's somewhat ambiguous and left to interpretation of your inspector) areas such as a cabinet. In that case, you have to use armored cable.

I'm also hoping that they will provide enough light to be the main and only source.

Hm, you can always try temporarily attaching them to the ceiling and seeing how much light they give off. I ended up doing something similar when I was debating whether to use one or two 6" LED strips for a 27-30" wall cabinet. It may also help figure out how much you need as the spread on a strip may not be as wide as expected.

NEC allows wires fished through existing walls/ceilings to not be tacked down.

NEC 334.30 (B) (1)

Ah, okay.. thanks! I'm guessing the difference between that and what I've read about is the bit about existing walls/ceilings. Most of the electrical stuff that I was messing with was in exposed walls. Fortunately, if I ever decide to go with recessed lighting, it should still be possible even with my kitchen installed. That was one of the reasons why I was okay with passing on it.