Under cabinet outlets

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Ron Van

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We are getting new Kitchen Cabinets soon so I am preparing the walls and wiring in advance. One of the things I'm looking at is under cabinet angled outlets rather than traditional outlets. Like this

1637158600365.png

My question is: Why are these so expensive? I'm seeing $160 for a 24" strip. Are there any alternatives?
 

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Marketing a new product.

Those that I've done involve a GFCI in the sink base cabinet and plug mold mounted to the underside of the uppers.
 
I'd guess they are GFCI (maybe Arc Fault too) protected? I can see under cabinet lighting but what is your thought process and or benefits of these? (still need to run appliance wires (toaster?) up to the outlet?)
 
AFCI's are the new standard, and plug circuits are (generally) 20A, so any counter top appliances would be sufficiently powered.

When I install under cab. lighting, it's low voltage, transformer fed, dimmer operated.
 
I suppose you could add a strip of wood that is triangular to fit behind an outlet strip to get a similar effect. Not sure about the amperage and load though. I've never seen those things before. I wonder how hard it would be to plug things in if you can't see them easily.
 
what is your thought process and or benefits of these? (still need to run appliance wires (toaster?) up to the outlet?)
Two benefits that I see are, 1. many more plugs, some of these power strips are 48” long with an outlet every 6”. The plug is where you need it rather than where it was installed. 2. Doesn’t mess up the looks of your backsplash. The only disadvantage I can think of is the cost.
 
Two benefits that I see are, 1. many more plugs, some of these power strips are 48” long with an outlet every 6”. The plug is where you need it rather than where it was installed. 2. Doesn’t mess up the looks of your backsplash. The only disadvantage I can think of is the cost.

Agreed, but if you are rehabbing the kitchen could you plan out the outlet needs, place outlets where you need and save a ton of $$.
 
What kind of under cab lights do you use?

JUNO is the brand, who have been acquired by AQUITY; Home | Juno Lighting | Acuity Brands

Then T12 fixtures, which are available in LED.They were paced either hid behind a narrow crown at the front face frame or near the back, depending upon the customer preference for the "W" created by the selected dimming.

They were one of the first and known for their quality and versatility of application.
 
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They are ugly while cords are plugged in. Some people have a couple of things that remain plugged in, coffee maker for one. I suppose one could make other arrangements for them.
 
They are ugly while cords are plugged in. Some people have a couple of things that remain plugged in, coffee maker for one. I suppose one could make other arrangements for them.
Yes, I agree with the cords being ugly and have been thinking about that, but cords are ugly whether they are going horizontal or vertical. At this point, I'm leaning toward scrapping the under cabinet plugs and will go with traditional outlets although I'm hating the idea of putting outlets and covers on the new backsplash. I definitely want under cabinet lighting.

JUNO is the brand, who have been acquired by AQUITY; Home | Juno Lighting | Acuity Brands

Then T12 fixtures, which are available in LED.They were paced either hid behind a narrow crown at the front face frame or near the back, depending upon the customer preference for the "W" created by the selected dimming.

They were one of the first and known for their quality and versatility of application.
I like the idea of putting the lights behind the "Light Molding" which is included with the new cabinets. I just talked to the cabinet shop and they should be delivered tomorrow. I will take me a couple of weeks to get the kitchen ready for installation. What do you mean by "The "W" created by selected dimming?"
 
I got some sort of cheap Slim Under Cabinet LED lights from Walmart for my friend's kitchen. You can't really see them. He didn't move outlets because it's an old house & the outlet was behind a pantry cabinet. He got a power strip with a flat plug that fit behind the pantry & then he put the strip just above the backsplash of the countertop. It's low down and if it wasn't bright yellow (only color they had) you wouldn't see it. It's not ideal though.
 
I like the idea of putting the lights behind the "Light Molding" which is included with the new cabinets. I just talked to the cabinet shop and they should be delivered tomorrow. I will take me a couple of weeks to get the kitchen ready for installation. What do you mean by "The "W" created by selected dimming?"

The T12 is a "cut-to-fit", joinable system, and when placed at the back of the cabinets creates a "W", through the dimming cycle, while when placed beneath the face frame, the radiance of the lighting is more panoramic.

This is the crown; Medium Traditional Cove Crown, 2 1/2''w x 13/16''d x 8' length, Resin is priced per foot.Resin
 
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Does it have a black face plate? Or is it waiting for a face plate (my vision isn't good enough to tell).
 
When putting our kitchen back together, I ended up installing conventional outlets on a dedicated 20a circuit. I used a 20a GFCI/Arc fault breaker in the box to protect them. I bought some LED under cabinet lights off Amazon made by Ultra Pro which have two brightness settings and 3 different shades of white (2700Kelvin, 4,000Kelvin, and 5,000Kelvin). Here's before and after...
 

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"to protect them"
The arc detection is to protect you from house fires, but I doubt these things have made a significant change from when we didn't have them & we relied on common sense.

"AFCIs have proven so effective at preventing electrical fires that the National Electrical Code (NEC) requires AFCIs to be installed in almost every room in newly built houses."
Show me the numbers in a sworn statement, guys. . .:(

Appliances are not generally flammable.

They also want GFCIs in car washes even tho Mike Holt said there has never been an incident in car washes.

In any case, I hope you don't need this.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/fix-a-sensitive-arc-fault-circuit-breaker/
I believe I know why GFCIs are required in car washes.

It’s not a conspiracy because it is not a crime to sell people something they don’t really need.

If car washes can get by without GCFIs where one would think they are desperately needed, this is an advertisement to the whole world that
maybe they are not really needed, at all, anywhere.

If these things are installed & still no electrocutions, the GCFI vendors can then claim that it is partly or wholly due to the use of GFCIs.

And because of the Moral Hazard, you might actually get more electrocutions.

Not that I can do anything about all this. :D
 
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I just got some sort of remote switch that is waterproof that I will be having hooked to an undercabinet light above the kitchen sink. Gonna put in a 24" LED bar. Trying to figure out the best way to mount it as I will have to run the cord up into the cabinet from the middle of the light. Light thing comes from the end so I'll have to find a way to get it to drop down enough. Might just take a piece of wood & notch it for the cord. Will install an outlet in the cabinet (right now there's a junction box).
 

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