Very Specific Unicorn of an Under Cabinet Lighting Solution
August 27, 2024 4:30 PM   Subscribe

I am trying to replace under cabinet lighting (that is being used to light a ceiling, not a cabinet or counter) with SUPERIOR under cabinet ceiling lighting. Must be: Hardwired. Preferred: Multi-Color Capable, Dimmable, Voice Control.

My bedroom is an attic space. There are six beams that cross the top of the room. On top of those beams, the previous owners installed under-cabinet lighting pointing upwards towards the ceiling, and it actually does a great job of illuminating the room and looking atmospheric. The problem with them is they are halogen, and put out a metric ton of heat, while using a large amount of electricity.

As part of a larger (emergency) project, we figured we might as well replace them with a better solution, but said better solution is very hard to find. The wires are already in place. There is no way to plug in new strip lighting to outlets, we want to take advantage of the existing wiring system.

The easiest possibility which we may have to go with, would just be to buy comparable led undercabinet lighting, in plain white. I would prefer to find an option where we can control both color and brightness level, either through an app, or voice control. Despite so many different types of smart strip lighting these days, I am not finding what I am after, and I’m beginning to wonder if it just doesn’t exist yet.

I have looked at all sort of Philips Hue light strips and tubes (wrong sizes, wrong types, not hardwired) as well as Govee options (both the tube stick lights and the LED strips that can go around corners) which look really nice and I would go with them but again, no options for hardwired. You need to be able to plug them in.

Amazon has a brand called “Lampaous” which looks like a possibility, but I have never heard of them before, and the ability to actually contact them seems to be possibly email only? Seems a little sketchy.

Does this lighting unicorn exist?
posted by instead of three wishes to Home & Garden (5 answers total)
 
If the existing lights are mounted on some kind of frame or flat panel (like the underside of a cabinet), and are already controlled by a switch, it seems you could use the existing wiring to install an outlet ‘up there’ where it out of sight, and install your preferred choice. Or just cut the plug off the strip lights you like and attach them to the existing wires.
Just spit-balling here; maybe a photo would help?
posted by TDIpod at 5:57 PM on August 27 [3 favorites]


2nding TDIpod. Just cut the plug end off the govee ones and wire them in. (we have several products from govee and I'm pretty impressed with quality)
posted by chasles at 8:19 PM on August 27


Could you put something like this in the existing lamp? https://a.co/d/enrgpHB it is an adapter for a lightbulb socket with an outlet in it.
posted by samthemander at 12:13 PM on August 28


Best answer: GE Cync Reveal is currently the only Matter-compatible RGB smart lighting. You can use it with Alexa or Google Home or the smart hub of your choice. (They also work like normal lights without an app or hub, so you can turn them on and off in the event of an Internet outage.)

The lighting is dimmable and has a really nice diffuser to prevent the "discrete dots" effect of some LED setups. They can be hard wired or plugged into an outlet. It was just launched a few months ago and we love ours.

The second best option would be Ikea MITTLED, which is dimmable but does not have RGB or selectable color temperature.
posted by Gable Oak at 4:12 AM on August 31


Shoot... I forgot the word "under cabinet" up there. There are obviously lots of Matter compatible smart lights. I am also incorrect-- a few weeks ago, Black & Decker released an RGB version of their Push Wire. I'm happy to see more options out there, because just a few months ago, there were none.
posted by Gable Oak at 8:42 PM on August 31


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