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HomeKit Wanted: Recommendation for kitchen under cabinet countertop lighting

F

flynz4

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 9, 2009
3,276
134
Portland, OR
I am considering putting in some under cabinet countertop lighting for our kitchen. Automation would be nice. I have 3 separate areas, and ideally it would be nice if they can all light simultaneously. I do not have a wall switch for the 3 separate power outlets, so I would want a wireless remote switch... ideally HomeKit compatible.

Primarily, I would want it as task lighting, so white light is sufficient. However, color control would be nice as an accent, but not strictly necessary.

Any advice would be welcome.

/Jim
 
flynz4 said:
I am considering putting in some under cabinet countertop lighting for our kitchen. Automation would be nice. I have 3 separate areas, and ideally it would be nice if they can all light simultaneously. I do not have a wall switch for the 3 separate power outlets, so I would want a wireless remote switch... ideally HomeKit compatible.

Primarily, I would want it as task lighting, so white light is sufficient. However, color control would be nice as an accent, but not strictly necessary.

Any advice would be welcome.

/Jim
Click to expand...

Cannot recommend the Philips Hue under-cabinet lights enough. Easy to install. HomeKit friendly. You can link them in either the Hue app or HomeKit so they operate synchronously.

www.philips-hue.com

Smart LED Strip Lights | Philips Hue

Use light strips to illuminate bookshelves, cabinets, hallways, and more. Our LED strip lights are smart, so they can do anything you want.
www.philips-hue.com www.philips-hue.com

As for a wireless remote, I use this product which is made for Hue. No batteries and connects to the Hue hub. To everyone but you it’s just a light switch.

a.co

RunLessWire Click for Philips Hue Wireless Battery Free Dimming Smart Switch Friends of Hue Bulb Lighting Control Works with All Home Automation Hubs Through Bridge & App Self Powered - White

With all the amazing things that Philips Hue can do, sometimes what you need most is a good ol' switch for basic On/Off/Dim operations and remembering your favorite scenes and master control (program any button to control one or multiple lights). The White Click Switch from RunLessWire is self-po...
a.co
 
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My wife wanted under-cabinet lighting for task lighting. I picked up some LED strips off of Amazon and installed them. To connect them to HomeKit, I installed dedicated wall outlets above the cabinets and ran the wires up to the plugs, and added VCOClink smart plugs to each outlet. They now turn on and off per a schedule, and I can operate them manually using the Home app, as needed. I did four separate runs all for about $150, including the smart plugs.
 
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We have under-cabinet lighting from a kitchen remodel done several years back. They don't get used an awful lot but they put out a lot of heat. Something to consider…when choosing the lights…depending on what's in the cabinet.
 
BrianBaughn said:
We have under-cabinet lighting from a kitchen remodel done several years back. They don't get used an awful lot but they put out a lot of heat. Something to consider…when choosing the lights…depending on what's in the cabinet.
Click to expand...

I’m not shilling for Hue but those kind of lights give off almost no heat at all.
 
Amazon has lots of LED strip lights for very little $. So little it may be advisable to buy some and try them out to see what you want permanently. May not be able to have them sync but for trying them out would be OK. Try them in the front, middle, and back under the cabinets. Love ours, No heat and use VERY LITTLE power, make great night lights.
 
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gsucyclist said:
I recently picked one of these up and it was easy to install and works great. The first one I got was defective, but exchanged it and no issues with the 2nd one
Click to expand...
Doesnt look like these support Homekit natively?


Also here is a sane link to the above without all the tracking/referral jargon: https://www.amazon.com/Cync-Undercabinet-Fixture-Changing-Undercab/dp/B0D4ZLZNVP
 
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Athom makes Homekit compatible devices that can drive normal LED strips.

www.athom.tech

Homekit RGB Light Strip Controller | AthomTech

Notice: This is open sources device, fully compatible with Homekit but not certified by Apple To enable HomeKit remote control, you need a HomePod, an Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD, Set any of these Apple devices in your house as a HomeKit bridge and connect it to your home Wi-Fi network. Keep in...
www.athom.tech www.athom.tech

I would also recommend diffusing the LEDs in some way. This will help with securely installing them as well. They made extruded channels that can angle the strips and often include light diffusers built in.
 
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From the discussion earlier in this thread, I’m looking to move forward with Hue. I remember hearing there were some Apple HomeKit issues with Philips Hue. Are those sorted out? I suspect I’d want to use a bridge as well.

/Jim
 
flynz4 said:
From the discussion earlier in this thread, I’m looking to move forward with Hue. I remember hearing there were some Apple HomeKit issues with Philips Hue. Are those sorted out? I suspect I’d want to use a bridge as well.

/Jim
Click to expand...

should be mostlt sorted out. you will need a hue hub, or some other zigbee solution
 
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erihp said:
should be mostlt sorted out. you will need a hue hub, or some other zigbee solution
Click to expand...
Thanks. I’ll plan on getting a hub.

I wasn’t originally thinking I need or even want color control for under the cabinets; I was thinking more as bright task lights. However, the new house has a more open great room concept, and when watching a movie, it would be nice if the area lighting had more of an overall soft colored glow. The under cabinet lights would be perfect.

I also want to have some colored lights in our bedroom and bathroom with controls for each of us in reach from our sides of the bed. During the day it can be general room lighting, but if we hit our bedside button during the night, I want a soft red glow so if either of us gets up for a bathroom break, we can do it without waking the other and also not saturate our eyes with blue/green wavengths making it harder to fall back asleep.

I’ll probably also do some home light automation in different rooms when we are away to make it appear occupied.
 
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