Illumination of the working area in the kitchen. Kitchen: LED lighting

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house. People spend a lot of time on it: they cook, eat, read the newspaper with a cup of coffee, etc. The significance of this room is great, so when it is arranged it is very important to choose all the details of the interior with special attention. The lighting of the working area in the kitchen requires a carefully thought-out approach. Places such as a sink, hob, countertop, often remain in the shade. This is mainly due to the fact that above them are hanging cabinets, extractor hoods, a dish dryer. This is what causes some discomfort during use. The solution to the problem is quite simple - a beautiful LED lighting of the working area of the kitchen.

Common types of lighting

1. Chandelier. The main source of light. Most often it is fixed on the ceiling, in the center. Its role is more aesthetic than functional.
2. Fluorescent fixtures. Installed on the bottom of the hanging cabinets. Their light is soft, but bright. The entire working surface is illuminated sufficiently well.
3. LED Strip Light. Can be used in the most inaccessible places. It performs both decorative function and practical. Its light can be classically white, as well as all other colors of the rainbow. Installation of dimmers is the most successful option, so that the kitchen is completely transformed. LED illumination of the working area is considered economical and rather original design move.
4. Skinali - special glass panels, which are used for finishing the kitchen apron. Their feature is built-in LED lighting. It effectively identifies the ornament depicted on them, giving space originality.
5. Dot LED bulbs emit soft scattered light. They cope well with the main task, however they can distort the natural color of the products.
6. Suspended and rotary fixtures can both be installed on the ceiling, and be attached to the furniture. Their advantage lies in the fact that they not only capture the working area, but are also ideal for basic lighting.
7. Spots have a clearly directional light. Are installed in furniture cornices, cabinets, ceiling structures. Most often these devices are designed to illuminate a certain area.

Choose a highlight for the work area in the kitchen

In order to properly arrange the lighting, you need to familiarize yourself with some of the nuances. The first thing you need to pay attention to is the level location. As a rule, the kitchen has 5 levels:

1. The first level is ceiling. Can be used as pendant chandeliers, and a variety of compositions of spotlights. Their location should take into account certain areas: dining and working. For the first option is ideal chandeliers. They will give harmony and comfort to the kitchen space. And for the working area are good point lights, which can cope well with lighting.
2. The second level is the upper zone of the hanging cabinets. If the design of furniture has a special cornice, then the ideal option will be the installation of spots, you can also use rotary lights. Their advantage is mobility, if necessary, such devices unfold in a certain direction. This is what makes it possible to provide a qualitative coverage of that part of the working area that is needed at the moment.
3. The third level is the lower part of the cabinets. Here, the lighting of the working area in the kitchen can be varied. This LED strip, fluorescent lights, spots, etc. As a rule, this question is guided only by personal preferences.
4. The fourth level is the table top. For this part of the work area, only waterproof LED strips are suitable.
5. The fifth level is the floor. The lower part of the tables is decorated in the same way as the table top.

It is worth noting that the LED strip is ideal for mounting at all levels.

What are the options for highlighting?

The most effective solutions:

• General lighting allows you to fully illuminate the entire kitchen space. This option will make the room as comfortable and light as possible. Suitable sources: spotlights, ribbons, chandeliers. Preference is given to LED lamps.
• The local illumination of the working area in the kitchen, namely the countertops, provides comfortable conditions during a certain process, for example, cutting meat, washing dishes, cutting salads, etc. It is designed to illuminate the sink, bar counter, hob.
• Decorative lighting performs the role of decorating space. In order to achieve excellent results, the most relevant are LED stripes with light bulbs of different colors. You can install on the ceiling multi-level structures, kitchen cabinets , countertop.

Examples of decorating the kitchen with LED lighting

1. Skinaly - the most common and successful option.
2. A sophisticated ceiling design in several levels with installed LED lamps of different luminosity.
3. Combination of light sources, for example, chandeliers, spotlights and LED strip.
4. The effect of soaring furniture is achieved by installing a special backlight on the lower part of the tables.
5. Near the glass and mirror inserts it is recommended to additionally install light sources. This will not only beautify the space, but also visually increase its size.
6. Kitchen illumination of a table-top and a working zone by means of lamps and light-emitting diode tapes.
7. Ideal option will be the parallel distribution of sources, for example, on the upper and lower levels of cabinets.
8. In the case of a glass top, you can use a LED strip of a certain color. In combination with skinned effect will be stunning.

In fact, there are many more such options, the use of LEDs to illuminate the kitchen space makes it possible to widely use imagination and experiment.

How are the LEDs arranged? Principle of their work

LEDs refer to semiconductors, when connected to electricity, they emit light. Depending on the chemical composition, its brightness and saturation changes. Directly connected to the network is prohibited, as this will cause overheating, and the LED will burn. It is recommended to use a special device, stabilizing the voltage in the network, - the stabilizer. LEDs come in infrared, ultraviolet, yellow, white and other colors. They differ among themselves according to the type of luminescence, the size and the number of crystals.

LED backlight: advantages

1. Significant energy savings.
2. Resistance to mechanical damage.
3. LED lighting work area in the kitchen has a variety of colors.
4. Environmental Safety.
5. There are models with an increased level of protection against moisture.
6. Long service life: 15-20 years.
7. Bright, but soft light.
8. Affordable price.

Backlight countertops

By equipping the kitchen, it is important to fully highlight the area of the countertop, as this is where you need to do a lot of things. However, when choosing devices, it is necessary to take into account the character of its location. The worktop is constantly exposed to water, grease, soot and other dirt. Therefore, it is very important to choose LED strips with certain technical characteristics. There are models that have a special layer, it is he who protects the lamp from humidity, vapors and pollution.

There are several types of mounting LED lighting. The most common:

• Fastening is by means of LED-profile, it is quite light, as it is made of aluminum. Also it provides complete security, hiding the wires well.
• Adhesion. Recently, self-adhesive LED strips have become very popular. Their installation is quite simple, and in terms of quality, they are not inferior to conventional models. However, the advantage is clear: in those places where it is not possible to establish a profile, the self-adhesive tape will be fixed quite simply.
• Installation of LED fixtures. As a rule, they are placed at the corners of the table top. They are small in size, so you can install them without any additional effort. And the wires are hidden using the LED-profile.

Advice from professionals

In order for the LED illumination of the working area in the kitchen to please the owners for a long time, it is necessary to follow such rules when installing it:

1. The power of the tape and the power supply must be the same.
2. Contact the soldering iron better.
3. Cut the tape is allowed only in the place with the signed "+/-" contacts.
4. To dim the brightness, it is recommended to install a dimmer.
5. When connecting the tape, the contacts must be completely insulated, that is, do not touch each other completely.

Illumination of the working area in the kitchen: installation of a tape

1. The dimension is removed using a tape measure.
2. The required length is cut off on the tape with a margin of 1-1.5 cm to release the contacts.
3. Before gluing it is necessary to completely degrease the surface.
4. Sections of the cable are soldered to the contacts, then they are connected to the power supply unit.
5. It is necessary to install a profile and a special box, into which the remaining wires will hide.
6. A switch is installed and connected to the LED strip.

The economy, versatility and longevity of such illumination leads it to the leading positions. However, she also has a weak spot - a power unit. It should be noted that it often fails, so it must be installed in a place where it will be enough to replace it with a new one or repair it.