Lights above the kitchen countertop

Modern design technologies and materials allow you to create different types of kitchen lighting in such a way that the light was as convenient as possible when cooking and creating a cozy atmosphere. It is possible not only to have a general lighting on the ceiling, but also lamps above the working surface of the kitchen. Many housewives like this way of organizing the interior, which can be placed in the most necessary places: above the stove, sink, cutting surface, microwave.

Spotlights in the kitchen have the following advantages:

• comfort when working, sufficient level of illumination in the required areas;
• energy saving, no need to turn on the common lamp in the kitchen;
• low-power fixtures emit insignificant heat, do not spoil the surrounding surface from overheating;
• lamps for such lighting are durable and rarely fail, free from short circuits;
• allow you to create any layout in the required places.

But there is a way of lighting and disadvantages:

• the price of the lamps themselves and related equipment is higher than that of ordinary incandescent bulbs;
• installation is more time-consuming, requires a certain experience in electrical;
• these bulbs have a lower color rendering rate than normal ones.

You can choose different ways of lighting above the kitchen working surface, depending on the type of luminaires. There are several of them.

LED lights have semiconductors inside that emit light under the influence of an electric current. They are connected to a household network of 220 V, but some are powered by a voltage of 12 V, which requires the installation of additional equipment. They are environmentally friendly, there is no mercury or other harmful substances inside the case, unlike halogen and fluorescent lamps, they do not emit carbon dioxide.The light from them is uniform, not straining the eyes, they work without flickering. LED lamps have an uptime of up to 100 thousand hours even at voltage surges, and power consumption can be 70% lower than other types of lamps.

Fluorescent lamps contain inert gases with mercury vapor inside, when connected to a current source, an arc discharge is created inside, forming an ultraviolet glow - this is the source of light. Such varieties are usually made in the form of tubes with different lengths and thicknesses, but there are variants in a round case, which are screwed into the appropriate cover. A characteristic feature of fluorescent lamps is a cold white glow with high intensity, so these models are able to effectively illuminate every corner of the kitchen.

Fluorescent lamps for the kitchen can be both ceiling and spot. Their distinctive feature is that, depending on the filling with different gas composition, they emit different shades of light: bluish, pure white, white with yellow or violet tint. Therefore, there are several color options for the design.

Halogen spotlights for the kitchen they have a body filled with bromine and iodine vapor, the electrical effect on which creates a stream of light. With a similar power, the illumination level of such devices can be several times higher than that of incandescent lamps, the color flow is 2600-3000K. Domestic gases are not as hazardous as those of fluorescent ones, but, nevertheless, halogen lamps should be treated as carefully as possible, since they are very fragile and fail at the slightest shaking. Halogen lamps can be manually or automatically adjusted to the level of light supply, perfectly protected from moisture, which is important for the kitchen.

Overhead lights are a kind of autonomous wireless, they do not require installation of a niche and a ceiling in the interior details, their case is a finished product with light bulbs and a battery. After purchase, you only need to install them in the desired location. Fastening methods are very easy, most often for 4 screws in the corners of the case. Most often they are used for installation on kitchen furniture.

Touch lights recently gaining increasing popularity.Their obvious advantage is the automatic on / off mode of the light and the economy of electricity. Devices that react to sound, in recent times are very simple, have a low cost. They can manually adjust the noise threshold. In addition, for spotlights in the kitchen, you can install sensors based on a photocell that reacts to visible movement. Its price is somewhat more expensive than the sound version, but such a solution for kitchen lighting will be very functional.

Before buying a luminaire for spot lighting of the kitchen working surface, the following criteria should be considered:

• soft and flickering light that does not spoil the eyesight, does not cause discomfort;
• energy savings;
• the size and shape of lamps, the ability to fit them into the interior;
• ways of installation and connection.

In most kitchens, the entire working area is located along one wall or along two adjacent G-shaped. Some types of modern design provide for an island location for cooking. Depending on this, the light is planned to illuminate the working area. The most common method of location of spotlights - in a straight line along the slab-table-tops-sink at a uniform distance from each other. If above the working surface there are hanging cabinets, then the lamps are most successfully mounted into their base. Modern models of lighting devices make it easy to do that.

Light fixtures Era Presented built-in, pendant, modular and overhead lamps for every taste. The company produces durable and trouble-free lamps based on LED LEDs using modern world technologies.

Manufacturer Ambrella delivers high-quality spotlights for the kitchen with an original design and a variety of shapes.

Italian company Arte lamp has extensive experience in the manufacture of lighting products, which is popular in many countries around the world. There is an opportunity to choose quite low-cost, but high-quality models.

Austrian manufacturer ELGO presents on the market a huge variety of lamps, including suitable for the kitchen.

Russian lighting devices from the company Donolux allow you to significantly save energy, have excellent design and reliability, confirmed by many years of experience.

Among the interesting design options include:

• square-shaped LED spotlights, located around the perimeter of the kitchen in the ceiling;

• lighting design on a two-level ceiling along the working area;

• Lights below the hanging cabinets.