Under Cabinet Lighting Installation in Burlington County, New Jersey
Installing under cabinet lighting upgrades the functionality and aesthetics of a kitchen.
Under cabinet lights make food preparation, reading recipes, and cleaning up easier and more efficient. This lighting upgrade also adds beautiful ambient light. It serves to fill in normally dark areas with a soft light that makes the average kitchen suddenly gorgeous. Under cabinet lighting installation with a dimmer switch also works ideally as a nightlight for increased safety during those after-hours trips to the fridge.
When installing under cabinet lights, you'll discover there are lots of options: bar, spot, tape, or strip lighting, low or high voltage. The most impactful choice you'll make for the look and functioning of any light fixture is between LED, standard incandescent, fluorescent, etc. Here are some tips for selecting the best under cabinet lighting for your home:
Amateur electrical installation has led to many serious injuries and deaths from electrocution and catastrophic house fires in the United States. Faulty electrical wiring is reportedly a leading cause of house fires, according to the National Fire Protection Agency. So, unsurprisingly, your homeowner's insurance company may require a licensed electrician for under cabinet lighting installation. Electrical installation and repair is the most dangerous part of home construction, maintenance, and upgrade. You have too much at stake in the safety of your family and investment in your home to risk it all by cutting corners on electrical work.
We are certified Master Electricians serving New Jersey homeowners and commercial customers throughout the region. We provide beautiful creative lighting designs for recessed lighting, exterior lighting, and other home remodeling projects. Our unique lighting layout design and top-quality installation have established our reputation as a preferred service for residential lighting and other home electrical upgrades.
To install under cabinet lights in your home, ask about our helpful financing options, including zero down payment.
LED Tape vs. Puck vs. Linear Fixtures: Which Fits Your Kitchen
We install three under-cabinet fixture styles, and the right one depends on your counter run and how the cabinets are built. LED tape (also called strip) gives you a continuous, seamless wash across long counters with no dark spots, and it hides behind a light rail or the cabinet's front lip so you never see the diodes. Puck lights throw defined pools of light and read well over a sink or a specific prep zone, but on a long counter they leave scalloped shadows between each puck. Linear bar fixtures are the middle ground: sealed aluminum channels roughly 12 to 40 inches long that mount with two screws, dim cleanly, and shrug off kitchen grease better than exposed tape. For most South Jersey kitchen remodels we run continuous linear bars or a properly channeled LED tape, and we save puck lights for accent spots. A Master Electrician looks at your cabinet depth and valance before recommending a style, because the fixture has to disappear from the seated sightline while still lighting the counter.
Hardwired vs. Plug-In: Why We Recommend Hardwiring
Plug-in under-cabinet lights are quick, but they trail a cord down to a counter outlet, and in a finished kitchen that cord is both a clutter problem and a code question when it crosses a backsplash. Hardwiring routes the power inside the wall and cabinet so nothing shows. We fish a cable up from a nearby switch leg or an existing receptacle circuit, land it in a junction box, and feed the fixtures through the cabinet bottom so the run is invisible. Hardwiring also lets us put the whole row of lights on one wall switch or a dimmer at the kitchen entry instead of reaching under a cabinet to click each fixture. Because this is concealed branch wiring inside finished walls, it is exactly the work your homeowner's insurance expects a licensed electrician to perform, and in older Burlington and Camden County homes we check that the circuit we tap has the capacity and the right AFCI or GFCI protection before we add the load.
The Cabinet-Bottom Power-Feed Method
The detail that separates a clean under-cabinet install from a messy one is how the power reaches each fixture. We bring the branch circuit up behind the wall to a concealed junction box, then drill a small pass-through at the back inside corner of each cabinet and route the low-voltage or line-voltage feed along the underside where the fixture's own channel or a thin raceway hides it. Fixtures link cabinet to cabinet with short jumper leads tucked into the same channel, so there is one supply point and no visible wiring from any angle in the room. On a run that crosses a stove or a window, we plan the feed path around the gap before we mount anything. This is slower than sticking battery pucks to the cabinet, and it is why the result looks built-in rather than added-on.
Dimmer and LED-Driver Compatibility
LED under-cabinet lighting only dims smoothly when the dimmer, the driver, and the fixtures are matched, and mismatches are the number one reason people call us back about flicker or a buzzing hum. Line-voltage LED bars need an LED-rated dimmer with the correct minimum load; a standard incandescent dimmer left over from the old kitchen will often flicker at the bottom of the range or refuse to turn the lights fully off. Low-voltage tape and pucks run through a driver, and that driver has to be either a compatible magnetic or electronic type for the dimmer you choose. We spec the dimmer and driver together with the fixtures so the whole row dims down to a soft glow for that late-night trip to the fridge and comes up clean for prep work. Per our lighting rule we confirm dimmer compatibility for every LED load rather than assuming the switch already on the wall will work, and we do not try to color-match across mixed fixture brands because the color temperatures rarely line up.
When Under-Cabinet Lighting Is the Wrong Call
We will tell you when to hold off. If your kitchen already has bright, even overhead task lighting and you only cook occasionally, under-cabinet lights are a nice-to-have, not a need, and the honest move may be to spend that budget on a panel or outlet issue instead. If your counter outlets are on the same small circuit already loaded by a microwave and a toaster, adding hardwired lighting to that circuit is the wrong tap, and we would rather pull a proper feed or hold the job than overload it. And if you are mid-remodel with the drywall open, wait and let us rough the wiring in now while the walls are accessible instead of paying to fish cable through finished plaster later. The goal is a clean install that lasts, not selling you lights you do not need today.
Serving South Jersey Kitchens
DK Electrical Solutions installs under-cabinet lighting for homeowners across Burlington, Camden, and Mercer Counties, from newer builds in Mount Laurel and Marlton to plaster-walled historic homes in Haddonfield and Moorestown where the cable has to be fished carefully without trashing the plaster. Every job carries a NJ-licensed Master Electrician, upfront flat-rate pricing rather than hourly, and same-day service where the scope allows. Call (609) 796-4177 or request an in-home estimate, and we will look at your cabinets, your existing circuit, and your dimmer plan before we quote.
Highlights
• Incandescent under-cabinet lights are usually xenon or halogen bulbs. Halogen costs more. Xenon bulbs are less hot, more energy efficient, and have a longer life. Overall, incandescent bulbs produce a hotter light than LED or fluorescent alternatives, which means they consume more electricity. But they can be fitted with a dimmer for ideal control over ambient light.
• Fluorescent under-cabinet lights are much cooler to the touch and more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs. But, though they've improved over the generations of fluorescent bulbs, the light they produce is still significantly harsher than incandescent bulbs or dimmable LED options. Most fluorescents are not dimmable. On the upside, fluorescents cost less to purchase and are more energy efficient than incandescents.
• LED lights are the most energy efficient option of under counter lights. Standard incandescent bulbs and fluorescents cannot compare. Today's under cabinet LED lights can be used with a dimmer switch for beautiful ambient lighting. LED lighting is the longest lasting, as long as 20 years or more. If you choose the option of installing under cabinet LED lighting, the number of lumens generated in LED lights varies from one configuration to another. So, just be sure to order what you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does under-cabinet lighting installation cost in South Jersey?
The price depends on how many linear feet of counter you are lighting, the fixture type, and whether we are hardwiring into an existing circuit or pulling a new feed. Hardwired LED linear bars across a typical kitchen run more than a plug-in strip because of the concealed wiring labor, but they look built-in and last far longer. We give an upfront flat-rate quote after an in-home look at your cabinets and circuit, never an hourly guess. Ask about our financing options, including zero down payment, for a full lighting upgrade.
Should under-cabinet lights be hardwired or plug-in?
For a finished kitchen we recommend hardwiring. Plug-in fixtures leave a visible cord running to a counter outlet, which is both clutter and a code concern across a backsplash, while hardwiring hides the power inside the wall and cabinet and lets us put the whole row on one switch or dimmer. Hardwired concealed wiring is also the work your homeowner's insurance expects a licensed electrician to handle.
Do LED under-cabinet lights need a special dimmer?
Usually yes. Line-voltage LED bars need an LED-rated dimmer with the correct minimum load, and a leftover incandescent dimmer often flickers or hums. Low-voltage tape and pucks run through a driver that has to match the dimmer type. We spec the dimmer, driver, and fixtures together so the lights dim smoothly to a soft glow and come up clean, and we confirm compatibility for every LED load rather than assuming the existing switch will work.
What is the best under-cabinet light: LED tape, puck, or linear bar?
LED tape gives a continuous, seamless wash on long counters with no dark spots. Puck lights throw defined pools that work over a sink but leave scalloped shadows across a long run. Linear bars are sealed aluminum channels that dim cleanly and resist kitchen grease, which makes them our default for most kitchens. A Master Electrician looks at your cabinet depth and valance before recommending a style so the fixture disappears from your sightline while still lighting the counter.
Can you install under-cabinet lighting without tearing up the wall?
In most cases yes. We fish the cable up from a nearby switch leg or receptacle circuit and route it through the cabinet bottom, so the run stays concealed with minimal opening. In plaster-walled historic homes in Haddonfield or Moorestown we fish carefully to avoid trashing the plaster. If you are mid-remodel with the walls open, the smart move is to rough the wiring in now rather than fishing through finished plaster later.
About DK Electrical Solutions
If this service resource was useful, the same Master-Electrician-led team behind it handles real installations and repairs across South Jersey every day. Since 2011 our crews have served Burlington, Camden, Mercer and Ocean counties under New Jersey Electrical Contractor License #17216 — which means a Master Electrician of record signs off every panel swap, EV charger circuit, generator hookup, and rewire we complete.
We focus on the work behind the cover plate: torque-marked lugs, neatly labeled panels, code-correct grounding and bonding, and permits pulled with the local construction office so the inspector signs the card before we leave. Pricing is flat-rate and itemized in writing — no hourly billing, no surprise add-ons, and a written workmanship warranty on every installation.
Towns we serve weekly include Cherry Hill, NJ · Trenton, NJ · Hamilton, NJ · Mount Holly, NJ · Willingboro, NJ · Southampton, NJ. If you'd like a real on-site estimate, call (609) 796-4177 or browse our full electrical services catalog and all the South Jersey towns we cover. New homeowners often start with our panel upgrade, whole-house generator, or EV charger installation pages.