Assess Your Skill Level

• Know what your electrical skills are before you begin to install undercabinet lighting. If you find kitchen lights you want to install but aren't sure you have the capabilities of wiring them properly, hire an electrician.
  
  

Choose Your Kitchen Lights

• Decide if you want to hardwire your undercabinet lighting or if you want to plug your new kitchen lights into an existing receptacle. If you choose to use an existing receptacle, it's just a simple matter of hanging the lights and plugging them in. You can find fluorescent light fixtures that plug in this way as well as newer halogen lighting.
  
  Select hardwired undercabinet lighting if you have electrical skills and don't want to tie up an existing receptacle. Hardwired lighting comes in a variety of styles so you can find exactly the best undercabinet lighting for your kitchen work spaces. Hardwired lighting does require you to drill holes in your cabinets to hide the wiring. You also need a place to install the lighting transformer.
  
  Consider how much lighting you need. Figure on installing lights for every 30 inches of cabinet space to help prevent shadows and dark spots. Depending on the kitchen lighting you choose, you may want to consider a modular system such as puck lights that allow you to add lights to a basic kit.
  
  

Install the Kitchen Lighting

• Set out the kitchen lighting you purchased. In most cases the directions have you disassemble the light fixture so you can mount it under the cabinets. Use screws that are long enough to hold the lighting fixture firmly in place, yet not long enough to go all the way through to the interior of the cabinet.
  
  Drill holes into the underside of the cabinet to run the wiring. Connect each light to its wiring. Then connect the wiring to the transformer. Coil any excess wiring inside the cabinet.
  
  Connect the transformer to an electrical source. Turn off the electricity to the kitchen circuit and wire the transformer into a kitchen switch. Or you can simply plug the transformer into an existing outlet. No matter how you wire your undercabinet lighting, be sure the transformer has adequate ventilation. You can install the transformer under the cabinet as well if you wish.
  
  Complete the installation by putting the bulbs in the fixtures. Reattach any trim or light covers you removed as you were hanging the undercabinet lighting.