Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program When I converted most of the indoor lighting in the house to fluorescent 10 years ago, there were no other energy-efficient alternatives. Although compact fluorescent is slow to warm up, hard to recycle, bulky to install and short-living to the contrary of manufacturers' claim, one really has to accept all these shortcomings as the price to pay for lower energy usage.
LED has none of fluorescent's faults and at least the same level of energy efficiency. As its price comes lower, I eagerly try out some lighting solutions based on LED. Disappointingly, they are often not powerful enough. For example, the first generation of Z-Bar High Power LED LampMetallic Black/Cool uses 66 LEDs but is not even close to matching a 20W incandescent bulb.
Fortunately, technology has improved greatly in the past year or two, and we are seeing some practical LED lighting available. This new Energizer is among the latest entries and proves a pleasant surprise. Although the 6 LEDs together are rated to be the equivalent of a 40W incandescent, the entire reflector assembly enhances the output to the point of appearing to equal that of a 60W bulb. Furthermore, the color is very warm, with a yellowish tone like the traditional incandescent lights. Yet it runs barely lukewarm and is compact and very rugged. The daisy-chaining option is a nice feature, with the connecting wire included in the package. If the price is not an issue (compared to the z-bar, it is a real bargain!), this lighting fixture warrants unreserved recommendation.
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I love this light and will be adding more. I had originally purchased light strips with mini 3528 SMD LED's, but they weren't bright enough for my dark kitchen. This light strip has larger 5050 SMD LED's and provides much more light over a broader area. I was hoping the diffuser cover would shield the led's from showing as dots on my granite, but that's not the case, although it does prevent shadowing. The housing is durable metal, not flimsy plastic. I mounted it with a couple of fender washers between the unit and cabinet base to allow airflow for the light and keep the heat off the wood.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program When we got the Energizer Household Lighting LED Under Cabinet/Strip Light, #HRGCAB as we began redoing the basement after Hurricane Irene, we couldn't decide where it belonged. Over a Native American statue? Highlighting Alice Cooper's SPIDERS business card? Over the seven thousand records? Nothing seemed quite right.
Then I looked at the china cabinet, where we were showcasing special glasses and shot glasses. Perfect.
We only needed to make a small hole in the back of the cabinet for the cord, which isn't very thick. The hardware was included. Easy to assemble, and easy to turn on. Lightweight, so it's not stressing the top of the cabinet.
The top shelf of the cabinet looks amazing.
I only wish that the shelves were slotted, so that all the shelves would be highlighted. I'm thinking that we need two more of these: one for each of the other two shelves.
Honest reviews on Energizer Household Lighting LED Under Cabinet/Strip Light
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This is a well-made under-shelf lighting unit which delivers bright, even light to your work surface. In my old house I used first fluorescent and later halogen puck under-shelf lighting in the kitchen. Since moving, I've used battery-powered LED pucks and strips (and invariably left them on overnight within a month, draining the rechargeable batteries I use) while I waited for a more permanent solution to present itself. The Energizer Household Lighting LED appears to be that solution.
I basically agree with all of the very positive reviews here, so I'm going to pick some nits.
A white body and cord would be a much better fit in my kitchen.
The cord clips don't stick very well (yes, I cleaned the surface with alcohol beforehand).
It would have been nice if they had provided the mounting template on a separate, appropriately-sized piece of paper instead of printing it on the large instruction sheet.
This unit throws off a lot more heat from its back side than I expected. This could be a problem if your bottom shelf and the bottom of the cabinet are one piece of wood. Not dangerous, but not good for foods, spices, and condiments that may be OK at room temperature, but adversely effected when exposed to prolonged warmth. As it happens, the cabinet I used has a finished bottom, creating an air gap between the cabinet bottom and the shelf. Warmth inside the cabinet was barely perceptible to the touch. It would be good if the housing could be designed as more of a heat sink, putting that warmth into the air instead of the mounting surface.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program What it is:
The light strip measures about a foot long, and surprisingly has study metallic housing that's got a durable textured paint. It has a plastic diffuser lens that covers the entire face of the housing which contains 6 high intensity LEDs, apparently daylight balanced. There are two plugs to the side of the housing, one to the outlet and the other for possible extension to other light strips, and both wires (outlet and extension) are included. There are two screw mounting holes to the back side of the metal housing, with the mounting screws included. There's a sturdy toggle switch to the side of the lamp.
Likes:
The construction by well painted metal housing (painted steel) gives the light a very durable feel. The daylight balanced (somewhere between cool white and warm white of florescent light) means all the colors are very accurately represented. Color balanced lamps can cost quite a bit but probably easier to achieve with LEDs.
Unlike many other LED products on the market, this unit has very bright LEDs that results in very usable light. The diffuser also does a good job of distribution so it doesn't have a spotlight feel with naked LEDs. I would say at least as good as a 40w bulb, and I'm inclined to say it's more like a 60w. This LED strip doesn't have to be apologetic for its light output in exchange for power efficiency.
The power consumption is measured by Kill-o-Watt to a mere 9-10w for what looks like over 40w of incandescent output (it more than hold its own if not brighter against a 60w incandescent bulb in my test, and also against a 13w CFL. I have no means of testing light output, but it is brighter than I expected). Efficiency is definitely the theme here.
The extensibility is a great idea. There's not much complication to this innovative lighting but it has the extension plug and outlet covered, making it easy to build long series of under cabinet lighting.
The power transformer is enclosed in the housing, making the wire a very simple two-prong generic variety (IEC 60320-1 C7 "figure 8" connector). If you should need to rewire or extend, this sort of plug wires should be easy to find.
The diffuser lens is flush and covers the entire front, makes it for easy cleaning.
Dislikes:
The included wires are a bit thick and rigid than what I'd have liked. The way the light consumes so little power should allow for a much thinner and softer wire for ease of routing/concealing/installing. This is a minor gripe however, as the wires can be swapped out relatively easily due to the generic nature of the two prong connector on the light strip.
I also wondered if it couldn't be even more efficient: the light output is similar if not slightly better than a 13w CFL, yet it consumes 10w. While it is already an improvement, I thought it would have been more dramatic. The transformer is a switching variety so not much is wasted there. Perhaps these LEDs traded a bit of absolute efficiency for the phenomenal brightness.
I personally find the light strip fairly attractive, low profile, and easy to mount (the steel casing even allows for magnetic mounting if you have strong magnets). With the color balanced light output, it became a very useful light source that is both efficient as it is versatile. One can easily use it for photography, work lamp, product display,or anything that benefits from accurate color representation. It is also very important in the kitchen as food's colors can be more pronounced with a color balanced light source. For a kitchen under cabinet light, this really delivered more than what I had expected, and can probably be used in myriad other applications creatively if you are inclined to do so.
