Kitchen Led Bar Lights

This is very cheap an easy project to do. It took me about 1 hr to install. The cost was around 22 euros.

I have just moved to a new house and while moving all the stuff to their own places i saw how miserable the kitchen looks. The space is small and the lightning is awfull. Also there is one small corner whitout a light. Someting has to be done to this chaos.

First thing first. The led strip. The led's in the strip are RGB led's so it can change colors. The led kit had a 5 meter led strip, remote control and a power converter. The 12 V transformer wasn't included in the kit so i had to harvest this from somewhere else. The transformer outputs 12 V and 400 mA so it is enough for the led's to burn bright. Bigger the Amps the brighter the light. I also used about 2 meters of 0.75 mm cable.

Tools needed in this project are:

-Scissors, for cutting the led stripe.

-Few cable ties, for cable management.

-something for cutting cable.

-Soldering iron, for soldering the cables to the transformer and for the led stripe.

-Heat shrink, for nice, secure and professional outcome.

I also used measuring tape to measure the length of the led stripe.

First of all try the transformer and see that it's working. After testing, solder the + and - cables to the power converter. Add heat shrink for good and solid outcome.

Then cut the jumper cables for the led strip. Make sure that the cables are the right length. You will need 4 cables for the led strip. There is one 12 V line and for the leds there is (R)ed, (G)reen and (B)lue lines. The led are driven with cathode.

Cut the led strip to the needed measure. There is a cutting point every 3 led's. Don't cut anywhere else or it wont work. Also there is the soldering points on the back side of the strip.

After cutting the led strip remove the tape from area around the back side of the strip so the soldering points are clear.

Add little solder for the soldering points and for the cut and stripped jumper cable. This will easy up the soldering for the small soldering points. Remember to use the heat shrink for this for a secure contact.

Test the soldering points before installation so you don't have to take it off again just to see whats wrong.

Hiding the led strip is the key off successful installation. No one wants to look the actual led strip, just the light that comes out of it. There is a tape behind the led strip. Remove it and push the led strip to its own place. Just make sure the IR reciever for the remote control is in a good place. The black thing in the power converter is the IR reciever.

Use a screwdriver to push the cables under something to hide them. Add cable ties if needed or use tape to hide the cables. Don't push too hard or the cables will break and you have to start the soldering again.

No. I won't show how to clean your own kitchen. That is for you to decide how and when to do it.

The project was really simple and it was done in about an hour to make. Actually it was so quick and easy to do that i did it in the kitchen...wife was not amused about this...So use caution when working even a small project in the same room that you use to make food. The clean up must be done properly. You don't want to eat the remains of the project do you?

-mkarvonen