Undercabinet lights / kitchen cabinet lighting

[rsumma729]

Hi all,

Starting a project to install kitchen backsplash and wanted to install under-cabinet lighting before that happens so I can open the walls if I need to.

Has anyone installed a lighting package that worked with the Caseta dimmers? Doesn't appear that any LED strips are on the compatibility list so I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with a particular setup having worked for you.

Thanks in advance!

[DarthXoc]

Hi-

I don't know if you're still looking for input, but we have florescent lights under our kitchen cabinets being controlled by a PD-5S-DV-XX switch (not a dimmer).

I can't speak for LED strips, but with regards to LED bulbs in general they're hit or miss with Caseta dimmers. I had to go through six types of bulbs before I found one that didn't hum and had minimal flickering. So be prepared to do some testing!

[SDR-Mike]

rsumma729-
Have you decided on a fixture vs. LED tape light? This would help. Cooper lighting makes the HU10 series LED undercabinet lighting, very smooth when viewed in polished granite. The PD-5NE-xx should run them just fine. Otherwise, the PD-5NE-xx or the PD-10NXD-xx for a dimmable driver running LED tape should work. I would stay away from the non-neutral dimmers and switches when dealing with LED.

[asherrick]

I used the standard Caseta dimmer with my halogen lights.

[tbeaulieu]

I've wasted SO MUCH TIME trying to get my cabinet lighting to work correctly. I've spent time on the phone with Lutron. I've wasted TENS of hours trying to find a known compatible product set. I've wasted money on drivers that flicker with the caseta. This is so frustrating. Why is this so hard?

I installed strip lighting from WebTop, thinking that all I had to do was find a driver that one of the caseta products could work with. I wasted $100 on an MLV driver that I was told would work with the PRO. It does not. The lights flicker when dimmed.

The product selector tool is worthless to me. I'm not looking to control LED bulbs with integrated drivers. I want to know which DRIVER _ANY_ of the the casetas is compatible with. The web tool doesn't seem to list any driver manufacturers. My assumption is that I just need compatibility between the caseta and the driver and that the LED strips are out of the Lutron equation because the caseta isn't working the LEDs, but rather the driver. Every driver I discover talks about working well with a "standard TRIAC dimmer".

[vqvqv]

I've wasted SO MUCH TIME trying to get my cabinet lighting to work correctly. I've spent time on the phone with Lutron. I've wasted TENS of hours trying to find a known compatible product set. I've wasted money on drivers that flicker with the caseta. This is so frustrating. Why is this so hard?

I installed strip lighting from WebTop, thinking that all I had to do was find a driver that one of the caseta products could work with. I wasted $100 on an MLV driver that I was told would work with the PRO. It does not. The lights flicker when dimmed.

The product selector tool is worthless to me. I'm not looking to control LED bulbs with integrated drivers. I want to know which DRIVER _ANY_ of the the casetas is compatible with. The web tool doesn't seem to list any driver manufacturers. My assumption is that I just need compatibility between the caseta and the driver and that the LED strips are out of the Lutron equation because the caseta isn't working the LEDs, but rather the driver. Every driver I discover talks about working well with a "standard TRIAC dimmer".

I did a lot of research before my kitchen remodel last year. I settled on pairing a Lutron Hi-Lume A-Series LTE 2-wire LED driver with the Caseta In-Wall Dimmer PRO (PD-10NXD). They work perfectly with my Diode LED tape lighting (https://www.diodeled.com). Smooth dimming to about 5% and no flicker. Make sure you have large enough gauge wire for the run from the driver to the tape, otherwise there might be enough voltage drop to be detrimental.

See page 1 of these product specs http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocum...369919_WEB.pdf and page 32 of these http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocum...369543_ENG.pdf . They state clearly the compatibility between the dimmer and driver. But, it's essential to have neutral wiring for the dimmer to work with the driver. My kitchen was gutted with new wiring installed, so I was able to get neutral wiring to all of my switch boxes.

[tbeaulieu]

Wow. I wish I had known this before I installed my strips. I didn't even realize that Lutron had drivers. Sigh. I'll read through this stuff. Thank you very much.

[vqvqv]

Wow. I wish I had known this before I installed my strips. I didn't even realize that Lutron had drivers. Sigh. I'll read through this stuff. Thank you very much.

Having a neutral wire available is key. The Pro Dimmer may "work" without a neutral wire, but you may get flickering.

[SDR-Mike]

Having a neutral wire available is key. The Pro Dimmer may "work" without a neutral wire, but you may get flickering.

Lutron dimmers that have a neutral wire will require the neutral wire to work.

[vqvqv]

Lutron dimmers that have a neutral wire will require the neutral wire to work.

The spec sheet for the PD-10NXD says that it is neutral-optional:

• Neutral-optional dimmer is ideal for retrofitapplications when used in two-wire mode, andprovides better performance with LEDs when neutralis connected.