Wiring and switching for kitchen worktop lighting

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Hi

I'm installing a new kitchen and the new ring and oven mains will be installed by electrician.

I'm looking at counter top/worktop lighting systems and wonder how I should be asking for this to be wired in.

Can it be part of the power layout or does it have to come off lighting circuits?

How are such lights normally switched - with box buried in wall and standard light switch or with some sort of inline switch?

How is cabling to light fitting normally run - in or under overhead cabinets? In conduit?

Some of the available lights are low voltage with 13 amp plugged tranformer so presumably they need a socket. Where is this normally sited (in cupboard?) and so how do you switch such lights on if they don't have integral switches?

I can wait until the electrician comes but then I will be rushed to do it the way that suits him and we won't necessarily get the easy to use lighting we want - both my wife and I have upper limb limitations which mean we need to have switches easily accessible.

Any thoughts or advice graetfully received
 
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Normally the favorite soloution amongst my customers where the kitchen is being knocked about is to have a switch by the door along with the light switch for the room, such as part of a two or three gang switch.

Then have an additional switch at worktop height along side the switches and sockets for the kitchen. This is two wayed to the switch at the door, so the under cupboard lighting can be controlled from either location.

Convention would be to supply the lights from the lighting circuit. Normally these lights are only connected to the socket circuit for convenience sake if say for example they were an after thought.

Normally the wiring is concealed behind the cupboards so it is out of view. If transformers are required, these would normally be be mounted ontop of the wall cabinets along with their associated connections (sockets etc) and the extra low voltave wires just dropped straight down behing the cabinets to the light fittings.

If the lights have to be connected through a 13 A socket, this can be switched by a normal light switch, as long as it is not likely to be used for anything else, by placing it out of site for example, and clearly labelling it.
 
There are many ways to do what you want so I will high light a few.
1) There are neat power outlet units designed for clocks which are fused in the plug and may be a good way to pre-wire for lights built into units.
180px-UK_Clock_Connector_3_pin_Open.JPG
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2) MK and other manufactures now do wireless switches click on picture for more B&Q stock something similar
3) I would shy away from extra low voltage lights as to date only tungsten and LED lamps are available if you use low voltage (230v) you also have option of using cold cathode lamps which seem as yet to be only type of energy saving lamp to give reasonable output and you I am sure want to be future proof.
4) Hidden sockets are OK if switched remote this is common for washing machine if fact I would not dream of not having a remote switch on a washing machine as I have seen them dance when weights become lose. Same idea can be done for lights.
5) Ceiling rose can also be plug in see here allowing easy change in the future without further Part P problems.

I would always use florescent lights in a kitchen as main light but in some areas there are problems getting these to strike you may consider the more expensive HF units which look the same but start easier and last longer and give out a little more light and use a little less power plus are not as dependent on voltage hence why they start better.
 

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