How to install kitchen plinth LED lights

Helpful video reference. We use Chris Ward's practical tutorial "Installing Kitchen Plinth Lighting using LED tape!" from the TopSparks channel as the video reference here. Chris is a qualified UK electrician and the video shows a real kitchen installation, including the driver wiring, cable routing behind the plinths, and getting the tape connectors right. Worth watching before you pull your first plinth panel off.

1. Measure up and choose your components

Pull each plinth panel off (they usually clip or slide out) and measure the total length of kickboard you want to light. Some kitchens have return sections at the ends of runs; decide now whether you want those lit as well.

Choose your LED tape based on total run length. Up to about 5 metres: 12 V DC tape is fine and widely available. Over 5 metres: use 24 V tape to avoid voltage drop making the far end dimmer than the near end. Match the driver voltage to your tape.

Choose a driver rated for at least 20% more wattage than your total tape load. If you have 8 W/m of tape over 4 metres (32 W total), a 40 W driver is the minimum. Overrating the driver slightly keeps it cool and extends its life.

Colour temperature: warm white at 2700 K to 3000 K is the usual choice for plinth lighting. It is ambient and atmospheric rather than task lighting, so the warm tone suits the purpose.

2. Isolate the kitchen circuit

Find the kitchen ring final or radial circuit on the consumer unit and switch it off. If you are not sure which MCB covers the area where you plan to fit the fused connection unit, switch off one circuit at a time and check with a voltage tester at a nearby socket.

Lock out the MCB if your board has a hasp, or tape a note to the consumer unit door so nobody restores it while you are working. Confirm dead at the FCU location before touching any existing wiring.

3. Install the fused connection unit

The LED driver needs a 230 V mains supply. The right way to provide it is a fused connection unit (FCU) wired as a spur from the kitchen ring final circuit, or from a dedicated radial circuit if you have a nearby socket circuit you can spur from.

Fit the FCU inside a base unit near the plinth run, in an accessible position you can reach without moving the whole kitchen. Use a metal back box for the FCU if the unit is made of MDF or chipboard, and earth the box. Fit a 3 A fuse cartridge in the FCU: the LED load will be well under 3 A, and the smaller fuse gives better protection to the flex running to the driver.

Run 1.0 mm² two-core-and-earth from the ring circuit to the FCU, clipping the cable inside the unit at regular intervals and keeping it away from sharp edges. Connect the supply into the FCU's feed side, following the terminal labels for live, neutral and earth.

4. Mount and wire the LED driver

Fix the LED driver to the inside rear or side panel of the base unit. Avoid mounting it directly on the floor of the unit where it might sit in spilled water. A non-flammable surface (the MDF carcass itself is fine) with a little ventilation around the driver is ideal.

Run a short length of 1.0 mm² flex or the lead supplied with the driver from the FCU load side to the driver's mains input terminals. Connect brown to live, blue to neutral, and earth to the earth terminal if the driver has a Class I metal case. Class II plastic drivers are double-insulated and may not have an earth terminal.

The driver's output side carries low-voltage DC. Note which terminal is positive (often marked + or red) and which is negative (marked - or black or blue). This polarity matters when you connect the LED tape.

5. Route the low-voltage cable to the plinth

Run the DC output cable from the driver down inside the base unit, through a small hole at the back of the toe-kick area, and along behind the kickboard space. Most kitchens have a small gap between the floor and the bottom of the unit carcasses where this cable can run neatly.

Keep the cable clipped or stapled at regular intervals so it cannot droop onto the floor or get trapped when the plinth panels are refitted. Where the cable passes through a hole in the carcass, fit a rubber grommet to protect the insulation.

If you have several separate plinth sections (for example, a peninsular island or a run with a corner), you will need to route the cable to each section. Plan the route before you start running cable so you can keep it tidy and avoid unnecessary length.

6. Cut and prepare the LED tape

Cut the tape only on the marked cut lines, which appear every 50 mm on most 12 V strips and every 100 mm on some 24 V strips. Cutting between the marks will break a circuit and leave a section of tape that does not light.

If you need to join two sections (for example, to go around a corner), use solderless clip connectors rather than soldering if you are not comfortable with a soldering iron. Make sure the polarity is correct at every join: positive to positive, negative to negative. Getting it backwards will not damage anything immediately, but that section will not light.

For a tidy corner, measure carefully and use an L-shaped connector or a short length of two-core wire soldered at the corner point. Keep joins out of sight behind the plinth panels where possible.

7. Stick the tape to the plinth panels

Wipe the inside face of each plinth panel with a dry cloth to remove grease and dust. The self-adhesive backing on LED tape does not stick well to dusty or oily surfaces, and the last thing you want is the tape peeling off after the plinths are refitted.

Peel the backing and press the tape firmly along the top inside edge of each plinth panel. Aim for consistent height so the light throw at floor level is even. If you want the tape recessed rather than showing directly, some installers fit a small aluminium channel to the back of the plinth to hold the tape in a slot. This also acts as a heat sink.

Connect the tape to the DC cable, keeping polarity correct. If your tape has a plug-in connector at one end, plug it into the driver output lead.

8. Refit the plinths and test

Before clipping the plinth panels back in, do a quick test with the circuit still isolated: check all your connections look sound and there are no pinched cables. Then restore power at the consumer unit and operate the FCU switch. Every section should light evenly.

If one section is dim or off, the most common causes are a reversed polarity connector, a cut between the marked cut lines, or a loose clip connector. Recheck those before assuming the tape or driver is faulty.

Once everything is working, refit the plinth panels and check the light throw from a standing position. If any section looks brighter or dimmer, it is usually because the tape is not stuck at a consistent height.

When to call us

The mains supply wiring - fitting the FCU and running cable to the driver - is where most homeowners stop and call a local electrician. If the rest of the installation (tape, connectors, plinth fitting) is something you are happy to tackle yourself, Richard can do the electrical side on a small local job at the £10 per 10-minute rate and leave the rest to you.