How to Install Under-Cabinet Lighting and Power

Steps for installing under-cabinet lighting

1. Go to the main electrical panel and turn off the power to the existing under cabinet lights and outlets.
2. Unscrew the old light fixtures from the underside of the cabinets.
3. Use a jigsaw to cut a hole in the cabinet back for an old-work junction box.
4. Cut a similar hole in the wall directly above the cabinets.
5. Push two nonmetallic electrical cables through the upper hole and down into the hole cut inside the cabinet.
6. Cut a hole in the kitchen wall for an old-work switch box, then use a fish tape to pull a cable into the hole.
7. Push the ends of the cables through the rear of the switch box, then screw the box to the kitchen wall.
8. Wire a dimmer switch into the box; be sure the switch is designed for use with LED lights.
9. Make the wire connections in the junction box inside the cabinet. Screw a blank cover onto the junction box.
10. Make the wire connections inside the light fixtures, then screw the fixtures to the underside of the cabinets.
11. Run a new cable to the wall beneath the cabinets, then install the 120-volt outlet strips.
12. Make the final wire connections at the outlet strips and test your work.

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