Maybe there’s not enough light in the kitchen. Perhaps your workshop is dark and dingy. Under the cabinet lighting offers many benefits but should you choose under counter LED lights or fluorescent? Let’s look closer at this issue.
Fluorescent
Fluorescent lighting has a long and successful history. It is easily mounted and provides excellent service. Fluorescent is more efficient than incandescent lighting and the tubes last much longer than standard bulbs.
Under Counter LED Lights
Early LED bulbs provided efficient lighting, but illumination was limited. In fact, for many years, they were used mostly for night lights. However, all this changed with new technology. Today you can purchase LED lighting with a lot of illumination power.
Fluorescent or LED
LED is rapidly taking over fluorescent lighting as the standard for under the cabinet illumination, and here is why:
Longevity
It’s not uncommon for LED bulbs to work for 100,000 hours. Even if you burned your LED light all night, every night, it could last for more than 20 years. A fluorescent bulb burned for 12 hours a day may burn out in less than two years.
Energy Efficiency
Fluorescent lights are efficient but not as efficient as LED. In fact, LED is about 30 percent more efficient in most cases. Over time, this saves a lot of money.
Frequent Switching
If you turn fluorescent lighting off and on frequently, you shorten bulb life. This doesn’t happen with under counter LED lights. You can turn them on and off as much as you like with no problems.
Eco-Friendly
Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, which is toxic to people, animals, and the environment. LED does not have any mercury. Each year, millions of fluorescent bulbs go into landfills, dumping thousands of pounds of toxic material into the environment. If more people switched to LED, this problem would eventually go away.