Phantom Lighting System

Architects know that every home they design has kitchens, and every kitchen has cabinets that need proper lighting. Beneath these cabinets are counter tops that serve a dual purpose of decoration and multi-task utility. Shadows in these spots are both unattractive and possibly hazardous. Eliminating these dark areas with kitchen under counter lights instantly improves the aesthetic and safety of utility areas, and can play a major contributing role in a home buying decisions.

To ensure that the most important elements of kitchen under cabinet lighting are met, architects must move beyond generic puck lights and outdated fluorescent “energy savers” toward a more robust engineering and manufacturing design that captures the intentions of an artist with the precision of a scientist.

Phantom TL series kitchen under cabinet lighting is one of the few strip lights that offer LED lamping in color temperatures that are aesthetically complimentary to the granite and marble counter tops common in high-end homes. Warmer color tones look best under the 2800K led festoon, and cooler temperatures can be accented using our 2950K. These options offer home buyers a long-term return on investment on the front-end costs of the strips. The energy efficiency of LED, which is up to 60% more than that of any other form of lighting, accrues a savings that offsets initial purchase costs. Also, LED lamp life of 40,000-50,000 bulb hours eliminates the need for frequent maintenance and makes bulb replacements very rare.

LED under cabinet lights can also play a contributing role in reducing cooling costs. Most people who invest in under cabinet fixtures tend to want to leave them on in the kitchen if and when it is safe to do so. A hot-burning light source is going to trigger the thermostat to activate the HVAC system, driving up power bills in the process. However, LED light bulbs emit light electronically rather than chemically through the ignition of gas in a sealed glass container. This makes them a very low-heat source of illumination, perfectly safe to burn throughout the night, and negligible in terms of impact on room temperature.

For applications that require color temperatures ranging from 3000K-5000K, Phantom also offers xenon under cabinet lighting options that offset the higher power consumption curve with dimmability options and low-voltage transformers engineered to curtail excessive electrical consumption. Our purpose is to provide our commercial design clients with the full range of necessary color temperature compliments to every cabinet build, interior decorating scheme, and general lighting requirements they may encounter in custom home design.

The linear strips that power our low voltage cabinet lights are sophisticated pieces of engineering in their own right. These linear strips are very small in comparison to most competing models, and they are much easier to conceal beneath the surfaces of a variety of cabinet sizes and custom builds. Two very important features of these lighting strips work to eliminate not only shadows, but also reflective glare. Rather than mounting in the center of the under surface like puck lights, or in the back as many fluorescent fixtures install, Phantom TL light strips fit under the front of kitchen cabinets. Special glare shields that are built into the lights direct the light backward away from the eyes and across the utility areas under countertops. Dimmer controls allow the homeowner to adjust lighting levels to match those created by general overhead lighting. This adjustability allows the end user to create a contiguous luminous that is both sourceless and seamless from the viewer’s perspective, and creates a very attractive setting for gatherings, parties, and cooking demonstrations.

Phantom Lighting makes it easy for architects to incorporate our kitchen under cabinet lighting fixtures into their custom home designs. Each fixture is custom cut to the dimensions provided to us by the architect. The choice of LED or xenon sourcing is determined (with the help of a Phantom specialist if need be), and a purchase order for custom manufacturing of the fixtures is set in order.

Our undercabinet lighting manufacturing facility is located in Houston, Texas. Feel free to contact us toll free at 800-863-1184 for assistance. We have a network of nationwide distributorships and Phantom lighting sales reps than fan out throughout all 50 states into cities like Scottsdale, Arizona, Seattle, Washington (SEA), Los Angeles, CA, (LAX) Boston, Massachusetts (BOS), Princeton, NJ (EWR), Philadelphia, PA, Dallas, Texas (DWF), Pasadena, California, Chicago, IL (ORD), Baltimore, MD (BWI), and Minneapolis, MN (MSP).

We also service clients internationally, with lighting manufacturer sales representatives working out of Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America.

What do you recommend as a low-heat light source for kitchen in-cabinet lighting?
We recommend an LED linear kitchen cabinet lighting fixture with a special patented festoon lamping design made only by Phantom Lighting. These light sources have been special engineered to produce a luminance output equivalent to incandescent light sources. Phantom does not attempt to increase the lumens output of the individual LED diode, but rather uses a patented lamping configuration that combines multiple bulbs into a single festoon unit. The combined light output is comparable to xenon lamps and can compliment everything from fine wood finishes, fine china and dinner ware, and sheik, contemporary interior kitchen cabinet lighting designs. These lights produce zero UV or IR radiation, so they are the ideal light source for lighting cabinets behind wooden doors with glass windows.

How attractive are these linear strip lights?
Technically speaking, the light strips themselves are never seen due to their low-profile design. The illumination they produce tends to be superior to competing models due to their forward mounted positioning. Light is directed backward and downward from a concealed locating behind the cabinet reveal. This produces a more even distribution of light along the front surfaces of cabinet contents and fills the interior with an even wash of light. When horizontal mounting is not practical, we can configure our in-cabinet display lights to mount along vertical styles to direct lighting inward from either side.

What standard fixture sizes do you carry?
Phantom Lighting does not manufacturer linear strips in standard fixture sizes. We have standard mounting and conductivity options (see our cut sheets for more information) which are then customized to the precise dimensions of kitchen cabinet interiors.

What color temperatures do you have available?
Our LED in-cabinet lights can be ordered in 2800K, 2900K, and 5000K color temperatures. Many builders and interior designers prefer the 5000K when it comes to lighting the Spartan absolutes of contemporary kitchens and marble countertops. Other, more warm and traditional interior designs look better under the near-xenon quality of the 2800K LED festoon lamp. The 2950K represents the mid-point of the color temperature range and is often used to highlight special types of glass ware and china. The choice of color temperature is a highly subjective one that should be made in consultation with the homeowner. We can provide detailed photographs upon request that you can show your clients so you can be certain that the fixtures and lamps you choose work best for their personal expectations.

How well do these in-cabinet lights work with other room lights?
All of our low voltage lighting systems are dimmable, and they will work well with any type of general or overhead lighting. Our products are designed to provide high-end decorative lighting that also fulfills a functional purpose. As such, they are designed to anticipate a variety of general lighting designs and work within the boundaries of any lighting design theme.

Tell me about Phantom Lighting

Phantom Lighting is a pioneer, Houston-based art lighting company and low voltage lighting manufacturer established in 1981 to service the lighting and design community. Phantom Contour Projector and Phantom strip lights feature lighting technology that is completely unique, 100% proprietary, and found nowhere else in the world of lighting. Phantom’s revolutionary approach to decorative picture lighting and low voltage display, shelf, and under cabinet lighting has taken it from humble origins to the level of an international leader in lighting manufacturing on two continents.