Kitchen Track Lighting

About Kitchen Track Lighting

As far as lighting goes, track lighting is relatively inexpensive and easy to install compared to recessed or pendant lighting. Here are some of the advantages to installing kitchen track lighting:

• It mounts on the surface of your ceiling. This is what makes the installation of track lighting relatively simple as opposed to recessed lighting, which involves a lot of wiring, installing brackets and cutting holes in your kitchen ceiling.
• Track lighting allows you to direct the light to your workspace. It is difficult to prepare a meal in a dimly lit workspace. Track lighting allows you to direct the light where you need it the most, like over food preparation areas, sinks and stoves.
• You can move it. If you find that after your track lighting installation you either don't like its final placement or you need more light in certain areas, you can move your track lighting anywhere you need it. Once it is moved, all you need to do is patch up a few screw holes and paint over them. With recessed lighting, you would have to do a drywall repair job complete with a new piece of drywall, tape, sanding and mudding.
• You can add lighting as needed . If the track lighting package doesn't have enough heads for your kitchen, all you have to do is buy more heads and attach them to your existing track.
• No need for multiple junction boxes, All your track lighting for the average-sized kitchen can run from one junction box because they are require low voltages.

Types of Track Lighting

There are two major types of track lighting, flexible and standard.

• Flexible track lighting: The actual track on these systems come with flexible track that can be bent into shapes like winding "S", "C" or "U" shapes.
• Standard: The tracks in standard track lighting kits are sold in straight, metal lengths and are not flexible.

Track Lighting Vendors

You can find track lighting at your local home improvement store. If you are looking for a little more pizzazz than the standard type of track lighting offered at The Home Depot or Lowe's, check out these track lighting retailers online:

• LightingFX: Browse through their pages of beautiful flexible track lighting. The store also offers a wide variety of standard track lighting.
• Creative Lighting: Both flexible and fixed track lighting systems are available here. Creative Lighting also has a wide variety of track lighting heads.
• Lamps Plus: Flexible and standard track lighting at reasonable prices.
• Lighting Direct: Offers flexible and standard track lighting kits where every thing you need is included.

Tips on Installing Kitchen Track Lighting

Here are some tips for installing track lighting in your kitchen:

• Plan the layout of your lighting. Mark out the measurements of your track lighting system on your ceiling. Doing this with a pencil before installing the tracks will allow you adjust the final placement of your track lighting before it is installed.
• Know the placement of your junction box before you begin the install. You will have to remove all the old lighting fixtures on your ceiling beforehand anyway. While you are doing that, take a quick look to see where your junction box is so you will know how much new wire you need to run to your brand new track lighting.
• Make sure you are anchoring your tracks to a stud or ceiling joist. Your lighting will fall if you screw it into the drywall or plaster on your ceiling. Take the time to find the studs or joists first and mark them off on the ceiling. The placement of these studs may affect where you are able to place your track lighting system.
• Know the specifics of your track lighting heads. Although the heads of standard track lighting systems may look the same, they aren't. Make sure you know the measurements and model type of your chosen track lighting heads in case you need to buy more heads than are included in the package.