My NON walk-in pantry has a light at the top of its 10′ inside ceiling. It’s way up there, and I hate changing out the bulb. To solve this issue, I decided to install an LED light kit in my pantry (this would also work for lighting up a closet). I purchased an under-cabinet LED light bar kit that came complete with a switch, plug-in power supply, and plenty of cabling. Completing this project would solve the issue of having to replace that ceiling bulb and also give me more even lighting in the process. The best part? My total costs were less than $50!
The standard switch included with the kit I purchased required an off/off push to get it working. An automatic door switch is a solid upgrade.
This review will be quick as installing a closet or pantry LED light kit isn’t a complex project. In fact, you can probably install this kit in the time it took me to post this review and upload the photos. The kit I purchased (sold out, but this one is close) included two 22″ LED light bars and a power supply (called a “driver”) that can handle up to six lights or 30 Watts (it has six connection points for attaching the 5W light bars).
Each LED light bar came with 78″ of wire, so you can really place them anywhere you want—even if you need to locate the driver away from the actual lights. If you do need more distance for some reason (perhaps you’re going up and over a microwave or need to run it through several cabinets), most systems let you purchase extensions in various lengths.
Since the driver plugs right into an outlet, you don’t have to hardwire the system in place (though you could). I added an adapter in the ceiling light socket to give me an outlet in the pantry.
Pro Tip: When installing a closet or pantry LED light kit, look for LEDs rated to run for 50,000 hours. The LEDs found in under-cabinet lighting kits also tend run really cool, so there’s not a lot of heat build-up or wasted energy.
Features and Options I Look for When Installing a Pantry or Closet LED Lighting Kit
Surface mountable w/adhesive tape
Driver that plugs directly into a 120V wall outlet (typically 24V/30W)
Energy efficient ~5W output per channel
Lamp life of at 50,000 hours or more
Trigger options: Dimmer switch or door contact switch
Enough extension leads to make the full run around the door(s)
Installing the Lighting Bars in the Pantry
An under-cabinet LED lighting kit works really well for accent lighting or adding some extra visibility over a shop table. Of course, I was using them to light up a pantry. I also added one more thing to the mix: the door contact switch. With this configured, I could actually get my pantry to come on automatically when the door opened more than an inch.
As I mentioned earlier, installing my pantry LED light kit required replacing the bulb in the ceiling with a 120V socket adapter. That gave me an outlet to power the system. I next mounted the driver on the wall just inside and above the pantry door, rendering it virtually invisible. Before plugging in the driver to the 120V socket outlet, I attached both of the 22″ light bars as well as the door contact switch wire. I mounted the door contact switch near the hinge side of the door.
Pro Tip When Mounting a Door Contact Switch
When mounting a door contact switch, don’t place it on the side opposite the hinges. You want to place it near the hinge side so that the door doesn’t have to be completely shut to turn off the lights. I have kids. They never shut the door all the way! Plus, the little bit of me that is OCD would never fully trust that the lights were actually turning off! I mean—does a tree falling in the forest actually make a sound? Who knows! :-)
Mounting the switch near the hinge side allows the door to shut off the light when it’s still an inch or so from closing. It’s a feature, not a bug.
I installed the automatic door trigger near the hinge side so that the door didn’t need to be fully closed to activate the switch and turn off the lights.
From there, installing the rest of the LED light kit for my pantry was a piece of cake. I plugged in the driver and then manually engaged the switch to test the lights and plan where I wanted them. Holding them up, I settled on a nice midpoint, pulled off the tape covering the LED light bars’ sticky adhesive, and pressed them into place on the inside door frame. The sticky adhesives that come with these light bars should hold forever—even should they happen to get bumped.
This part of the installation was simple—just peel the backing off the double-sided adhesive and press the LED light bars into place.
The last part of installing my pantry LED light kit involved cleanup. I gathered the extra cord and tie-wrapped it in place near the driver on the inside of the pantry. The end result was a very clean look and an automatic lighting system that impressed my wife and kids. The entire installation took about 45 minutes—mostly because I was taking pictures as I went.
Conclusion
For less than $50, installing a closet or pantry LED light presents a tremendous upgrade to any home. This got rid of a big line item on my “honey do” list, and it’s sure to earn you some brownie points should you decide to surprise your significant other with this type of system. Thanks to online shopping, you have nearly endless options—including various LED light bar lengths and various trigger options.
Note: The exact lighting system I used for this article is no longer available, but there are dozens of options online that work almost identically to this kit. This one is very similar.
When he's not playing with the latest power tool, Clint DeBoer enjoys life as a husband, father, and is an avid reader—especially the Bible. He loves Jesus, has a degree in recording engineering, and has been involved in multimedia and/or online publishing in one form or another since 1992.
