The typical modern kitchen lighting layout works perfectly well in terms of lighting design, but it has a couple of major drawbacks, mainly because in order to get the kind of crisp light needed in a kitchen the default option has become halogen lamps. These are hugely inefficient and operate at extremely high temperatures. Well over 90% of the electricity you pay good money for to light your kitchen is wasted as heat which itself presents a fire risk to any material located in close proximity.

But there is a simple solution that delivers the same excellent light quality but costs a fraction to run and runs cool to the touch (touch a halogen bulb only if you want third degree burns). We're talking of course about LED lighting which is now easily available as retrofit replacements for MR16 halogen spot lights in both the 12v GU5.3 and main GU10 formats, and as LED strip lighting for use under cabinets and accenting cupboards and plinths etc.

Replacing conventional MR16 spots with LEDs is pretty much a matter of pulling out the old and inserting the new, but with the proviso that quite a few low voltage LED lights do require constant voltage transformers (also called LED drivers) rather than common or garden variable voltage electronic transformers, but on the plus side you can usually run quite a few LED lights off a single transformer.

LED lights on the whole appear slightly sharper than their incandescent cousins which can result in a slightly harsh look. An easy way to control light appearance is to aim at different surfaces; for example even the most crisp LED spot light can be made to render a warm glow by reflecting the light off for example terracotta tiles, or natural wood or simply a warmly colored wall. Likewise, you can create a highly dramatic look by bouncing LED light onto materials such as enamel, steel and granite all of which tend to be commonly found in kitchens.

The category termed mood lighting comprises aspects of what lighting designers often also call accent, feature and/or decorative lighting. Regardless, the basic principle is very simply to assign each of the main groups a separate circuit, preferably controlled with its own dimmer switch so as to be able to alter the relative balance between the lighting groups.

Ambient light works best when it is most unobtrusive. Its purpose is to suffuse a space with a soft, overall background glow and let the more interesting lights assume centre stage. Low-voltage 12v recessed halogen spots (or more popularly these days, LED spotlights) are perfect for this. High brightness, warm white retrofit LED replacements such as the latest EXERGI LED are now making the financial case for replacing halogen spotlights with LED equivalents totally compelling.

Eventually of course the business of preparing food comes into play and with it the issue of effective task lighting. The layout of most kitchens is such that working surfaces are never properly illuminated by even the best ambient lighting (basically you always create your own shadows). The most common solution is to simply place LED or other low-voltage lights beneath wall units so as to cast light directly on the work surface and not spill over elsewhere.

Mood lighting is just a fancy term for creating whatever types of ambience you want for your kitchen. Examples include angled up-lighters concealed above wall units, spot lights to accent particular features, eye-catching pendants dropping over a dining area or low-heat low-voltage LED lights set into glass fronted wall cabinets or a plinth or kick-board even.

LEDs and kitchen lighting are practically an entire topic unto themselves. They produce hardly any heat, cost next to nothing to run, are highly durable and lightweight, and endlessly versatile. LED lights can be used for task, ambient and mood lighting situations and are already supplanting more conventional kitchen lights thanks in part to the ease with they can be retrofitted into existing fixtures.

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