Hard wiring Undercabinet kitchen lights made to plug in

Question

So I have undercabinet lights for my kitchen. They are 120v led in a plastic case and no place to put in a romex, just a 120v cord. I'd like to hardwire these in so I don't Have an ugly wire hanging down, plugged in.

I thought about running the extension cord through the wall and hardwiring into the nearby receptacle box but that has got to be against code. Then I thought about running romex through the wall and using wire nuts to connect the two, but I imagine then I'd need a box under the cabinet. Any ideas?

Answer 1

You're correct that running an extension cord through the wall would be against code. Some undercabinet lights are convertible between hardwired and plug-in use, but it doesn't look like yours are. The best options would be to replace them with units designed to be hardwired. Otherwise, you'll have to keep the plugs, but you can take some simple steps to hide the cord such as:

• Attach the cord to your cabinets using surface-mount raceway so it does not hang down.
• Reposition the lights so there's less slack in the cords.
• If it helps reduce cord clutter, interlink multiple lights rather than plugging them into separate switched receptacles.
• Move the electrical outlet they're plugged into to a spot where the wiring will be hidden (perhaps including placing it inside a cabinet).