Bookshelf Lighting - Hardwired System Measure available space for Flexible LED Strip: In this system we are lighting a bookcase. There are two main methods when it comes to lighting a bookcase. You can run the LED strips horizontally across each shelf like we did in this design. The other option is to mount the LED strips vertically going up each column holding the shelves in place. How you decide to mount the LED strips will come down to your personal preference. We suggest mounting the LED strips wherever you have a lip to hide the LEDs behind. For the bookshelves we used our Normal Bright Flexible LED strips, these provide nice accent lighting and can be ran further distances than a brighter LED strip. Mounting the Flexible LED Strips: We mounted the LED strip on the lip of the shelves so the LEDs face towards the back of the bookcase. This will illuminate the entire shelf below it. To keep the light output consistent you can drill a 5/8” hole between each separator to keep the LED strip one long continuous run. This keeps your light output consistent, preventing any shadows between separations. The LED strips are mounted with the adhesive on the back of the Flexible LED strip. To insure a strong hold make sure you clean the area with a cleaning solution before installing the LED strip. Installing your Transformer: Before we run cables to our LED strips, we need to install the transformer. This device will take the line voltage (120VAC) coming from your house and step it down to 12VDC. We used a 100w magnetic transformer to power all of the LED strips. We suggest mounting the transformer in a location that will not be seen. In this project we installed the transformer on top of the bookcase. An electrician ran high voltage from the switch location to the top of the bookcase where we terminated the high voltage lines to the transformer. From here we can run our low voltage cable from the transformer to the LED Strip locations. *Make sure to have a licensed electrician or contractor install your transformer. Running Cable to the Flexible LED Strips: Make sure power is off before you start making connections to your transformer. In this system we are using standard Interconnect Cables to make our connections from the transformer to the LED Strips. To start, you will need to cut one of the connectors off of the Interconnect Cable. Then expose a small amount of copper on the Interconnect Cable using cable strippers. Look for a white writing on one of the sides of the cable, this indicates your (+) positive lead. The side without writing indicates your (-) negative lead. Splice the positive lead to the red lead coming from the output of the transformer and splice the negative lead to the blue cable on the output side of the transformer. After you splice all of your cables to the output of the transformer cap the splices with wire nuts to secure the cable connections. You should now have as many cables coming from the transformer as you have LED strips in the system, run a cable to each LED strip. Finally test the lights by turning them on! Source: https://www.inspiredled.com/product/bookcase-lighting-hardwired-system/ Check out Related Blogs: Bookshelf Lighting How-To: Installing Glass Cabinet Lighting Inspired LED 101: Part 2- How to Bend LED Flex Strips DIY Project Tutorial: LED Car Lighting Inspired LED 101: Minimizing the “Dot Effect” Inspired LED 101: How to Hardwire Ceiling Accent Lighting DIY Project Tutorial: Glowing Shelf Light Lighting your Garage or Workshop Where to Add Toe-Kick Lighting Around Your Home Get This Look: The “Floating” Shelf LED Light Color Temperature: Warm vs Cool White