Halogen Under Cabinet Lights [New Options Help]

Since the Hera E1 halogen light is by far one of the most popular halogen lights ever, we have another web page with much more detail about that particular light. Read about it on our Hera ER1 ES1 halogen lights and rings page. Reference: E1 is the base number for the light. ER1 meant recessed, ES1 meant surface mount. LED light solutions are outlined on that page.

The touch and touch free dimmers that we have from Hafele are designed to work on the low voltage side when dimming their LED lights. The Hera touch dimmer was a 120 volt, 300 watt touch dimmer. It preceded the transformers which then converted the 120v to 12v. Thus, not the same technology.

So we have no solution to offer now for replacing this touch dimmer. Other than it may be time to give up on your halogen spot lights and convert to LED spot lights. Hera has the R55-LED light and the FR68-LED light that are meant to take the place of their halogen puck lights. These may not work for everyone. This is why we also offer round LED spotlights from Hafele Loox Lighting and Estar LED Tech Lighting. LED lighting is different from halogen. It is taking strides to look the same, and you can get warm white LED lights. But 12v and 24v LED lights do behave a little differently from the 12v halogen lights. Best to use the designated LED drivers with LED lights and not just jerry-rig them from your old halogen transformers.

If you landed on this page looking for a 12 volt halogen transformer, Hera did discontinue theirs in 2015. The E60T and OMN60LT are two of their oldest transformers, from about 2001 backward. The UE-E60FT and UC-60FT are their 60 watt transformers that had taken over for the older models. Then the UK-120-TW was their dual 60 watt transformer, 120 watt total. All 5 of those are sold out and gone. We do not have an exact replacement, but we have a high quality comparable replacement. The Hatch 12 volt, 60 watt, CLASS 2 transformer. More extensive info can be found at that link. Pictures, pricing, and the ability to order one is shown next on this page as well.

Glad you asked. The E1 light and H11 lights are long gone. These by far were the most popular of the halogen lights. On the back of the black (or white) casing for the E1 light, you would see the embedded Hera logo with E1 under it. ER1 and ES1 are the same light. The ER1 was packaged as the recess version of the E1, and the ES1 was the surface mount light. Very doubtful that you will find any of these lights anywhere. The H11, also packaged as the recessed EH11 and surface mount AH11 light, has been discontinued much longer. This light had a D-shape reflector under the lens. Both the E1 and H11 recessed version fit into a 2-1/8" hole. If you would like to view the ideal replacement for this light, please visit these two web pages: Loox 2047 LED cabinet lights | Loox 2020 LED cabinet lights

The KB12 German made light, both in 10 watt and 20 watt are sold out. The Loox 2047 LED and Loox 3038 LED lights are the ideal substitutes for the KB12 halogen light. They are basically the same size, look very similar, and the LED light is near the same light output. The 2047 is 12 volt, the 3038 is 24 volt. 24 volt are a little brighter. When you have recessed halogen lights that had fit into that 2-1/8" dia. hole, Loox has a few lights that are ideal substitutes for the ER1, EH11, and KB12 halogen lights.

The KH12 from long long ago are all gone (those were discontinued around 2001). The Tri-Tech triangular shield lights are all gone. But if you have the Tri-Tech light and your lights in the triangular shields have gone bad, you can replace the light and re-use the shield. We have an excellent 24 volt LED light in a stainless steel finish that will fit right into that hole. Check out the Loox 3038 LED light to fix your Tri-Tech lights. The Loox 2047 also could be used inside the Tri-Tech triangular shield. Other halogen lights such as the Wave, Enterprise, and many others are long gone.

The premium ARF lights, says ARF on the back of the metal shield, are all gone. We can only suggest Hera's FR-68 LED light to use in place of that. The FR68 will fit in the same size hole and is a 24 volt LED light. The FR68-LED was actually designed to take over for the ARF halogen and ARF LED version.

The Hera halogen 12 volt transformers are completely gone but we did find a replacement 12 volt, 60 watt, class 2 transformer. It will work in lieu of the E60T, OMN60LT, UEE60FT, UC60FT, and UK120TW. Check out that page.

Surprisingly, there is still a lot of stock on the Hera 12 volt electronic touch dimmers, the ETD1. (ETD stands for electronic touch dimmer.) This is the 4-step dimmer, tap 3 times for high, medium, and low, and then off.

Solutions are limited. Especially if you had recessed lights and need to find something that will fit into the same size hole. If you had surface mount lights, upgrading will be slightly easier as it will expand your LED choices. ANd if you can potentially increase the size of your holes, additional recessed lighting options could open up.

The Loox 2020 LED light that we mentioned already has bailed out a lot of repairs to date. The light has friction fit clips on the back. They are preset for a 2-3/16" recessed hole, BUT they can compress more and fit into the 2-1/8" hole. It has worked well, especially for boat owners. The Loox 2020 is a 12 volt LED light. It actually can work from the Hera 12 volt transformers. One important factor about using it on the Hera transformers is that Hera has said that their halogen transformers had a minimum load NEEDED of 10 watts. The Loox 2020 LED light is 3.2 watts. We did hook one up to a Hera transformer, and it did work, but we did hear a faint buzzing from the transformer. So the transformer was looking for a greater load. When we exceeded the 10 watts needed, the transformer became quiet and the light performed wonderfully. So you can use the Loox 2020 light on the halogen transformers.

The Loox 2047 light is similar, also 12v, also can fit in the 2-1/8" hole. Most all our comments about the Loox 2020 light can relate equally to the Loox 2047. Then the Loox 3038 light is the 24 volt version of the 2047. Same chassis and look.

On a boat, you can use the Loox 2020 or Loox 2047 connected directly to your 12 volt DC just as your halogen lights are. Each light has a preattached twin lead wire. Just splice it in to the existing halogen wires. (And if you encounter any problem with them not lighting up on the first try, reverse the wires. Sometimes the polarity is very important with LED.)

For Home use, we would suggest getting the Loox LED power driver with the lights. You can connect many more LED lights per driver than you could halogen. Halogen transformers that are 60 watts had a maximum light allowance of three 20-watt halogen lights. The Loox LED power drivers come in 20, 40, and 60 watt ratings for the 12v LED lights. Six 3 watt or 3.3 watt lights can easily connect on the 20 watt driver. You can do the math for the 40 and 60 watt. So although LED lighting may appear to be a little more costly up front, there are many saving benefits to it. And in comparison to some of Hera's past premium halogen lights, the Loox LED lights are actually priced a lot lower. For complete details on the Loox 2020 LED light, Loox 2047, or Loox 3038 as a replacements for the Hera E1, EH11, KB12, KH12, and even the Tri-tech light, follow those links. (Hafele Loox LED lights have many more options than just what we mentioned on this page. Check out our Hafele Loox LED Lighting summary page to see more options.)

Hera's replacement LED light for the E1, EH11, and KB12 is the R55-LED light. The R55-LED light is designed to fit into a 2-1/4" hole, and is also a 24 volt LED light. The friction fit clips can squish down and it can be convinced to fit into the 2-1/8" hole, but it is a tight fit, you have to be careful. And you would need to upgrade to the 24 volt LED power drivers. Different technology than what halogen was. (Sometimes better to increase your hole size than to cram a light into a tight hole. You risk breaking the lens or something internally.)

Hera's replacement light for the ARF halogen is the FR68-LED light. It will fit into the same 68mm hole. But again, it is a 24 volt system. New LED power drivers would be required. You cannot attach it to the 12 volt halogen transformers. That does not work.

And when it comes to DIMMING, we emphasize, LED lights are dimmed on the low voltage side. If you have your halogen lights set up on a dimmer, that dimming function precedes the transformer. The Hera ETD1 and ERD1 electronic dimmers plug into the wall first, the transformers plug into them. Some people have wall dimmers that control the outlet. These high voltage (120 volt) wall dimmers reducing the power to an outlet or hardwired lights WILL NOT function for LED lights, 12 volt or 24 volt. In order to dim the LED lighting, you must have a 0-10 volt LOW VOLTAGE dimmer. Thus the dimming takes place AFTER the LED power driver.

The one exception to the above: we do have a line voltage dimmable hardwired LED driver in 12v and 24v from Hafele to use with the Loox LED lights. This dimmable driver is designed to be used with 120 volt wall dimmer switches. It is more expensive, but it solves a wiring problem.

We just want you to know what you are getting into if you have a dimmable halogen set up and want to keep the dimming feature alive with a new LED set up. LED lighting can be dimmed, but it has to be done the right way. And when wires are strung through walls, or you cannot access or change a wall dimmer to make it work, it can lend to headaches. We have coached many people in vicarious situations to change out the wall switch dimmer to a normal switch to just control power to the lights. Then use Hera's or Hafele's dimming components near the lights to control the dimming. Most dimmers retain a memory. So you can turn your lights on from the wall, or ignore that switch altogether, and then control the lights from the new dimmer. We are always open to answering questions. Situations like this create questions....

Below is one of our pictures that we took before running out of the E1 halogen lights. You can see how similar the Loox 2020 LED lights compare to them (Loox in top row). The Loox 2020 lights can also be surface mounted. And, they are a sealed light. No rings will fall off, they have an IP44 weather resistance rating, and they are all metal construction, front and back. Not plastic. Seriously, this light is the answer to fixing E1, EH11, and KB12 problems on boats. The Loox 2047 is also a great solution.

We have expanded our offerrings of LED lighting from Hafele. This is the Loox LED line. There are 12 volt and 24 volt options. There are definitely some very nice value priced options for LED lighting from Hafele. And some solutions to fill the holes of older Hera lights that we do not have a Hera based solution for. To view our selections of Hafele Loox Lighting, please select that link.

For example, if you have old Hera E1, H11 (EH11/AH11), KH12, or KB12 RECESSED lights, or even the surface mount versions, check out the 3 choices below for great 12 volt LED upgrades. We are showing the 24 volt 3038 light too, because it also will fit in the 2-1/8" dia. hole.

FIXED SPOTLIGHTS: R55-LED | FR68-LED | ER-LED | EYE-LED
SWIVEL SPOTLIGHTS: SR45-LED | SR68-LED | Big6/2-LED | HO-LED

LINEAR LED LIGHTS: ThinStick-LED | Stick3-LED | Stick2-LED | StickVE-LED | TwinStick2-LED | ELite-LED | ELite-LED XL | ELite-LED XL HO version

TAPE LIGHTING: TapeUltra-LED | TapeBasic-LED

LED DRIVERS: LED Power Drivers, Dimmers, Switching Accessories, and Connecting Cables | New Daisy Drivers for LED Lights

OTHER: Edenroc-LED bed headboard light | T5 Fluorescent SlimLite | T4 SlimLite Resource | Halogen 12 volt Transformers | Close-out Lights

Hera Lighting Replacement Parts | Halogen Lighting Resource | Cabinet and Display Lighting Application Photos