This is so that the wall units are the same finished height of a tall appliance housing which is usually around 2117mm high.
Height of kitchen wall cabinets above worktop.
In standard kitchens the wall cabinets are typically 30 or 36 inches tall with the space above enclosed by soffits.
That is the bottom edge of the upper cabinets should sit 54 inches off the ground.
Usual height of base units is around 870mm check that your kickboards will fit in without too much gap between top of kickboard and base unit if you have a tall base unit ie for oven housing or built in fridgefreezer then this will set the top height of your wall units.
Added together this means the standard socket height is 1060mm from the floor to the bottom of the socket.
Altering the height of kitchen units.
This compares to a standard table height of 75cm.
But 90cm is just an average.
The reason for this is that 18 inches of clearance between base cabinets and uppers are regarded as the optimal working space and with base cabinets generally 36 inches high with countertopincluded and 24 inches deep upper cabinets beginning at 54 inches provides the desired 18 inch clearance.
500mm is a comfortable dimension and if you have any tall cupboards in your kitchen the cupboard tops will line through.
A 12 inch or 15 inch tall cabinet fits neatly over a refrigerator.
If you re very tall and you opt for a custom made kitchen not necessarily a prohibitively expensive option you can specify a worktop height more comfortable for your stature.
The standard height of a worktop from the floor to the worktop surface is 910mm.
Please note that the height of 490mm is from the top of the worktop to the bottom of the wall unit not the bottom of the lighting pelmet.
A standard worktop averages 90cm in height.
Usually wall units are fitted at between 450 to 485mm above the worktop.
The ideal upper cabinet height is 54 inches above the floor.
Common wall cabinet heights are 12 36 and 42 inches.
So widely accepted is this standard is that base cabinet manufacturers build all their cabinets to a height of 34 1 2 inches assuming an adequate toe kick and countertop thickness will be 1 1 2 inches.
2150mm high 2300mm high with legs so when fitting your wall units measure 490mm from the top of the worktop and that is where the base of the wall unit will be positioned.
The general rule is to then set your sockets 150mm above this measured from worktop surface to the bottom of the socket.