Night Lights. You know, those little lights you plug into an outlet so people can see down long dark hallways and not trip over stuff. Once upon a time, they used nice incandescent bulbs that were easy on the eyes. Well, I haven’t needed anything like that in decades. Now, shopping for these things runs me into the same sorts of problems that I found with mass market LED flashlights. I see harsh tints, noticeable flicker, and blue. Yes, blue light for night lights. Are these people nuts?
So please help me find some nice, warm, gentle, flicker-free LED night lights for kids and overnight guests to navigate my new place. Some regular 2700K light would be fine. Warmer is okay. Even a pure red could work.
Not that these are the greatest or super warm CCT, but they are what I’ve used and are decent. I’ve swapped out the emitter for an optisolis 2700K as well in one of them.
What I’ve done
is a coupla adaptorsplugged into wall sockets in out of way spots.
Then clear ally wiring and wall coloured tape.
Run wire up/along walls to one end of LED strips 2/3/5 + mtr strips. (some joined)
Through a small dimmer sw along headboards of kids/our beds.
Along Skirtboards of hall/Stairs.Kitchen.
around ceiling walls in lounge and garags./tut.
You can have colours to suit self/kids. even missus.
All up, over coupla months spare time. around $150AUD.
Yours could be part thereof. depending on what you do.
But they good.
Top of Bathroom mirror in 4500k is VERY natural for missus.
I plugged a warm white dimmable USB chip style light into an old USB charger and left it in the bathroom. For reasons I don’t quite understand, my parents liked it so much they asked me for one.
The “dusk to dawn” light sensing feature is cool but I’d prefer a manual switch. It can have both so long as the switch overrides the automatic feature. There are cases when it gets dim or dark but I won’t need them on.
I love that JaredM put a quality emitter in a night light. (I have limited technical skill.) My all-time favorite low-light flashlight is the original Sofirn C-01 with 3200K Yuji. A plug-in version of that, maybe a lumen or two lower, would be ideal.
So keep the recommendations coming. I’ll be hunting around too. Thanks again!
Where you based? Lots of options on Amazon, for example this I have one in a neutral white that’s ok, quite bright though. I though it was warm white when ordering, may look into swapping out the leds but I digress… Anyway, the warm white may not be quite as bright.
Almost all LED nightlights will have that characteristic 120Hz flicker (or worse, 60Hz), unless you pay enough to get one where the mfr cares enough to filter the current to make it flicker-free. Read, $$$.
Best to just get a nightlight that takes hotwire bulbs and be done with it.
Different idea… grab a set of WW “fairy lights” and run ’em down the length of the hallway. They come in AA-powered or USB. Small USB adapter will power the usb ones and give you DC powering the LEDs, not 60Hz AC.
Relatively speaking, how much is $$$? Something I like about LED lighting is that it lasts. I’m a big fan of “one and done” so I might be open to a slightly more expensive option.
Forgive my ignorance but is a “hotwire bulb” just an incandescent? I had night lights with screw-in bulbs back in the day. Something like that with a good LED bulb could work. I’m open to recommendations.
Just get a Skilhunt H04RC from Clemence modded with the E21A 2000K. It has the lowest blue light content of any LED Ive tested. Should last many months on a charge 24hrs a day on moonlight.
for reference
that is a 3200k High CRI LED that produces about 6 lumens
I found it too bright for my bathroom light.
I do love the warm mellow color temperature:
I have no experience with plug in nightlights,
in my bathroom there is a Manker E02 w 4000k 219c, set to 0.2 lumens output, but I do not leave it on 24/7
IF I wanted a plugged in, constant on, nightlight, I would choose an incandescent, because I prefer the glowing hot wire spectrum over LEDs
Most of my LED experience is with flashlights. There, I really hate noticeable PWM. I’ve literally tried two kinds of LED light bulb. One had a soul-crushing flicker on par with the worst PWM. The other seemed okay but I moved out a few days after I installed it. Will all LED light bulbs flicker with the alternating current? If so, what’s the fix?
