We have a closet that would be a pain to run electrical to, so my wife would like a couple of stick-on-the-ceiling lights. (She rejected my suggestion to just tailstand a flashlight or hang one of our BLF lanterns.) Anyway, before I go spelunking through Amazon reviews, does anyone have any recommendations?
It greatly depends on a closet, is it a walk in, a small linen closet, does it have a top shelf and a rod form hangers under it, just shelves from top to bottom? If it is a walk in closet with a space in the middle, than 1 source of light on the ceiling would do the trick, but in most other cases single source would not illuminate the closet entirely.
I have installed diy solution in my closets which are all non powered, i could not find off the market solution that would illuminate my closets entirely. Let us know what closet configuration you have, so we can find the most appropriate solution. also tell us if you are handy with tools and would be willing to DIY, cuz it would provide the best solution,
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Had plans to DIY my own solution too, how did you eventually build yours?
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It’s a smallish closet with a slanted ceiling, so you can’t walk in without hunching over. To either side is a bookshelf, and the whole thing is stuffed with paperwork or yarn. We were thinking two lights, one on each side, either mounted on the slant or high on the wall.
While I could DIY something, I know myself well enough to know I probably won’t.
I ended up using 12v led strips with a sticky back, i placed them on the inside of the door buck, sides and top , the top strip is full width, but sides are about 4 feet long, i run them off 8 D alkaline cells in 2x 4d holders, that used to be available from radio shack, the store is gone, but they re still available on ebay. but those strips can run on 10-12v from pretty much any battery.
I originally put strips on the inside casing, but as i put stuff in and out i ended up damaging strips, so i moved it on the inside of a door stop, it did affect illumination a little but it still provides plenty of light, but now i do not destroy a strip every other week.
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Well if you looking for commercially available solution, there are plenty so called wireless lights, some are good some are trash, my parents have one that looks like a bulb runs off 3 AA, and has a string that you pull to turn them on and off, provides enough light for a small closet. they got it off amazon, generic, no name lights. i would recommend those, thou i’m pretty sure there are different quality lights that look the same. what i would not recommend are those small round 3xaaa lights, definitely do not want those, they are very dim.
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Hmm, that sounds straightforward. Quit tempting me…
How about this funny light:
Bathroom Night Light Toilet Bowl Lamp 8 Color LED Motion Sensor Activated
https://www.ebay.com/itm/144216951884
I use a streamlight litebox in my closet. But I’m weird that way. It’s halogen so it’s great color rendering works for matching outfits
I use Mister Beams. They’d make a great and simple solution to this. They have a variety, so a quick Google would present you with options. For over five years I’ve used the variety with motion detectors built in, and they hold up and work great.
There are all sorts of battery powered lights at Home Depot et. al.
Want replaceable Alkaline leakers or rechargeable Liths?
If you find one that runs off 3 alkaline, you can sub in an 18650 with a bit of work if you have a surplus of those.
Do a search for battery powered motion sensor closet or night lights.
Or something like these I found at the HD site.
Sensor Brite LED Rechargeable Under Cabinet Night Light with Base and Remote (2-Pack) UND2CR-QP48 - The Home Depot
Has a remote and motion sensor with a recharging station base.
All the Best,
Jeff
I’d rather not use any of the battery powered lights in a closet if there is any way to supply the light with house current. I had one closet that is under the stairs so is deep. It has a regular light that originally had two 40W incandescent bulbs in them. I converted the lamp to LED with one of the circular LED conversion kits but it did nothing for the deep recesses of the closet. I added a rigid bar light at the back of the closet. It’s powered by a 12V converter hidden inside the existing light but this would be useful if you can get 12V DC power to the closet. Low voltage lighting is much easier to safely run wire to than tapping into 120V AC. The bar lights are much more rugged than the adhesive backed strips because the LEDs are mounted on an aluminum strip and encased in an aluminum frame. Some bar lights come with either clear or milky cover.
Example with no cover shipped from China ~ $2.50 One 50CM SMD 5730 LED Hard Rigid Strip Light Lights Bar Lamp Van Camper DC 12V | eBay
US seller $8 50CM 12V 36 LED 5050 SMD Hard Strip Bar Light Aluminum Rigid White Q2V2 191466888155 | eBay
similar light with cover ~$9 12V/24V 24/48LED Light Strip Hard Rigid Tube Bar Lamp 5730-led Lights Waterproof | eBay
These put our about 850 lumens and can be powered by any 12V wall converter that puts out at least 12W