I stumpled across this creative design for a "night light" called the SnapRay Guidlelight (link and link) that is built right into a standard wall outlet cover. It is very creative as the 3 LEDs are built right into the face plate - circuitry and power connections all right there. All you have to do is remove the old outlet cover and "snap" this one in. The cool thing is that it does not "rob" you of an outlet as a standard nightlight does - both outlets are still open and usable. And probably most important, there is a built in photosensor that automatically turns it on at night.
Discalimer: I have no affliation with SnapRay whatsoever - just thought I'd pass this on...
Here is what it looks like
Installation - very easy. Just like putting on any standard outlet cover
Here is what it looks like installed.
And my favorite photo - Jeremy's kitchen table while designing the prototype - hey, that looks like my kitchen table!
I see where you’re coming from—but I think that may have made the unit either bulky or aesthetically unpleasing.
The biggest appeal of this item is definitely that it “looks” like a regular outlet—mounting a switch on the side or front would have been jarring. Mounting a switch on the rear would have been impractical—though perhaps a switch to change it from light/motion sensing to always-on would be a neat idea in dark basements.
For most uses I can think of, the light/motion sensing should do the trick! IIRC, this doesn’t work with GFCI outlets due to their design—which may be important for some folks.
That being said, I definitely plan to pick up a few of these for my hallway. If it prevents me from tripping or stubbing my toe on something at night, and doesn’t occupy an outlet, I think it’s a great idea!
I like the idea, but the downlight approach doesn’t appeal to me. I’d prefer a glowing diffused panel, like a long COB running at very low voltage, built into the skirting.
I know it’s UL approved but I have some reservations.
1) It’s hard to tell from the pictures…where does the voltage reduction occur? Does it happen in the “power extraction” tabs or does it happen on the LED circuit buried elsewhere within the wallplate? That is, clearly the wallplate contains a circuit…is it a low-voltage circuit or is it mains-voltage? This might have implications should the wallplate ever become damaged.
2) Since this essentially connects to the mains wiring directly instead of connecting via the socket, what do electrical codes like the NEC have to say about it? For example, NEC limits the number of wires per unit volume for wallboxes. Will this wallplate’s “power extraction” tabs count towards that limit?
3) Most outlets can be wired so that the individual sockets reside on different circuits. You often see this in bedrooms where one socket is switched while the other is always on. This wallplate seems to be designed to pull power from a specific pair of screws. I guess you’re SOL if those screws correspond to a switched socket? (I guess you could turn the wallplate upside down but then the LEDs would shine at the ceiling).
4) The fact that the “power extraction” tabs appear to rely on a sort of spring tension to remain in contact with the outlet’s screw terminals is worrisome. If that tension were to weaken over time, is there a chance of arcing? Yuck.
