Wardrobe/cupboard lights

[keble]

Not directly boat related but I'm hoping someone will have ideas.

We've just moved house and built-in wardrobes are very dark. Now on the boat we have used LED lights very successfully for spot (rather than area) lighting.

So I tried some Homebase lights only to find the light output isn't really enough for lighting up a biggish area.

Searching around there are lots of LED units available and glowing (!) reviews e.g. Lloytron, BUT they don't tell you how many lumens you are going to get!

 

Anyone got experience with this sort of problem?

[comfortably numb]

Not sure if this is what you are looking for but I've just bought one for my stern cabin locker and it's brilliant. It's motion sensitive so only comes on when you open the cupboard. It uses 4 AA batteries which they reckon will last 15 hours so unless you're using your wardrobes/cupboards a lot and for long periods they shouldn't need replacing very often.

 

If you're needing a lot of them then at £20 a time it would be an expensive option but at least it would save on the hassle of wiring up.

 

It's very bright and can be angled in any direction to get the best use of its light.

 

 

 

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/24192/Lakeland-Anywhere-Sensor-Light

[keble]

Not sure if this is what you are looking for but I've just bought one for my stern cabin locker and it's brilliant. It's motion sensitive so only comes on when you open the cupboard. It uses 4 AA batteries which they reckon will last 15 hours so unless you're using your wardrobes/cupboards a lot and for long periods they shouldn't need replacing very often.

 

If you're needing a lot of them then at £20 a time it would be an expensive option but at least it would save on the hassle of wiring up.

 

It's very bright and can be angled in any direction to get the best use of its light.

 

 

 

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/24192/Lakeland-Anywhere-Sensor-Light

Many thanks! I'll give it a try

[keble]

Got it installed, works well! Good light output.

The mounting plate is a bit fiddly especially if you want to fix it on a horizontal surface (could do with some bizzardry?)

[loubyscooby]

I'm glad you got it sorted. I have these in my cupboards, At £5 they have lasted 2 yrs with no battery change yet.

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/handtools/torches-work-lights/torches/B-and-Q-24-LED-Magnetic-Clip-Light-Black-10467522?skuId=10958228

 

Very useful and when my neighbour had a problem with his batteries and was without electricity he borrowed them for the evening.

[blackrose]

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/24192/Lakeland-Anywhere-Sensor-Light

 

 

It says "wall mounted". I assume that means it's surface mounted?

Edited January 2, 2014 by blackrose

[keble]

I'm glad you got it sorted. I have these in my cupboards, At £5 they have lasted 2 yrs with no battery change yet.

 

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/handtools/torches-work-lights/torches/B-and-Q-24-LED-Magnetic-Clip-Light-Black-10467522?skuId=10958228

 

Very useful and when my neighbour had a problem with his batteries and was without electricity he borrowed them for the evening.

 

Yes those are good - in fact I have one above the boat's front door.

For cupboard use I was looking a for a rather bigger beam size and the movement sensor makes the Lakeland one very good.

[comfortably numb]

Sorry, I forgot to mention about the mounting being fiddly. I found it difficult to fit it on a vertical surface, but got there in the end.

[keble]

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/24192/Lakeland-Anywhere-Sensor-Light

 

 

It says "wall mounted". I assume that means it's surface mounted?

Yes it is. There is a plastic plate (at the top of the photo in the link) which is held to the unit by a screw.

This plate is mounted using 3 screws which connect with the sort of "round hole plus slot" orifices in the plate. Not sure if that makes sense - if not I will take a photo or find an image.

So fixing this to a vertical surface is easy because you can slide the plate down to engage the screws in the slots. But on a horizontal surface you haven't got gravity helping!

[Odana]

With the motion operated ones, if you hang em in the wardrobe, do they come on every time the boat rocks and your hung-up clothes move? That is the thing that has put me off so far. Otherwise ideal - I want them for kitchen, bathroom , bedroom, that dark cupboard under the front deck, cratch.... oh, hang on - HOW much each?

[nicknorman]

With the motion operated ones, if you hang em in the wardrobe, do they come on every time the boat rocks and your hung-up clothes move? That is the thing that has put me off so far. Otherwise ideal - I want them for kitchen, bathroom , bedroom, that dark cupboard under the front deck, cratch.... oh, hang on - HOW much each?

Typically these sort of motion sensors are infra red (PIR), so they only detect motion of things that are not at ambient temperature such as humans. Some are microwave but I think that is generally a more expensive technology used for occupancy detection etc.

 

eg garden PIR light between our garage and house, it I walk up the garden having been out on the bike - leathers at ambient temperature with crash-helmet still on, visor down, the light doesn't come on (tip for burglars!)

Edited January 2, 2014 by nicknorman

[PaulJ]

With the motion operated ones, if you hang em in the wardrobe, do they come on every time the boat rocks and your hung-up clothes move? That is the thing that has put me off so far. Otherwise ideal - I want them for kitchen, bathroom , bedroom, that dark cupboard under the front deck, cratch.... oh, hang on - HOW much each?

Did see some in Tescos for £4 each-motion activated and battery powered. Dont look as nice but might be worth a try.

I use the 2 for a fiver (push on/off) in my cupboards..

[keble]

With the motion operated ones, if you hang em in the wardrobe, do they come on every time the boat rocks and your hung-up clothes move? That is the thing that has put me off so far. Otherwise ideal - I want them for kitchen, bathroom , bedroom, that dark cupboard under the front deck, cratch.... oh, hang on - HOW much each?

Not tested on boat, but in the house it detected my motion at about 12 feet away at quite a wide angle.

I could try waving a cold object to see if it's sensitive to temperature as Nick suggests!

[Nickhlx]

I could try waving a cold object to see if it's sensitive to temperature as Nick suggests !

 

... but that may not be conclusive as it would be strobing the background radiation, so still think it detected a moving body ( Matron !)

 

Nick ( another one and also a biker who gets the same effect )

Edited January 2, 2014 by Nickhlx