Portable and Rechargeable Lamps

HOME · GLOBAL

Portable and Rechargeable Lamps

Where they work, battery and runtime, brightness and outdoor use

Cordless table lamps have moved from novelty to genuinely useful, largely because they put light where there is no socket.

Where they work

Dining tables away from a wall, balconies and gardens, bathrooms where an extra fitting is impractical, bedside tables in rented flats, and anywhere a trailing cable would be a trip hazard.

They also come inside for winter and out in summer, which is much of the appeal.

Battery and runtime

Check the stated runtime at the brightness you would actually use rather than the lowest setting, and how long a full charge takes. Most give several hours at a usable level.

Check whether it charges by USB-C or a proprietary base, since a proprietary charger is one more thing to lose.

Brightness and warmth

These are atmosphere lights rather than task lights. Around 2200K to 2700K gives the warm candle-like quality people want outdoors, and dimming matters more than maximum output.

A colour rendering index above 90 makes food and skin look natural at a table.

Outdoor use

Check the IP rating — IP44 handles splashes and rain, and lower ratings mean bringing it in. Nothing rated for indoor use should be left out overnight.

Batteries and longevity

These contain lithium cells that degrade over a few years. Ask whether the battery or the light source can be replaced, since an integrated LED and a sealed battery set the life of the whole product.

Charge on a hard surface while you are present, and stop using anything that swells or gets unusually hot.

Lighting a room in layers

Three or four sources at different heights beat one ceiling light. Portable lamps fill the corners that fixed wiring never reaches, which is much of why rooms feel flat.

Keep colour temperature consistent within a room, since mixing warm and cool is why lighting frequently looks wrong.

Outdoors

Warm colour temperatures attract fewer insects, and aiming light downwards rather than outwards reduces glare and light pollution for neighbours and wildlife.

Charging and storage

Charge before an evening rather than during it, and keep a lamp out of a hot car or a frosty balcony, since temperature extremes degrade small cells fastest.

Store at around half charge if a lamp will be unused for months.

Buying

Check whether the light dims smoothly and holds a setting, since stepped dimming is what people find irritating over time.

Check the base is weighted enough not to tip if a table is knocked.

Buy two rather than one, since a single portable lamp ends up in the wrong room.

Buying

Check the weight and base stability, since a light lamp blows over outdoors.

WHERE TO BUY

Ready to shop AndLight DE? Use the link below to visit the official store.

→ Shop AndLight DE — official site

Visit this site