Night lights are an excellent way to improve the safety of your home while keeping your electricity bill low, but it is essential to strike the right balance between style and efficiency.

Here is our complete guide to choosing night lights for your home.

What are the benefits of night lights?

Night lights can help parents see when checking in on their baby in the nursery or bring comfort to a young child who is afraid of the dark.

Night lights are also an excellent fall prevention tool for seniors who have poor night vision.

They are ideal for illuminating the spaces in your home that don’t receive natural light and keeping hallways and bathrooms lit during the night.

What features should I look for in a night light?

The right night lights for your home should offer a suite of features that complement your décor and meet your safety needs. Some features to look for when shopping for a night light include:

Motion Sensor

Motion-activated night lights illuminate when someone enters their field of vision, so you don’t have to turn them on or off, saving you energy and having minimal impact on your utility bill. Look for a night light with a wide detection radius between 8-20 feet, depending on the location of the light.

Motion sensor lights in the bedroom should have the lowest sensitivity to prevent disturbing your sleep. Basement, garage and hallway lights should have the widest radius to prevent tripping in the dark.

Low Lumens

Lumens are a measurement of light emission. Ideally, a night light should have just enough lumens to guide you through your home safely, but few enough that they do not disrupt your sleep-wake cycle.

Look for night lights under 50 lumens. For basements and garages, you may need a bulb between 50-100 lumens to illuminate the larger space.

The Right Color

The color of the night light you choose will depend on the location. Night lights in the bedroom should be red or orange to minimize any disruption to your sleep cycle. Lights in hallways and bathrooms should be a warm yellow light for slightly better illumination. Avoid blue or white light as it activates the daylight receptors in your eyes and makes it difficult to get back to sleep.

Discreet Profile

Night lights should not intrude on the space of your home to improve your safety when wandering your home at night. Look for night lights with a low or flat profile that sit flush against the wall if mounted or close to the power outlet if it is a plug-in.