Best standby lighting for a powercut?

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#3457103 30-Jan-2026 07:10

Given it’s for your mum… I’d be sticking to simple. Maybe two of these would be good…one for the common room and one to carry.

these take 4 X D batteries and claim an 8hr run time.

even has a USB port… then all you need is a 4 - 8 spare D Batteries

“energizer-usb-lantern_p0104010”

I might have just solved Mother’s Day 2026… hahah.

blackjack17

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#3457104 30-Jan-2026 07:13

kiwifidget:

blackjack17:

sorry for the temu links but these are great. I bring them hiking all the time (often have groups of 20+)

usb lights

or these

usb hiking lightbulbs

I dont have a temu login so the links wont work.

Could you post pics please?

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johno1234

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#3457121 30-Jan-2026 08:39

For emergencies the best option would be something you leave permanently plugged into a wall socket with built in smart battery maintainer that automatically illuminates if the power goes off and it’s dark. One in the bedroom and one elsewhere in the house and you’re safe.

Bung

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#3457127 30-Jan-2026 09:06

We had something like that. It just failed one day and because it had no day to day use it didn't get noticed.

timmmay

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#3457145 30-Jan-2026 09:42

johno1234:

For emergencies the best option would be something you leave permanently plugged into a wall socket with built in smart battery maintainer that automatically illuminates if the power goes off and it’s dark. One in the bedroom and one elsewhere in the house and you’re safe.

I wouldn't put one in the bedroom, if there's a power cut in the middle of the night I probably don't care enough to be woken up by a bright light.

My battery LED lanterns have a small flashing light in them which makes it easy to find them in the dark.

Blackcat13

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#3457152 30-Jan-2026 09:57

During the CH earthquake which happened middle of night, I was grateful my father had given me one of the below lanterns, battery lasts ages and it casts quite a big light.

They take AA batteries, and I now have 3 of them in different locations in my house. Easy to reach in case of emergency, small to not take up space. Safe to use. I just check the batteries a few times a year when I also check and replace anything in my survival pack.

I got some mini size ones for bedrooms, larger one is in kitchen & living room. Magnet base good to stop them falling over during all earthquakes too !

https://www.jaycar.co.nz/collapsible-led-lantern-with-magnetic-base/p/ST3130?srsltid=AfmBOoqYuvXMqcy4yoNB8lkOZ7H7r9U0u6e-yX8CggKDqmXmmv-1_2Dl

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SomeoneSomewhere

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#3457797 1-Feb-2026 21:15

Bung:

We had something like that. It just failed one day and because it had no day to day use it didn't get noticed.

Agreed. Commercial building emergency lights (called 'spitfires' for some reason) fail from time to time and get regularly tested. Could still be a good option (not in bedroom!) but need to be monitored.

I would go for the power tool or garden tool batteries if at all possible. I've had the various dinky aliexpress work lights over the years, both with replaceable or internal lithium batteries, and they're just not good long term.

fe31nz

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#3457812 2-Feb-2026 00:17

I have my phone remind me once a month to look at my list of rechargeable things and charge them all if they need it. I also test the torches/lights to see if they are working.

The things that seem to fail early are the cheap designs, where they have no proper charging control (no microprocessor and no circuit to adjust the charging rate and go to trickle when full). For example, I have an Orbit OM10R worklight from Mitre10 which is a pretty good device except for its charging - the batteries will now only take on charge if I charge with the LEDs running, and even then the run time is now down to about 20 minutes. When I took it apart to have a look, all it has inside is a couple of 18650 batteries (soldered in) and no charging circuit at all. And its wall wart seems to be just that - an ordinary power supply, with no charging control. So while I could solder in some new batteries and get another two or three years of use, I would have to keep doing that. A proper charging circuit is probably just a chip and a couple of other components, say another $5 to a big Chinese factory. But they did not bother to do that. I also have a Might D Light rechargeable torch (an American product), which I imported myself many years ago, and it is still working nicely as it clearly does do proper charging control. I can not remember exactly when I got it, but I think it must be about 10 years old now, so I might have expected the batteries to be failing now but there is no sign of that yet.

I liked @wallross suggestion of a Ryobi Shoplight, as Ryobi certainly do have proper chargers and you can just replace the battery when it eventually fails. So I went out and bought one and it looks very good so far. I tried it out by turning off all the lights in the kitchen and having dinner well after dark, and I only needed it on its lowest setting to do that happily. With both panels on at full brightness it lights up a whole room pretty well.

jarledb

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#3457813 2-Feb-2026 01:54

If you want something more cosy that you can use even when power is on, Philips Hue have a couple of Go products.

Philips Hue Go portable accent light
Philips Hue Go portable table lamp

Don't buy them from the Philips site, btw. They are very seldom the cheapest. Check Pricespy for the best price.

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richms

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#3458098 2-Feb-2026 16:13

fe31nz:

I have my phone remind me once a month to look at my list of rechargeable things and charge them all if they need it. I also test the torches/lights to see if they are working.

The things that seem to fail early are the cheap designs, where they have no proper charging control (no microprocessor and no circuit to adjust the charging rate and go to trickle when full). For example, I have an Orbit OM10R worklight from Mitre10 which is a pretty good device except for its charging - the batteries will now only take on charge if I charge with the LEDs running, and even then the run time is now down to about 20 minutes. When I took it apart to have a look, all it has inside is a couple of 18650 batteries (soldered in) and no charging circuit at all.

The wallwart will be a specific one that is 4.2 or 8.4v depending on the cell config. No cut off after a length of time when on CV mode so just bakes the cells by keeping them there if left plugged in. Its crap like that which gets people the idea that you shouldn't leave things plugged in on charge despite almost everything having an actual charge IC in them.

Those directly connected things are great when you plug in a different wall wart - ones with a light will discharge the cell back into the wallwart when not powered and will overcharge the cells as they are usually 9v or more. Power tool packs for the dirt cheap ones that do this is where a lot of people get their fires from as they also lack ballance or protection for the mismatched cells they have in them.

IMO, anything without proper internal battery protection shouldn't be sold. But the crap vendors have other ideas and get away with it.

Richard rich.ms

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#3458108 2-Feb-2026 16:54

fe31nz: I have my phone remind me once a month to look at my list of rechargeable things and charge them all if they need it.

I have a cheap rechargeable drill with a laughable battery self-discharge rate measured in single digits, days. I charge it only when I need it lol. My $50 drill is now over 10 years old. I have no idea what the average discharge rate might be for the standard consumer quality AA rechargeable etc. I see the typically quoted figure is 3% monthly. I don't believe it. I expect the average is really far higher.

At the premium end - Eneloop White advertises 15% discharge after five years without use. Eneloop is a bit expensive to never use.

For emergencies we have alkalines in storage which typically get used up each xmas to power the new kidtoys all at the same time ; ).

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kiwifidget

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#3458143 2-Feb-2026 22:24

Lots of good suggestions. Thx.

The Hue lamp looks like a nice solution.

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MikeAqua

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#3458406 3-Feb-2026 14:06

We had the below 'nightlights' plugged in to the sockets in the windowless hallway in our old house. They turned on in response to motion when it was dark. They can also be removed from the plug-in holder/charger and function as a handheld torch.

Orbit Lighting | Power Failure Night Light Slim White | Mitre10

Mike

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#3458436 3-Feb-2026 16:05

https://safelumin.com/shop/sa19-800g27-2pk/

You can get theses here, https://waitakere.org.nz/product/safelumin-emergency-rechargeable-cool-daylight-2700k-led-e27-bulb-2-pack/?v=c97b334ffd41very common in South Africa or so I'm told. It works as a standard bulb but when there is a power cut the battery takes over. It knows the light switch is on because it detects the circuit impedance.

I.e. it doesn't mater if the utility power available it just works as normal

There are various other brands as well

Matthew

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#3458457 3-Feb-2026 16:46

These light switch detecting ones pretty much need to be the only lamp on the switch to work, If there are parallel ones it sees them as a continuity and will come on.

Richard rich.ms

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