The back of my closet is a black hole. It has been for twenty years. There is no wiring in that wall, and I never got around to calling an electrician, so I have spent two decades feeling for coat sleeves in the dark. I tried a flashlight kept on the shelf, but it always slid behind a box of winter gloves. I tried a plug-in night light, but there was no outlet within reach. The STAR-SPANGLED motion sensor lights were the thing that actually solved it.
I bought the three-pack and put one in that coat closet, one in the basement stairwell, and one in the pantry off the kitchen. The basement stairwell is the one that matters most, because that stairway has no light switch at the bottom, only at the top, and I have tripped on the last step more times than I want to admit. These lights changed that in an afternoon.
The quickest fix for a dark closet that never got wired
The STAR-SPANGLED 3-pack handles the coat closet, the stairwell, and the pantry for about what you would spend on a single electrician's visit. Stick them up, pop in batteries, and you are done.
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I called an electrician about running a line to the coat closet, and he quoted me a price that made me laugh, then a price that made me wince, then a week of drywall patching. The STAR-SPANGLED lights run on three AAA batteries each and stick on with adhesive. I had all three up in under twenty minutes. The only tool I used was a tape measure to keep them level, and the only mess was the one little alcohol wipe that came in the package. If you have ever lived with a dark closet because the cost of wiring felt like a project, this is the whole answer.
The sensor sees you before you see the light
I was most worried about the motion detector because cheap ones either stay on too long or turn off while you are still standing there. This one turns on when I am about three feet from the closet and turns off about thirty seconds after I step away. The timing is right for grabbing a coat, and it is right for the stairwell, where I need light to see the last step, not to light the whole basement. I tested it by walking past the pantry at night with the kitchen light off, and it caught me every time, even when I was carrying a laundry basket.
Batteries last longer than you expect
I put the first set in on a Tuesday in early October, and they were still going at Thanksgiving. I use the stairwell light every day, sometimes six or seven times, and the closet light a few times a week. I replaced the batteries once, in January, and the sensor never once left me standing in the dark. The package says they are good for about a year with normal use, and I believe it because I have seen it. I keep a spare set of AAA in the junk drawer, just in case, but I have not needed them yet.
The adhesive actually holds
I have had sticky pads fail on me before. A hook I put on the bathroom door lasted three days. These lights come with a metal plate that sticks to the wall, and the light snaps onto that plate. I mounted the stairwell light on the wall beside the bottom step, and it has been there since October, through a humid summer and a cold winter, and it has not budged. I even gave it a tug the other day to see if it would come off, and it would not. That is the kind of adhesive I can trust.
They are bright enough to read by
I tested the brightness by sitting on the floor of the coat closet with a book. I am not exaggerating. The light puts out enough to read a paperback from the other side of the closet, and it is not harsh the way some LED strips are. My granddaughter Nell uses the one in the pantry to find the snack shelf without turning on the whole kitchen. The light has a warm tone that does not make the room feel like a hospital, and the brightness is adjustable with the remote. I set the pantry light to the middle setting and it is perfect.
They work in places you forgot you needed
The pantry is the one I did not plan. I put the third light there because it was the last open spot, and now I cannot imagine the shelf without it. Canned goods get lost in the back, and the light comes on every time I reach in, so I can see the tomato paste without moving the green beans. It is the small thing that makes the whole kitchen easier. I also put one in the hall closet that holds the vacuum, and I am thinking about a fourth for the garage, because the difference between fumbling for a light switch and having it come on is the difference between a chore and a non-chore.
They survived a basement flood scare
We had a washing machine hose burst in January, and there was water on the basement floor for about an hour before we got it stopped. The stairwell light is mounted high enough that it stayed dry, and it kept working through the whole mess. I do not know if it is waterproof, but I did not have to worry about it because I put it where water would not reach. The light also has a little rubber gasket around the lens, which makes me think it is at least splash resistant. That is more than I expected from a light that costs what this one does.
The remote is not junk
I was ready to throw the remote away, because most of these come with a tiny plastic thing that stops working in a week. This one has a brightness button and an off switch, and it has survived being dropped on the basement floor twice. I keep it on the shelf above the washer, and it has not lost a single button. The buttons are labeled, which is rare, and the range is good enough that I can turn the stairwell light on from the kitchen when I forget to wave at it.
They are the right size for a kid's room
Nell's bedroom has a closet with a sliding door and no overhead light. I gave her the spare light from the pack, and she sticks it on the top shelf. She can find her shoes without turning on the ceiling light and waking up the whole house. It is the difference between a smooth bedtime and a trip to the dark. She also likes that it turns on by itself, because she does not have to remember to flip a switch. I think that is the part she loves most.
They are cheap enough to try everywhere
For the price of a three-pack, you can cover the two worst dark spots in your house and still have one left over for the hall closet. I have a friend who put one in her craft room and one in the garage, and she says the garage light is the one she uses most. You will find a spot for the third one, I promise. The best part is that if you hate it, the adhesive plate comes off without leaving a mark, so you can move it somewhere else without patching a wall.
What I'd Skip
If you need a light that stays on all night, these are not it. They turn off after about thirty seconds, so they are not a replacement for a nightlight in a kid's room or a light you want to leave on for security. They also have a limited range, so they are not going to light up a whole garage. And if you are looking for something that plugs in and never needs batteries, this is not that. But for a closet, pantry, or stairwell, they are exactly right.
The stairwell light has been up since October, through a burst washing machine hose and a cold Iowa winter, and it has never once left me standing in the dark.
Still on the fence? Just try one.
The three-pack is cheap enough that you can put one in the worst closet and see for yourself. If it does not fix the problem, you are out a few dollars. If it does, you will wonder why you waited.
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