Bedside lamps compared

What a bedside lamp must do

A bedside lamp has a different job from any other lamp in the bedroom. It should not wake you up but accompany the transition from evening to night and, at night, give just enough orientation for you to find the way to the door or to the child's bed. The job comes before the product: anyone who first clarifies whether they want to read in the evening, merely see at night or look after a child narrows the choice faster than by studying data sheets.

Three core questions follow from this. First, brightness: for an orientation light the lowest dimming level counts for more than the highest. Second, colour temperature: warm white suits the evening, cool light belongs more at workplaces. Third, operation: at the bed the lamp is often touched half asleep, so what matters is whether one touch is enough or whether several routes, levels and colour modes have to be tried out in the dark.

For reading in bed a pure orientation lamp is usually not enough. There are dedicated reading lamps for that, which you will find in the Home lighting category and in the overviews of table and reading lamps. We classify all the models named here by their design and the listing details, with no documented hands-on testing and no measurements of our own.

Colour temperature, dimming depth and sleep

Warm white light contains less short-wavelength blue than neutral white or daylight white light. Which kelvin ranges correspond to which colour temperature is explained on the page Colour temperature and kelvin. As a guide for the bedside: the warmer and the darker, the more restrained the light seems late in the evening.

How light in the evening relates to sleep and the daily rhythm is covered in the guide Light and sleep. A warm lamp is not a sleeping aid. At most it removes one disturbing factor. Anyone who looks at a bright display for a long time in the evening gains little from even the warmest bedside lamp. The note we give with all lighting topics: light does not replace medical treatment, and for persistent sleep problems a doctor is the right point of contact.

Dimming depth is the second lever. A night light that can only be turned down to half power dazzles at night. Many listings state dimmability, but few state the lowest brightness in lumens. For the rechargeable lamps linked here, such a figure is mostly missing from the product pages. That is no small matter: a missing lumen figure means you cannot check the actual brightness before buying.

Rechargeable or socket at the bed

Cordless bedside lamps have a practical advantage: no power supply behind the headboard, no tangle of cables and a free choice of place, from the bedside table to the shelf. The price is charging discipline. A lamp that has not been charged for weeks will be empty just when you need it. It is also important what the listing actually says about the battery.

Two examples from the product pages. For the Auxmir LED night light for a child's bed, the listing states a battery of 3000 milliampere-hours and USB-C charging, plus up to 310 hours in the lowest mode and 19 hours at maximum brightness. Our analysis considers the 19 hours unproven, because the brand states less for a similarly equipped model. There is no manufacturer document for this item; the values come solely from the listing text. For the FOMYHEARD touch bedside lamp, set of two, the listing states 1500 milliampere-hours, about 10 hours at the brightest level, about 80 hours at the dimmest, and a charging time of about 3 to 4 hours. Here too the manufacturer document is missing, and the ten-hour figure does not readily stand up to a recalculation.

The listing for the Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Go states up to 48 hours of runtime, depending on the modes set. The WALDWERK bedside lamp made of oak and metal gives up to 12 hours of light and charges by USB-C. All of these are listing details and not measured values. For everyday use: plan a fixed charging interval, for example at the weekend, instead of relying on the maximum values.

With lithium batteries in the sleeping area, a sober look at where the device stands is worthwhile. A battery-powered device does not belong on the edge of a table or within reach of small children. A plug-in lamp does not raise this question, but it stays tied to its place.

Operation half asleep: touch, remote control, sensor

The classic rocker switch sits on the cable somewhere between mattress and bedside table. A touch surface on the housing avoids that. The FOMYHEARD bedside lamp with touch dimmer and the FOMYHEARD touch bedside lamp, set of two work, according to the listing, with a control panel on top that switches, dims and changes colours. This is exactly where a weakness lies that our product analysis names: the details on long pressing partly contradict each other, and five lighting modes (warm white, constant, flashing, strobe, fading) amount to one colour temperature and four sequence patterns. Flashing and strobe do not belong at a child's bed. A timer with automatic switch-off after 1, 2 or 3 hours is present according to the listing.

According to the listing, the Auxmir LED night light for a child's bed relies on three ways of operating: remote control, touch surface and timer. A memory function starts the light at the brightness and colour last chosen. That is useful if the lamp should not start at full brightness every time at night. The remote control helps with nursing or changing, because nobody has to get up.

Anyone who does not want to operate anything chooses a sensor light. The AUVON night light with motion sensor and dusk-to-dawn sensor is a plug-in lamp with separate dusk-to-dawn and motion sensors. According to the listing, the sensor detects movement at a distance of 3 to 5 metres within an angle of 120 degrees and switches off again after 60 seconds without movement. In night mode only the light sensor operates. The listing also states five brightness levels and smooth dimming from 1 to 50 lumens. For the way from bed to bathroom this is a different concept from a bedside lamp: orientation on movement instead of atmosphere at the bed.

If you want to control the light by voice or app, you will find more options in the Home lighting category and in the overviews of smart lamps. According to the listing, the Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Go can be controlled with Amazon Echo and integrated into a system with the separately available Hue Bridge.

Material, look and place of use

Bedside lamps are furniture. According to the listing, the WALDWERK bedside lamp made of oak and metal relies on solid oak with metal, dimmable by dial, cordless with a rechargeable battery. That is a different target group from a plastic night light: a homely look instead of a children's room look. The classification remains important: the listing states neither colour temperature nor lumens, and there is no manufacturer document.

According to the listing, the Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Go has a silicone handle and IP54 protection. That means dust-protected and splash-proof, but not submersible. Anyone who wants to use it in the bathroom or outdoors should also look at the zone and the installation situation. If in doubt, a qualified electrician should assess the place of use. For pure bedside use the IP rating is of secondary importance.

A plug-in lamp such as the AUVON night light with motion sensor and dusk-to-dawn sensor saves surface space, as according to the listing it measures 5.5 by 5.5 by 3.8 centimetres. That makes it more of a hallway and bathroom solution. For the child's room we present the selection in more detail on the subpage Night lights for children.

Comparison of the models mentioned

The table summarises only details that appear on the respective product pages. They are listing details, not measured values. A dash means: there is no information on this on the product page.

What stands out is what is missing from the table: for the rechargeable lamps there is no reliable lumen and kelvin figure on the product pages. Anyone buying by numbers can currently classify only the AUVON night light by its lumen range.

Which model suits whom?

For couples with two bedside tables, the FOMYHEARD touch bedside lamp, set of two fits, because one set covers both sides. As an alternative to it there is the FOMYHEARD bedside lamp with touch dimmer as a single lamp for one side of the bed. By our classification both are orientation and mood lighting, not reading lamps.

For nursing and changing, the Auxmir LED night light for a child's bed fits if a remote control and a memory function matter more than a furniture-like look. It is not a sleep aid with a documented effect. Anyone looking for children's room solutions should also compare the page Night lights for children.

For a homely bedroom the WALDWERK bedside lamp made of oak and metal has the calmer look, and for smart households the Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Go. For the hallway and bathroom the AUVON night light with motion sensor and dusk-to-dawn sensor fits better. How bright the bedroom should be overall is worked out in a few steps by the lighting calculator. If you only want to replace the light bulb in an existing lamp, the page E27 or E14 helps with the fitting.

For all rechargeable models the same checking order applies before buying. First: does the current listing state a lumen and kelvin figure, and does it match the variant chosen? Second: how many ways of operating are there, and are they unambiguous in the dark? Third: where is the nearest USB socket for charging, and does the charging cable suit the device? Fourth: is the light source built in? For all the rechargeable lamps linked here it is, according to the product pages, so at the end of its rated lifetime the whole lamp is replaced.

One last pointer: measure the height of the surface above the mattress. When lying down, the light should sit below eye level so that it works as orientation and not as a source of glare.