Indoor wall lights: reading light and accent light

Indoor wall light: first settle the room and the task

A wall light does three jobs, and each has different requirements. A bedside reading light needs an adjustable head and a switch within reach. Accent lighting on a wall mainly needs a lamp holder where you choose the light bulb yourself. Background light for the evening replaces neither of the other two. Naming the job first saves you from having to take it all down again later.

A reading light should illuminate the book page, not the room. That is why a directional spot on an adjustable neck or arm usually makes more sense than a fixed lamp with a wide spread. If you read next to someone who is asleep, a narrow beam that you aim precisely at the page with the neck is useful. The beam you actually get depends, on models with a replaceable light bulb, on the beam angle of the bulb you fit, and on integrated LEDs, on the lamp itself. Most of the listings discussed here give no reliable figures for this.

This page assesses eight models based on their product pages. We did not have any of these lamps in hand and have not measured anything, so there is no documented hands-on testing. All statements rest on listing texts and, where available, on manufacturer documents. You can find more background on room planning under Home lighting and in the lighting calculator.

Plug or hard-wired connection: the question before you buy

The connection decides whether a wall light is an option for you at all. With a plug-in lamp you need a socket within reach of the cable. For the ERWEY wall reading light with touch dimmer and USB and the ERWEY double reading light with 3 and 8 watts, the listing gives a 1.8 metre mains cable in each case, and for the BRILONER LED bedside wall light a supply cable of 1800 millimetres. So measure the route from the fixing point to the socket, and allow for the run along the wall. A visible cable can be routed in cable trunking, but a cable that is too short cannot simply be extended.

The SENFAY bedside wall light with wireless charger is described in the listing with a plug and a 1.8 metre cable, and according to the listing a hard-wired connection to an existing wall outlet point is possible as an alternative. In a rented flat this can avoid a hurdle, because no work on the installation is needed, provided you are allowed to drill.

The situation is different for models without a plug. According to the manufacturer, the ledscom.de wall light WAIKA has a three-pole terminal block on the unit and no plug. The listing speaks of a direct connection to 230 volts, which sounds as if it is ready to use straight away but actually means connection to an existing wall or ceiling supply. For the AWEKLIY wall light EY-1007 with reading light and background light, the listing says cable connection without a plug, and for the ouglres wall light M-713S-S only the cable binding is documented and no plug is stated. For a hard-wired 230 volt connection: have a qualified electrician carry it out if you are not sure (in England and Wales, Part P applies). Switch the supply off beforehand, and call in the electrician whenever you are unsure, not only after something has gone wrong.

GU10 or integrated LED

There are two designs when it comes to the light source. Lamps with a GU10 cap do not supply light on their own: you fit a light bulb and so determine the luminous flux, colour temperature and beam angle. Lamps with an integrated LED are ready straight away but can only be replaced as a whole. You can find more on the difference between the caps on the guide page GU10 or E27.

The BRILONER indoor wall light, swivelling, GU10 cap up to 9 watts, without light bulb is supplied without a light bulb, and according to the listing the lamp holder takes an LED or GU10 light bulb of up to 9 watts. According to the listing the IP rating is IP20, so it is intended for dry indoor rooms. Under the IP code (BS EN 60529), the IP rating describes protection against contact and water, and IP20 gives no protection against water. For the bathroom this is not a solution. According to the manufacturer, the ledscom.de wall light WAIKA has two GU10 caps of at most 60 watts each. An LED lamp sits far below that, so the limit hardly matters for LED.

Important for both: without a light bulb there is no brightness figure and no energy efficiency class for the lamp. That information is on the bulb you buy. If you choose a low-glare reading bulb with a narrow beam angle, you can certainly use a GU10 lamp for reading. According to the manufacturer, however, the ledscom.de wall light WAIKA is a wall spot with two short heads close to the wall, not a classic reading light with an adjustable arm. The listing calls it a reading light, the manufacturer page does not.

Integrated LEDs are found in the remaining models. There, the details in the listings do not always agree. For the BRILONER LED bedside wall light, the listing gives 4.7 watts and 400 lumens, a UK retailer gives 4 watts and another listing 5 watts. Depending on the wattage, this works out arithmetically at about 85, 100 or 80 lumens per watt. Without a manufacturer document for this model, no energy efficiency class can be substantiated.

Switch, dimming and colour temperature at the bed

At the bed you often operate the lamp in the half dark, usually with one hand. A switch on the housing is easier to reach than a switch in the cable. According to the listing, the BRILONER LED bedside wall light has an on/off switch on the housing, and according to the manufacturer the ledscom.de wall light WAIKA has a toggle switch. Two separate switches are offered, according to the listing, by the ERWEY double reading light with 3 and 8 watts, the AWEKLIY wall light EY-1007 with reading light and background light and the SENFAY bedside wall light with wireless charger: you then switch the reading light and the background light independently of each other.

If you only want a soft base light for falling asleep, you can switch off the reading light and leave the background light on. On the AWEKLIY wall light EY-1007 with reading light and background light, according to the listing, each of the two light sources can be dimmed from 10 to 100 per cent, with a short press switching and a long press dimming. According to the listing, the ERWEY wall reading light with touch dimmer and USB offers a touch button where a short press changes the colour temperature and a long press changes the brightness, plus a memory function for the last setting.

On colour temperature: warm white light around 3000 kelvin is considered more subdued for the evening, cool white light around 6000 kelvin more stimulating. According to the listing, the ERWEY wall reading light with touch dimmer and USB gives 3000 to 6000 kelvin, and the SENFAY bedside wall light with wireless charger gives 3000, 4000 and 6000 kelvin for the reading light and a fixed 3000 kelvin for the background light. According to the listing, the AWEKLIY wall light EY-1007 with reading light and background light and the ouglres wall light M-713S-S each give 3000 kelvin. Why colour temperature matters late in the evening is explained on the guide page Light and sleep, and the scale itself on the page Colour temperature and kelvin.

USB charging: what the listings state

Several models come with charging ports so that the phone at the bed does not compete for a socket. According to the listing, the ERWEY wall reading light with touch dimmer and USB and the ERWEY double reading light with 3 and 8 watts give a USB port with 5 volts and 2 amps. According to the listing, the AWEKLIY wall light EY-1007 with reading light and background light gives USB-A and USB-C with 5 volts and 2.1 amps, and the two ports can be operated independently of each other. According to the listing, the SENFAY bedside wall light with wireless charger additionally gives wireless charging of up to 15 watts, although the actual output depends on the phone in question, plus USB-A and USB-C with 5 volts and 2 amps at the USB-C port.

For the ouglres wall light M-713S-S, the listing gives a USB Type-C port but no charging output. That is a gap you should clear up with the seller before buying if you use a tablet or a phone with high charging needs. For all models: the details come from the listing, and we have not checked any charging current.

Note also that a charging port requires a power supply in the lamp. For models without a plug, the connection is part of the fixed installation, which a qualified electrician should carry out or check.

Comparison: connection, switch, light and USB

The table summarises the details from the respective product pages. Manufacturer values are marked as according to the manufacturer, listing values as according to the listing. A cell reading not stated means that the source makes no statement, not that the feature is missing.

This summary is not a ranking. It shows which question stays open for which model: for the BRILONER indoor wall light, swivelling, GU10 cap up to 9 watts, without light bulb the connection, for the ouglres wall light M-713S-S the plug and the charging output, and for the BRILONER LED bedside wall light the wattage. The product pages take you to the sources in each case.

Which design suits whom

For the bed in a rented flat with a socket within reach, the models with a plug are an option, for example the ERWEY wall reading light with touch dimmer and USB, the ERWEY double reading light with 3 and 8 watts or the SENFAY bedside wall light with wireless charger. If you are not allowed to drill, you should clarify the mounting method with the seller beforehand, as the listings document no adhesive solution. For a bed with an existing wall supply, the models with a cable connection are suitable, although the connection should be made by a qualified electrician.

For accent light on a hallway or living room wall, the GU10 lamps are more suitable, because you match the light bulb to the wall. As an alternative to a reading light with an arm, the wall spot is only of limited use: a reading spot needs a head that can be aimed sideways.

In the bathroom: only choose a lamp if the IP rating suits the installation location. The bathroom zones are governed by BS 7671 Section 701, and the IP rating follows from the IP code under BS EN 60529. An IP20 lamp does not belong in the bathroom. You can find more in IP rating in the bathroom.

Before you order, check four points: distance to the socket, how the wall is mounted, one-handed operation and whether you want to choose a light bulb yourself. If you want charging, separate switches and a hard-wired connection all at once, you should ask the seller about every detail, because the listings leave gaps here.