5 brilliant uses for motion-activated LED strip lights

LED lights are brilliant — they consume almost no power, are available in a wide range of colours, temperatures and styles, and they can be mounted almost anywhere. You can now even get LED light strips that connect to an IR motion sensor, allowing them to be turned on only when you’re around. That makes them super useful around the house, so take a look at these ideas and think about how you could put them to work!

1. Install on the underside of your bed (or your baby’s crib) so you can come and go without disturbing anyone

Whenever I wake up in the middle of the night and want to go for a drink of water, I have a dilemma: do I turn on the bedside light and risk waking my wife, or do I try to creep out and hope I don’t stub my toe? There’s no great answer from those options, but motion-activated strip lighting makes it a lot easier. Because the lights are mounted on the underside of the bed and pointing down, I can see where I’m going while most of the room remains dark. It’s a nice solution, and works well for the underside of a baby’s crib too, allowing you to get in or out without causing a fuss.

2. Place along stairs or steps to prevent accidents

LED strip lighting is also quite handy for safety. If you have a set of stairs in your home that aren’t well covered by your existing lighting, then adding some LED strip lights can really improve things. You’ll be able to see the stairs or steps clearly, so if there are any random toys or other objects littered on them you’ll be able to avoid them. This works nicely outdoors for decks and the like too, although you’ll need to ensure your power supply is protected from rain and dust.

3. Put inside a pantry, closet or cupboard to see the contents clearly

I think almost everyone has one of those annoying cupboards in their kitchen that sits in the corner, so you have to lean in from the cupboard next to it to grab at the stuff inside, batting off spider webs as you do it. LED strip lighting is ideal here, because there’s normally no mains outlet that can easily reach inside, and you’re not likely to use the lights very often either. This way, you can spot that pot you’re after from a mile off, and avoid the spiders too.

4. Place inside your utility drawer or your bike’s top box to see your tools and gadgets more easily

The utility drawer is the home of seemingly everything useful in your home: batteries, nails, light bulbs, keys, dishwasher manuals and more. Wouldn’t it be nice to see all the way to the back? Fit some LED strip lights, and you’ll be able to see everything — including how much crap is in there. This is also good for motorcycle top boxes or even large tool chests; add some LED lights and you’ll be able to find what you need quickly, even in low light conditions.

5. Fit inside your fridge to augment or replace a dim interior light

There are some beautiful fridges on the market that serve as the perfect backdrops for the food within. Then there are all the fridges that people actually buy — and especially if you’ve got an older model, you may notice things are getting a bit dim in there. Replacing the bulb is usually a good shout if you can find a compatible model, but you can also improve things considerably with LED light strips — particularly ones that come on only when the door is opened. These strips can operate in low temperatures, are super slim so they can fit in tight spaces, and they’ll last for months or years before needing fresh batteries (depending on how often you open the fridge).

Wrapping up

I hope this blog has sparked your creativity. Let us know what you think in the comments below!