The reason a USB lamp is interesting has nothing to do with technology. It is that the lamp no longer has to live where the electrician decided to put a socket thirty years ago.
What a USB lamp runs on
USB delivers 5 volts. That is far less than the 230 volts in a wall socket, which is why a USB lamp is a low-power object: it lights a corner, not a room. Our Macaron, for example, draws 5 V at 1 A — about the same as charging a phone slowly.
The practical consequence is that almost anything with a USB port will run it.
Things that work
- Any phone charger. The plug you already have in the wall. This is what most people use.
- A laptop port. Useful on a desk, though it will draw a little from your battery if you are unplugged.
- A power bank. This is the interesting one. A power bank turns a mains lamp into a portable one — a balcony, a tent, a shelf with no socket anywhere near it.
- A USB socket built into furniture or a wall plate. Increasingly common in newer flats and hotels.
- A car USB port, if you have a reason to.
Things to watch out for
- Very old USB ports. A USB 2.0 port on a decade-old computer supplies less current than a modern one. The lamp may light dimly or not at all. A phone charger avoids the problem entirely.
- Cheap multi-port hubs. A hub sharing a small power supply between six devices can leave too little for the lamp.
- The cable is not optional. A USB lamp is not cordless. It needs its cable plugged into something at all times — there is no battery inside it. If you want a lamp you can carry around untethered, this is not that.
What it is not
It is worth being blunt. A USB lamp will not replace your ceiling light. The power available over USB puts a hard ceiling on brightness — our Globe tops out at 249 lumens, which is ambient light, not a reading lamp for small print or a way to light a whole living room.
If you buy one expecting a main light, you will be disappointed. If you buy one expecting a warm pool of light on a nightstand or a desk corner, it does exactly that.
Where a USB lamp earns its place
The three situations where it beats a normal lamp outright:
- A shelf or bookcase with no socket behind it. Run the cable to the nearest charger, or sit a power bank behind the books.
- A narrow nightstand where the socket is on the other side of the bed. A USB cable is thinner and easier to route than a mains flex.
- A rented flat where you would rather not add adaptors and extension leads. One charger already in the wall runs the lamp.
The two we make
Both run from any USB source and have a switch on the cable that cycles warm, neutral and cool white, and dims when held. The Globe is a 15 by 18 cm glass sphere in five colours that throws light in every direction. The Macaron is 18 by 28 cm with a sculpted shade in six colours. Both are indoor only, and both are glass, so keep them dry and on a flat surface.
If you are still deciding which tone to run them at, this guide to warm, neutral and cool white covers it.