Battery Powered Plant Light: Beginners Guide
Battery-powered grow lights are great options for those dim corners in the house or as supplemental light during the cold, dark winter. Learn how to find the perfect battery-powered plant light for your space.
To our surprise, finding any purpose-built battery-operated plant lights was very hard. Almost all the grow lights we looked at required a powered connection, which was pointless (and honestly frustrating), as we didn’t have access to a power source where we needed the light.
The good news is we have found a few alternatives (even though these lights are not classified as ‘grow lights’, they still fill the brief of emitting light and can be powered without a power socket that needs to be within reach.
Battery-Powered Grow Light Quick Summary
For your convenience, we have summarized the top battery-operated grow lights, including their main features.
| EShine Rechargeable | Koopala LED | Yuewilai Sconce | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required Batteries | Rechargeable (2-3 hrs) | Rechargeable (3 hrs) | Rechargeable (3-4 hrs) |
| Battery Life | magnetic strip adhesive or screw in for more permanent positions. | 360° rotation with magnetic adhesive. | Magnetic attachment to the screwed-in base. |
| Additional Features | 3-15 hours, depending on the intensity | Up to 15 Hours at the lowest intensity | 30-40 hours of use from a full charge. |
Top Battery Operated Plant Lights
EShine Rechargeable Light
The EShine rechargeable light is a convenient option for a plant light, with its ability for a quick USB recharge unit, approximately 2-3 hours per recharge.
You can choose from three light intensity levels, with longer usage times on the middle and lower intensity settings.
The EShine sports a 1300 mAh battery. In practical terms, it results in 3 hours of light at the highest intensity to 15 hours on the lowest setting.
Accessories included with the light are magnetic strip that has a double-sided adhesive tape that can be attached to any clean surface. Or, for more permanency, use the screw option.
Koopala LED Wall Light
This nifty little light was initially designed as a reading light that can be attached to any surface around the home via a little adhesive and magnetic magic.
What we love about the Koopala LED Wall Light is that the attachment is a magnetic ball socket so that you can achieve light from any angle. With a full 360° rotation, you could even showcase your indoor plants from below, creating a dramatic effect.
Like other battery-operated LED lights, the Koopala can last an impressive 15 hours on the lowest setting. And only requires 3 hours for a full recharge – easily recharged overnight, ready for use the following day.
The Koopala even includes an automatic cut out in the electricity while charging to preserve the in-built battery life.
Yuewilai Magnetic Wall Sconce 16 RGB Colors
As the only rechargeable light with a full range of RGB light spectrum, the Yuewilai Magnetic Wall Sconce was perfect for our purposes.
Other rechargeable lights only featured white light as the light source, which omitted the all-important red, blue and green light waves necessary for plant growth and production.
As a sconce, the Yuewilai has a permanently fixed wall mount that is intended to be screwed into the wall or fixtures. However, like the Koopala, the light is attached using a magnetic ball that allows a full 360° rotation, which affords you will need flexibility and enable you to get creative.
The Yuewilai also delivers a 2200 mAH rechargeable battery that requires 3-4 hours of charge but allows an impressive 30-40 hours of use.
It even comes with a remote controller for adjusting the light and changing between the dimmable levels.
Battery Powered Plant Light – Feature Highlights
For the benefit of those indoor plant enthusiasts beginning their foray into the world of battery-operated grow lights, we’ve put together a guide to walk through the features to look at for each option.
Battery Life
When we were researching battery-powered grow lights, the first concern we had was how many batteries we would use to power these devices.
Don’t get us wrong, our houseplants are very important to us, but at the same time, we needed an affordable option to keep them happy. Not to mention an environmentally friendly option.
We were happy to find some rechargeable options, like the EShine light. Even though the operating duration for each full charge was less than optimal (at 3.5 hours at full intensity), we could still shed some light on our indoor plants during the day. At 50% intensity, the units could even last the entire day!
On the upside, the rechargeable units also meant they weren’t continually using batteries and contributing to landfill – which was a huge positive in our eyes.
Light Spectrum
One obvious concern we had with using non-specific portable lighting is the inadequate light color spectrum generic lights possess.
Would it be sufficient for our beautiful indoor plants?
The only rechargeable light we could find that featured a wide availability of light waves for our plants was the Yuewilai Magnetic Wall Sconce. This light included 16 RGB colors (albeit for aesthetic purposes), but we weren’t going to complain. At least we could find a solution that accounted for blue and red light waves.
If we used the white-only lights, we would still be required to move the plants to brighter positions occasionally during the winter months to ensure they get enough exposure to red and blue lightwaves to supplement their photosynthesis processes.
We still like to light up the darker corners (with the above battery-powered lights) where our plants temporarily live during winter. We figure some light is better for our plants rather than sitting in the dark.
We are still searching for an all-inclusive solution, and we’ll keep you updated when we find one!
Accessories (clips)
Sometimes minor accessories can make the most significant difference in functionality and ease of use.
Of course, we can get creative and use resources like attaching velcro or propping them up.
However, if the lights have built-in accessories like clips or hanging equipment, it may be enough to sway our decision from one light to another.
Automatic timers are perfect for preserving the battery life and save you time and energy in constantly manually switching it on and off.
Ideally, you use a height-adjustable light to allow you to increase or decrease the intensity of the light for your plants.
Frequently Asked Questions for Battery-Powered Plant Light
Can you leave a battery-operated plant light on all the time?
You can leave a battery-operated plant light on if it has a charge. To be honest, depending on the intensity you have set for your light, it will likely run out of charge by the end of the day in any case.
Our mindset is to make use of timers wherever possible. Plants require downtime and should not be exposed to too much light.
How often should you change battery-powered plant lights?
When you notice your grow lights underperforming or needing to be recharged constantly, it may be time for a replacement. You can seek to replace the battery in the light. However, sourcing the specific battery may be challenging.
How long do battery-powered plant lights last?
The lifespan of your battery-operated plant light will differ depending on your usage and how well you maintain your light.
Giving your lights a break now and again will help to increase the device’s longevity, which is why we have multiple lights on a regular rotation.
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References Used:
- Grow light. (2022, September 26). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grow_light