If you have been looking for some ideas on how to brighten up a dark bedroom, you should check out the motion sensor under the bed light kit from Vansky.
What makes this bed strip lighting kit different from others is that it’s motion-activated. This is perfect for little children and adults, who want some light at night as they get out of bed to go to the bathroom. We purchased 2 of these Vansky kits to trial in each of the children’s bedrooms.
One kit is installed under the baby’s cot as we don’t need to turn on the main light when we check on him. The other is installed under our 12-year-old boy’s queen bed. He has a messy room and is always tripping over objects during the winter months trying to find the light switch.
So let’s check out what makes these motion sensor under bed lighting systems so good.
Table of Contents
Installation of Under-bed light strip system
The installation was very easy, I just had to peel off the 3M backing tape, and stick the light strip to underneath the child’s cot bed frame. This makes the strip light hidden from view but still provides ample light.
Make sure to clean off all the dust and grease from the edge of the bed frame. Wipe dry before sticking down the under-bed strip light. This will make sure your LED light strip never comes off. Unless you pull it off.
I then had to run the power cord along the wall, and plug in the power plug into the electrical outlet. As these are only 5 feet in length, if you need to do a King or Queen bed, it will be better to purchase 2 of the kits. One for each side of the bed.
Under Bed Strip Light Mounting Options
Other bed mounting options are behind the headboard. Just make sure the light strip is hidden from view. This makes for a nice clean look. With amazing back-lighting effects.
If you are having difficulty trying to secure your strip lights you could also use these Griver clamps that are made to hold your light strips in position. I have used these outside the house when moisture had gotten in between the weatherproof strip light and caused the 3M tape to fall off. Its the cheapest way to mount strip lighting.
I mounted the motion sensor down low on the leg of a corner of the bed. This is so that when people are moving around up high on the bed it won’t trigger the under-bed strip lights. When mounted low it will only pick up your feet when walking past. Less false illumination. Be aware that cats and dogs will trigger the motion sensor and turn on the lights if they walk past.
For the larger Queen bed, I mounted the light strip to the headboard, with the PIR (passive infrared) sensor on one of the bed legs as shown below. This was due to our son’s bed having draws underneath, which didn’t give a whole lot of room for the light strip. But it works well.
You can also use these for stairways, cabinets, cupboards, sofas, and furniture lighting. With the auto shut-off feature, you are saving money as it only activates when it picks up your movement.
Under bed night light – Plug and Play
The whole setup is plug-and-play so you can actually be up and running in a few minutes after cleaning. Its been designed to be very user-friendly so you don’t need to be an A-grade electrician to do the installation. Much like Christmas lights just plug in each connection point, stick on the under bed night light strip and turn on the power.
Motion Sensor Under Bed Light Review
We found the under bed motion sensor light is more of cool white light. Which is fine for our application. In the good old days before the colored LEDs became the norm, we used to paint in our strip light LED’s with a permanent marker. If you find a nice orange color it would work wonders to make the light a warmer yellow color. It’s a shame it doesn’t come with a color-changing light strip and remote.
If you do want to go down the multi-color path, I can recommend the Philips Hue Gen 2 light strip plus. This will have to be coupled with a Hue motion sensor and a Hub, but the results will be amazing. You then have the ability to change millions of colors.
But your expense will increase a little bit over $100 with all Philips Hue gear. The Vansky is defiantly one of the cheapest and better-made under-bed lighting systems around, and it does a fantastic job. It is a very user-friendly idea.
This motion sensor has the ability to change it on time from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. This is a great feature, so you don’t have to keep moving for the light to stay on. Although each time you do move the timer is reset. Around 2 minutes is fine for us.
Changing the stay on time is easy with the thumb wheel adjustment. Just play around with it for the optimum time.
With a maximum output of 36 watts, you can even trigger some of your own light strips. (some soldering may be required if you hack this motion sensor)
Input is the standard 12 volts from the wall adaptor.
Vansky Under Bed Light Strip Specifications:
Led Quantity: 45 Led (5ft) long
Color temperature: 2700-3000K
Output: 12V / 0.5A
Sensor activation on time:30 seconds to 10 minutes.
Dust-proof & Waterproof grade: IP65
- Smart Nightlight — Warm soft glow of bed night light will automatically turn on to guide you safely across the darkroom. No disturbing glare to wake others.
- Power Saving– Only light up when it picks up your movement, auto shut off after leaving, which can be set from 30 seconds up to 10 minutes, to save energy and money.
- Motion Activated — Included built-in quality passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor, that will sense up to 3.5 meters range in 100 deg arch. Automatic Turn on and Shut off by walking past.
- Adjustable Time — Motion sensor Auto shut-off timer can be set from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. Continue lighting system will keep the light on and it will automatically turn off within 30 secs- 10min after leaving. It is fully user-adjustable with a turn of a screw.
- Multi-Purpose — Safely guide you through the dark. It can be installed anywhere you need extra light. Not only act as under bed LED lamp, but also covers a wide range of home applications like stairway, cabinet, cupboard, sofa, furniture, etc.
- Quality Assurance — The 45 LED’s will last Up to 100,000 lighting hours. Which may even outlast your bed.
- What will you get; Vansky Motion Sensor under bed light, Motion Activated adjustable PIR sensor, Power wall adaptor 110v-240v with 4.6 feet of cable. User manual
- One Year warranty.
Conclusion
Having these Vansky motion sensor under bed light strips, has helped us as a family get around safer and with minimum disruptions to others at night. It’s great for me while getting up at 5am, that I don’t have to wake the wife while I try and find all my work gear while it’s dark.
It’s especially helpful for the baby’s room, where the bright overhead light would often wake up the baby while we went to check on him. Now it’s a nice down low mood light, that makes each room feel space-age and magical when we walk in. I should have brought these years ago.
But you’re not limited to the bedrooms. I like to think outside the box, so I now have got another one in order to do some motion sensor garage lighting. I will let you all know how that goes. Every man needs a shed and a bunch of handy tools, but it’s no good if you can’t see. These light strips are perfect to wrap around shelves and under the workbench.
Check out some more versions below.
I am a qualified Industrial Electrician for the past 20 years and I love to share my knowledge on home repair and maintenance jobs.
I love fast toys like Motorcycles, Cars, Jetskis, Boats, and Computers so writing about them is easy. Working on them is fun.
To keeps costs down I do all my own mods, repairs, and servicing. These skills I want to share with everyone. DIY is a skill everyone can learn.
