INSIDE, over the weekend I added badly needed auxiliary lighting to 3 spots in our kitchen. I still see clearly (with glasses) but need more light to do it, these days. :-(
Now, among other things, I can better see what I’m preparing on the counter “in the dark corner”, or, over on the stove, what I’m cooking there! :-)
The light built into the stove itself that used to shine on the top was long defunct and the contacts to the bulb bad / corroded. Repairing that didn’t look particularly practical, so I just added and hard wired into the hood above the stove a much better (once I’d modified it) under cabinet LED light. One can even adjust the light color - not that I’m sure why I would. Wifey thinks it’s almost too bright, but, she’s a few years younger than I. I told her “give it a few years”.
And, last but not least, my wife was about to give our chickens some remnants left over from avocados she’d prepared. It’s a good thing I stopped her!
We have purchased new lighting for the kitchen and the pantry/laundry; yet to be installed. Menard’s, of course. 11% rebate. :)
And for the EXACT same reason! ;)
I forgot to mention: Having over the years accumulated quite a number of orphaned 5 volt (mostly USB) “wall wart” chargers / power supplies, and quite a few LED flashlights and other lights with corroded contacts, switches, and so on, essentially what I’ve ended up with are a lot of small LED light modules that still work fine, except for their (battery) power supplies (etc.), and I have a pile of power supplies that are looking for a job. Add to that a few USB cables which almost all have a good “A” end, but there is a conductor break at the other end (usually a USB-A “mini” or “micro” type of connector), plus a few with manufacturer / brand specific connectors that no longer have a working mate.
IF the light used a nominal 6 volt supply, say, 4x AA batteries, a 5 volt USB supply will usually power it just fine. (Many flashlights, etc., will lean toward constant current draw until the battery is over 1/2 discharged, anyway, as alkaline battery voltage decreases with use.) That’s what I did with the light over our “dark kitchen counter” to the left of the sink: I clipped off the bad connector and wired the delivery end of the USB cable right into the battery wires of the light. It works great!
However, MANY flashlights and such run off of 3x AA or 3x AAA batteries. A 5 volt supply may be a bit much for them. In this case, you can drop the voltage with a simple, cheap, 1N4001-series diode. (The lowest I have on hand are 1N4003’s - a much higher reverse voltage rating than needed, and plenty good up to .5 amps or even slightly more if heat sunk.) That is what I did for the motion sensing light by the door to the outside, in the kitchen. (This light is INSIDE, illuminating the entrance (inside),a key rack, hooks for a couple “head” flashlights, a portable emergency light*, and “some other stuff” typical of a country living rear door - including my .22 1000+ FPS Pellet Rifle, or, on rare occasions, something heavier... :-)
Most USB Wall Warts will deliver at least 700 Ma , in fact all mine are 1 amp or better: That is plenty for most small LED lights. But, do keep the current need(s) in mind. If a light runs of of, say, “C” or “D” batteries, or one of those big 6 volt dry cells, you may need to step up to a 3 amp or even 5 amp diode, and a heavier duty power supply. USB supplies can be found up to 4 amps, and larger 5 volt supplies are easily found online.
*Said emergency light is solar rechargeable or USB chargeable, can act as a 2-port USB power “distributor”, and has a true SOS function in addition to other flashlight functions and being a hefty “battery bank” / power supply for anything USB powered — including this light that makes it easier to see! (Between this and the chargers on the power strip, at any given time there are 5 or more devices getting USP power or recharge — within a couple feet of the rear door that leads outside. If the chickens raise a ruckus at 3 a.m., I can be headed out to the coops with a freshly charged head flashlight on, and with my pellet rifle or a large wrench, in hand, “stat”. Just gotta get the shoes and maybe a jacket on and not fall over my own feet, groggy!)
BTW, as may be suspected, I like that emergency light: They were $8(?) at Rural King on clearance last year. The true SOS is what really sold me. Such a deal! I got 4: One for my daughter, one for our rear door, one for our front door, and one goes camping with us. :-)