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If you’ve been struggling to find the best cordless picture light for your home, we can help. We’ve reviewed some of the best lights on the market and compiled a buying guide with all of our notes below.
As long standing lighting consultants ourselves, the idea of lighting anything without a cord is still amazing. It opens more opportunities to use light in your home, but just how effective are they and why are our tested choices the best cordless picture lighting? Avoid the ones that dissappoint and read on!
Table of Contents
If you’re in a hurry, here are links to our favorite models. We go into more detail about why we like them later on in this article after we outline what to look for in a battery powered art light.
| Image | Name | Type | Check Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Cocoweb | Best Overall | Check Current Price |
 | Method ML200 Plus | Best Professional Remote | Check Current Price |
 | Funchday Cordless Picture Light | Best Value & Ratings | Check Current Price |
 | Bliss Wireless Lighting | Best Cordless Ceiling | Check Current Price |
 | Method Lighting Frame Rechargeable | Best Frame Mount | Check Current Price |
 | Biglight Wireless Battery Operated | Best Budget | Check Current Price |
 | Situ Lighting | Best Professional | Check Current Price |
A picture light is a great way to make your home more inviting. They provide the perfect small pockets of accent lighting that every room needs.
However they can be restrictive to install as traditionally electrical power has to be available directly behind the artwork, so they are only installed during major refurbishments.
Now we are in the age of LED, the power required for running artwork lighting is significantly lower, small enough to be run from rechargeable batteries, avoiding the mess of installation and ultimately versatile.
They are not the same as a standard artwork light, so finding the best model for your home needs some thought as there are so many different options out there, and it’s hard to know which one is best for you.
So we’ve reviewed some of the best battery operated picture lights on the market and compiled a buying guide with all of our notes below.
A cordless picture light will need to be recharged as a matter of routine, the frequency dependant on how long it’s used and how often.
The two primary types are:
The battery operated lights are powered with an internal battery that needs to be charged up by removing the fixture from the wall and swapping the batteries. The location of these lights need to be convenient for regular swaps.
On board charging will use rechargeable batteries already built in and can be recharged without removing the product from the wall. This type of battery can often give a larger capacity and is more professional choice.
The duration of the battery is key as it will determine how long you can use your light for before it needs to be charged. Most types have built in rechargeable batteries, so once they run out of power, you simply plug them back in to charge them up.
The length of run time is dependent on how many LEDs are being lit up, so the larger units generally will not last as long unless there is an internal battery pack built to suit to the size.
We think a run time of approximately 50 hours is what you should be looking for.
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| Cocoweb Rechargeable Battery Operated Art Light |
| Rechargeable battery, providing over 40 hours of light per charge. Great range of finishes to suit your art & interior. 2700K, remote controlled brightness adjustability. Great choice. |
| Check Current Price |
Best Buy |
Some of the top cordless picture lights have a built in remote, which allows you to control the brightness from a distance. This is great for people who struggle to get up and walk over to adjust the lighting level themselves or your picture is in an awkward position.
However some of the top rechargeable and battery operated artwork lights do not have this feature so it’s important to consider before purchasing.
Colour temperature is measured in Kelvin (K) and is used to describe the warmth of your light. This number gives you an idea if light will be too orange or too blue for the room you are looking to install it in.
If the color temperature description has a higher number, such as 3200K or above, this will give you a colder look and not be as welcoming in your home.
If this specification has a lower number, such as 2500K-3000K, this will provide a warmer glow and is suited more to dining rooms and kitchens.
In our opinion, 3000K is the ideal warm white to look for in your wireless picture light.
The CRI of a picture light is another crucial factor to look out for. This basically looks at how the picture lights accuracy is in representing the colors it illuminates.
If the specification shows a higher number, such as 90 or above, this will give you accurate color representation of the subject matter and be more beneficial as a source of light within the room.
Lower numbers such as 80 or below aren’t as accurate and probably more suited to less important rooms or bedrooms.
In our opinion, look for a CRI of at least 90 Ra.
It’s important to consider the height and rotation of your choice of cordless artwork light. Some can swivel and change direction, which is great for filling out awkward corners or creating a focal point.
Most artwork lights have adjustable heads that swivel and change direction to cover a wider area. This is especially handy in larger rooms with multiple luminaires lighting up a group of pictures.
The light output from a cordless artwork light will not usually be as bright as it’s wired in rival for reasons of duration from a single charge. Efficiency is key for the minimum of maintenance.
The brightness of a light is measured by how many lumens of light it can deliver.
Expect a 16″ wide cordless picture light to be in the range of 100 to 150 lumens. A comparative LED electrically connected version would produce approx 600 to 800 lumens.
However, this is not necessarily going to produce disappointing results as long as you understand that the level of light created is akin to a dimmed wired in version, which is often the level most desired when balancing light levels in a room during the evening.
The more control you have over any of your lighting within a room, the more pleasant an experience it will be to live with them. If the location to be lit will sometimes be used with lower lighting levels, to watch TV for example, then dimming the picture lighting is important.
A dimmable wireless picture light allow you to adjust the brightness either using the remote control or by touch a button on the backplate. We think is an important feature to look out for.
As well as deciding which of the best picture lights will make the best source of lighting for the room you are decorating, you also need to consider what way it can be removed or moved easily.
The 3 primary types are:
Frame Mount Cordless Artwork Lights are designed to sit on the wall without any fittings by clamping to the frame of the artwork. This can be done discretely behind the art or commonly clamped to the top of the frame with a more visual fixing technique.
The best ones can be removed easily for recharging, renovation or if you want to switch the style around.
Wall Mount Cordless Artwork Lights are designed to be fixed above the artwork with the light angled over the top. Some have wall mount brackets that fit behind the art and allow the head of the light to rise up behind and over the frame.
Ceiling Mount Cordless Artwork Lights are installed directly to the ceiling. These cordless picture lights need to be fixed in place on the ceiling away from the art, allowing the light to wash back and across the frame.
Some models also allow framing of the light with an adjustable LED head and beam width, once only afforded to very expensive specialised artwork lighting.
These types of light are suited to larger artworks or groupings of artwork, furniture or something needing a permanent fixture.
LEDs last a very long time but they are subject to the external forces of heat and power. Their longevity is dependant on the quality of the power supply that drives the current to the LED and how well the product has been designed to manage the little heat it creates.
As always, the higher quality products should have their design perfected and expected to last longer, possibly even 50,000 to 100,000hrs.
Rechargeable DC power is safe to touch, so arguably cordless art lights are safer than traditionally installed types.
Depending on where the picture light is to be used will depend on the mount required. For example, if Best cordless picture light is used in a dining room it needs to be fitted high enough to avoid any glare. This means wall mounting would be the only option.
We have a professional guide on where to use these lights, just follow our 25 tips on how to light artwork and pictures in your home
Now you know some of the key factors to consider when looking for Best cordless picture light, here are our top wireless picture Lighting models on the market today. We hope that this will help you choose the solution for your home.
1.| Best Overall |
Cocoweb Lighting |
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The Cocoweb range of battery powered picture lights has been given Best Overall as it has been thoroughly designed, offering a variety of widths and large choice in finishes. Frame mount or wall mounting offers versatility in installation and a major bonus is the removable battery pack that unplugs from behind the picture so it can be recharged conveniently.
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| Check Current Price |
| Best Professional Remote |
Method ML200 Plus |
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Independant reviews offer the advice that this carefully considered product is a game changer. With so many products available in this category and often at a budget price mark, they are convenient but typically carry compromises to fit within the price mark. Even the Pro's of the art world are happy with this product so be sure to check it out!
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| Check Current Price |
| Best Value & Ratings |
Funchday Cordless Picture Light |
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Picture lights are a great addition to your home, providing a soft glow anywhere you need it. But how do you find the right one? That’s where Funchday Picture Light comes in.
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| Check Currrent Price |
| Best Cordless Ceiling |
Bliss Wireless Lighting |
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The spot light is compact installs in minutes with no wiring required. The battery lights are powered by 4 x C batteries which make them portable and convenient to use almost anywhere. With the remote control with timer & dimmer you can turn it ON/OFF and control the brightness from a distance without having to be near it.
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| Check Current Price |
| Best Frame Mount |
Method Lighting Frame Rechargeable |
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How many times do you need to find the cordless charger for your wireless device? The ML-FM Cordless Picture Light by Method Lights is a perfect solution. This battery operated light comes with wall mountable charging cradle which makes it easy to charge on the go, no more looking for plugs or unplugging other devices. Best of all, this high quality product features remote control operation and dimmer switch so you can adjust brightness levels as needed.
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| Check Current Price |
| Best Budget |
Biglight Wireless Battery Operated |
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The Biglight Wireless Battery Operated LED Picture Light is the perfect way to illuminate any space.
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| Check Current Price |
| Best Professional |
Situ Lighting |
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This offers all the convenience of a cordless light with the bonus of being wireless and rechargeable! Whether you're looking for a portable cordless picture light or one that can be mounted in your home, we've got it here. This model has three levels of 95 CRI+ color-accurate lighting to get just the right effect for your space. It also features an easy-to-use design that attaches to any surface using magnets, so it's quick to mount on any wall or picture frame without drilling holes. Plus, because this Best Cordless Picture Light is rechargeable, you'll never have to replace any batteries!
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| Check Current Price |
The beauty of cordless lighting is the ultimate convenience. The wires or expense to install, no commitment to a position as these products can be moved to another picture or painting leaving no trace of where it came from.
Buy a remote controlled model if you can, so the brightness can be adapted to suit the moment without having to walk around to manually adjust each one. Turn the lights down to watch TV and quickly balance your rooms lighting with the right artwork accent light.
Give one a go, buy one and see how you an integrate it into your decor and we guarantee you will coming back for more!
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