In this article we explain the various type of work lights that are available on the UK market. It depends a lot on the task that you are doing and these work lights are regularly used by painters, decorators, welders, mechanics, electricians, plasterers etc.
Many home owners will also buy one for their garage or shed. Many buyers also used these in areas like the loft of the house which they brighten up really well.
These do come in quite a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The most popular are the rechargeable options as these are more portable and can be used in places where no main's supply exists as they are powered by a battery that can be recharged.
Some users like to have a light on a stand, others prefer a folding light, or an inspection light. We will explain those below so as you know about the various work light choices you actually have.
Best Small Rechargeable Work Light
This Trongle rechargeable work light can be used for a variety of purposes including in the garage, for the yard, fishing and camping etc
This is a small LED work light (5" x 4") that has 3 lighting modes (low, high and flash)
It is IP65 rated so waterproof and can be used in the rain
It has a 180 degree adjustable lamp stand that allows you to put it in anywhere you like
It can be powered by 2 rechargeable batteries or 4 x AA batteries or via a USB cable. It uses 45 watts of power and 2,000 lumens of brightness.
Check Amazon UK for Availability
Average Price: £
90% customer satisfaction based on 700+ online buyers
Best LED Inspection Lamp Work Light
Inspection lamps are useful for working on vehicles and other uses around the home.
This model is one of the best sellers as it is also magnetic and has a hanging hook which opens up the number of uses.
It uses a 3.7v lithium rechargeable battery, and comes with a USB cable
It takes 2-3 hours charging time and can then be used for 2-3 working hours on high light mode.
It is wrapped in rubber so has a good grip and it also folds down when not in use. It has various light settings such as high light, medium light, led dome light, and if you hold down the button for 3 seconds, it will appear red light, press the button again, it will appear strobe red light.
Check Amazon UK for Availability
Average Price: £10
84% customer satisfaction based on 3,500+ online buyers
Best Work Light for Confined Spaces
You may have seen this one advertised on TV and it certainly gets some impressive reviews from UK buyers
This work light is battery powered, (3 x AA batteries) affordable and fills any space with a bright light
It does have a strong magnetic base that sticks to any metal surface and a swivel hook if you want to hang it above your work
Buyers say this is handy at home and also handy to have one in your car in case you break down on the road. Many buyers also say that this is better than a torch as it shines a wide band of light.
Check Amazon UK for Availability
Average Price: £13
92% customer satisfaction based on 2,000+ online buyers
Best Work Light with a Stand
This is a work lighted powered by 240V (mains) and comes with the stand and a work light so good value for money
If you want you can replace the light with an LED one as this one comes with a flood light
The light is 30 watts and IP65 rated so waterproof
The stand is adjustable in height up to 1.6 metres and is stable.
It is CE approved and ROHS compliant
It can be powered by 2 rechargeable batteries or 4 x AA batteries or via a USB cable. It uses 45 watts of power and 2,000 lumens of brightness.
Check Amazon UK for Availability
Average Price: £39
98% customer satisfaction based on 100+ online buyers
Best Work Light UK Mains Powered
This is a good choice if you don't want the hassle of replacing or charging batteries all the time.
This is a work light powered by 240V (mains) and is classed as a job light ideal for a garage or some type of workshop
It is a 60 watt handheld portable work light that has 6000 lumens of light, so powerful
The cable length is 3.5 metres and the light sits in a metal bracket which can be adjusted
It comes with a 2 year warranty
Buyers say that this work light is very bright, compact and well made. Most buyers used in their garage or workshop or if they were doing DIY around their home. Quite a few buyers said it was very useful for searching for things in the loft or working in the loft.
Check Amazon UK for Availability
Average Price: £33
96% customer satisfaction based on 150+ online buyers
Best Work Light for Car Repair, Camping & Hiking
This is a set of 2 rechargeable work lights and extremely popular with many UK buyers
People liked having 2 lights as they could have one at home or in the garage and also have one in the car if they need it at night to do tyre changes etc
It takes 3 hours to fully charge a light and then the light will then last for around 5 hours
You can use 2 rechargeable batteries, 4 x AA batteries and can be charged using a laptop, AC/DC adapter, USB socket or a car charger
Each light has a small 180 degree carrying handle, is waterproof, 3 lighting modes (low, high and flash) and uses 30 watts of power and 1,500 lumens of brightness.
Check Amazon UK for Availability
Average Price: £
90% customer satisfaction based on 700+ online buyers
Work Light Full Buyer's Guide
We always like to include a full buyer's guide for UK buyers so as they can be fully informed about the various features that go to make up a good work light.
Lumens for LED Work Lights Explained
In almost any work light you will see the word lumens. We wanted to explain exactly what that means and why it is important. It is a measure of brightness and the bigger the lumens rating the brighter the light will be.
Typically the lumens rating on most work lights ranges between 1,400-6,000 lumens.
If you look at standard light bulbs or halogen bulbs, their brightness is always measured in watts. This could range from small candle bulbs at around 25 watts and then to the more popular 40 watt, 60 watt and 100 watt bulbs. The higher the wattage is the brighter the bulb is.
With LED work lights the wattage simply measures the power being used and the brightness is measured in lumens. So a 25 watt candle bulb as an LED bulb would have between 230-270 lumens, a 40 watt standard bulb would have an LED equivalent of 440-460 lumens and a 60 watt standard bulb would have an 800-850 lumen rating.
Wattage for Work Lights Explained
Many of these work lights use LED instead of standard bulbs or fluorescent bulbs. The reason for that is that in direct comparison, LED lights last much longer.
Typically the power used for most work lights ranges between 30-80 watts so they will use a lot less power than standard bulbs. That makes them more efficient and much cheaper to run.
Batteries for Work Lights Explained
Many of these work lights can either use normal batteries such as AA batteries or they can use rechargeable batteries or can be powered by a USB cable.
That gives you the user a great deal of choice. Rechargeable is going to be the best option for long term use, but it is always handy to know that you can use some AA batteries if your rechargeable batteries run out.
Rechargeable batteries have two important things to understand. These are the battery voltage and capacity (Ah) and the discharging time of the brightness. Voltages are typically small around 3-4V and the capacity of these small batteries is usually something in and around 3600 mAh (Milli Ampere Hours).
A battery like this will last for 2-3 hours on a full brightness and 5-6 hours on a low brightness.
Waterproof Ratings for Work Lights Explained
For some users, they will want to be able to use their work light outside. If that is the case, then it is important to understand how waterproof their work light actually is.
This can be determined by a measurement known as an IP rating. IP stands for Ingress Protection and is a measurement of a bulb or light fixture protection against dirt and water.
IP rating will always have 2 digits. The first digit shows protection against the ingress of dust. The second digit shows protection against the ingress of water. The higher the value of either digit, the greater the protection.
In your home most bulbs will have something like an IP20 rating as they don't need any greater protection than this.
IP65 is acceptable for outdoor use as long as they are installed in a sheltered location and are protected from the harshest weather conditions. Any IP Rating that is IP65 or above are classed as being waterproof an can be used indoor in areas like a bathroom or can be used outdoors.
So when buying a work light that you may want to use outdoors in the rain it would need to be at least IP65 rated or higher.
Resources use to help write this article
IP ratings explained in detail - Integral LED
Lumens Ratings explained in detail - Mullan Lighting
CE approved - Gov.uk
ROHS compliant - Gov.uk
