SnapPower GuideLight Review: Is It Worth Buying?

If you always get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and are tired of stumbling around in the dark, you’re likely to have nightlights installed throughout your hallways. It’s preferable to have small lights throughout your house, then turn on an ample light and wake up pets or children, right? 

SnapPower has developed a sleeker, more modern solution to this problem. Instead of a plugin nightlight that takes up an outlet, the company invented the Guidelight—a new and improved outlet. 

Maybe you’ve seen ads for this, or maybe you’re considering what could work better than a plugin outlet light. Here is your answer and a complete SnapPower GuideLight review so you can find out whether it works as well as everyone thinks it does. 

What Is GuideLight?

The GuideLight is a type of outlet cover with a light underneath.

Like the lights that guide passengers to their seats in airplanes or audience members in a dimly lit theater, these lights shine from the bottom of the outlet and create a soft glow wherever your outlets are. 

The Guidelight was created to take up less energy than a standard nightlight while leaving both plugs available for other appliances.

You can replace key outlets in your hallway and bathroom or purchase enough for all of your outlets without worrying about running out of plug space. 

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SnapPower created Guidelight and its sister product, SwitchLight, for long-lasting convenience. If you are a middle-of-the-night snacker or in a new place, this could be the perfect way to get used to your surroundings at night. SwitchLight is for lightswitch covers. 

How Does It Work?

GuideLight works just like a normal outlet cover but has a small LED light at the bottom. This makes it a tiny bit bulkier than the average cover, but it’s not noticeable from more than a foot or two away. The cover is fitted with small metal bars that connect to the electricity source, so no wiring is required. 

Once you remove the old cover and put the new one on, you won’t have to do anything else. The GuideLight connects to the electricity and pulls from there. There are no batteries or external power sources, and the lights turn on when it is dark out through sensors. 

A Complete SnapPower GuideLight Review

The GuideLight can light up a room or hallway as long as there are enough throughout the hallway. This handy little contraption is an excellent way to prevent stubbed toes or stepping on children’s toys. But does it actually work? 

We’ve done the research, tested the products, and put together a complete SnapPower GuideLight review for you. If you’re considering re-covering your outlets, read this first and decide whether it’s worth it and the right choice for you. 

Pros and Cons

Overall, the GuideLight works well and does an excellent job lighting up dark hallways. However, it does have some bugs and can cause issues at times. Here is an overview of the pros and cons of SnapPower GuideLight. 

Now that we have an overview, let’s talk in-depth about multiple areas of performance and utility for the SnapPower GuideLight. With this review, you’ll be able to decide whether these handy little nightlights are worth your money and time. 

Performance

The most significant factor to consider before buying GuideLight outlet covers is how well they work. Performance-wise, these lights do their job perfectly. Once installed, you can go to the bathroom at night without blinding yourself with an overhead light or tripping over an unfortunate pet. 

The LED lights light up a good area of the floor beneath the outlet without shining too far into the room itself. If you want more light, you can get a SwitchLight instead and install it over your lightswitches (this is an excellent idea for kids’ rooms). The higher the light is, the more it will illuminate.

Light Brightness

While the LED lights provide enough to see by, they don’t brighten a room so much that you won’t be able to sleep with a GuideLight in your room. Since the lights are pointed down, they aren’t too bright. 

However, these GuideLIghts provide about as much light as a regular night light, but they are focused on the floor. This means that the rest of the room isn’t lit up, but you won’t step on obstacles or children’s toys as you try to make it down the hallway. 

Durability 

LED light bulbs have the longest-lasting bulbs of any type of light. Most LED light bulbs can last for up to 100,000 hours. Since you won’t be using the lightbulbs for more than a few hours at night (especially if they’re motion sensitive), this can be decades of use before they give out. 

Unfortunately, once they do run out, you won’t be able to replace the bulbs. Instead, you’ll need to buy a new GuideLight. This is one of the few flaws of the product, but it is mitigated by the fact that the GuideLights are inexpensive, and the lights won’t die for years or even decades. 

Ease of Installation

The GuideLight advertises an extremely simple installation process. All you need to do is turn off your breakers, take off your old outlet covers, and screw in the GuideLight covers. It seems simple, but not all houses have identical outlet covers, and GuideLights have only one design. 

The major frustration with GuideLights is that they can be a little more challenging to install than advertised. The metal prongs on either side need to touch the wires in the back, or else the LEDs won’t receive electricity. These prongs cannot be adjusted, so you might have to shift some wires. 

The other issue is generally with the screw placement on the outlet itself. If you have a newer home, your outlet cover likely matches the GuideLight’s two-screw system. However, any other design might be difficult to screw in. Unfortunately, SnapPower doesn’t offer any other screw options. 

Versatility 

Despite the issues with installation, the versatility of the GuideLight and the various options available for purchase are wide. You can purchase single or double-outlet GuideLights and single or double-light-switch SwitchLights (the sister product for lightswitch covers). 

With these options, you can make any combination for your home. Installing a SwitchLight in the bathroom and a GuideLight in the hallway is an excellent choice for kids who use the bathroom in the middle of the night. However, you can buy as many as you need and install them. 

Electricity Usage

The LED lights don’t require any wiring, and the metal prongs on the side of the outlets conduct the electricity from the wires to charge the lights. Because of this, installing GuideLights on every outlet in your house (which might be a little excessive) wouldn’t increase your energy bill by anything noticeable. 

Usually, customers choose a few critical places for GuideLights, such as hallways, bathrooms, and children’s bedrooms. With three or four throughout the house, the extra electricity usage is minuscule, much less than the same amount of night lights would use. 

What To Consider Before Getting the Guidelight

Now that you’ve read our in-depth SnapPower GuideLight review, it’s time to consider whether GuideLight is right for you. Before you get the GuideLight and install it in your home, here are some factors you should think about: 

• How many night lights do you currently use
• How many GuideLights you might need 
• The type of GuideLights (or SwitchLights) you might need
• What kind of outlets do you have (screw position) 
• GuideLights placement throughout your home 
• Whether or not to get motion sensor GuideLights 

The most important thing to check is the location of the screws on your current outlets. Make sure that at least two line up with the GuideLight screw positions, or else you might have to do some rewiring work. 

Each of these factors will help you decide what type of GuideLight you need and how many you should get. Unless you have a different outlet setup or you don’t feel that you need any, the main question is about where you will be placing the GuideLights. They are invaluable for late-night emergencies! 

Our Verdict: The GuideLight Is a Yes! 

Even with the frustration of installation, it’s clear to us that the GuideLight is an excellent alternative to the traditional nightlight. The variety of options available and the absence of necessary electrical experience make these awesome for people who just want a little bit of extra light on the way to the bathroom at night. 

If you want to upgrade your outlets without using too much extra electricity, try a SnapPower Guidelight and never trip over toys or the cat again!