A battery floor lamp is a standard lamp with its own power on board: a rechargeable battery, usually in the base, topped up over USB much like a phone. Taking the flex away changes where a floor lamp can live – beside an armchair in the middle of the room, in a bay window with no socket nearby, or out on the patio for the evening.
The trade-off is simple. A mains lamp runs as long as you like at full brightness; a cordless one shares a fixed amount of energy between brightness and hours. Buying well comes down to understanding that balance.
Yes, and it is a distinct type rather than a table lamp on a pole. A cordless floor lamp has to stand safely on its own, so the battery pack is normally placed low in the base, where its weight steadies the stem. Most are slimmer and shorter than mains standard lamps – often somewhere around 120–135 cm – although taller designs reaching roughly 170 cm do exist.
Nearly all of them use integrated LEDs, because nothing else gets a full evening of light out of a battery a few centimetres across. A minority take AA cells or a replaceable bulb instead. Disposable batteries make sense for a lamp you use a handful of times a year; for nightly use, a built-in rechargeable pack is cheaper and less fuss.
Run times on the box are usually quoted at the lowest dimming level. At full output the same lamp often manages around a third of that figure, so look for both numbers before comparing.
| Where it will be used | What to look for | Typical figures |
|---|---|---|
| Beside a reading chair | a shade that points down or an adjustable head, run time quoted at full brightness | around 250–400 lm on the page, 2700–3000 K |
| Background light in the living room | warm white and smooth dimming, so one charge lasts several evenings | 100–200 lm dimmed, 2200–2700 K, up to about 20 hours on the lowest setting |
| Sewing, crafts and close work | a neutral white setting and the most output you can get | 400–800 lm, around 4000 K; expect only a few hours at that level |
| Patio, balcony or garden room | an IP rating, a heavy base for uneven paving, a handle for carrying it in | IP44 or higher outdoors, IP65 if it stays out in the rain |
| Every room | a USB-C port, so the lamp shares a charger with your phone | a few hours for a full charge |
A cordless lamp can make a very good reading light if it puts its output where you need it. Look for a shade that directs light downwards or an adjustable head, and roughly 250–300 lm or more aimed at the page. Stand it slightly behind and to the side of your shoulder so the book is lit and the LED stays out of your eyes. A warm 2700–3000 K is comfortable for late evenings; if the lamp offers a neutral setting, it helps with small print.
The usual disappointment comes from expecting a cordless lamp to replace the ceiling light. A few hundred lumens gives a warm island of light, not a bright room. The second is buying on the headline run time alone and finding the lamp flat halfway through a film.
Lithium-ion batteries lose capacity gradually over hundreds of charge cycles. You can slow that down:
Not fully waterproof, but weatherproof ones exist. IP44 is splash-proof and copes with a passing shower; for a lamp left out in the rain, look for IP65. A lamp rated IP20 belongs indoors and should only go outside on a dry evening.
For ambient and reading light, yes. As the only light source in a large room, usually not – think of them as an addition to the main lighting.
Typically between 5 and 20 hours depending on battery size and brightness. Used for two or three hours each evening, expect to charge every few days at full brightness, or about weekly on a low setting.
Through a cable into a socket on the base or stem, usually USB-C, sometimes via a charging dock. A full charge typically takes a few hours, quicker from a plug-in USB charger than from a laptop port. Many lamps keep working on the cable, though some switch off while charging, so check the instructions.
A run time quoted at full brightness as well as on the lowest setting, a metal stem and a base heavy enough not to rock on a rug or patio slabs, and a USB-C port. Smooth dimming and a warm white that does not turn greenish or blue at low levels are signs of a better LED. If the colour rendering is given, CRI 90 or above shows wood, fabric and skin tones more naturally.
Rechargeable for anything used regularly. AA-powered lamps are fine for occasional use, as they hold their charge well in a drawer.
To sum up: for reading, choose directed light and check the full-brightness run time; for the sofa, warm and dimmable; for the patio, IP44 or better. More on shapes, heights and materials, mains-powered ones included: standing lamps. For light that stays outside all season: battery-operated garden lights.
