night angel review

Night Angel Review: Does This Outlet Night Light Work?

Night Angel allows you to transform any outlet into a nightlight in seconds. Does it work? Read my Night Angel review.

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About Night Angel

Night Angel is an outlet cover that provides a nightlight while leaving your existing outlets free. The official product website is buynightangel.com, with a registration date of August 2016. Below are a screen shots of the official website taken in November 2016 and again in February 2017. Note slight differences, including price.

night angel review
Screen shot from November 2016.
night angel review
Screen shot from February 2017.

Claims & Features

  • Installs quickly
  • 3 LED lights
  • No wires or batteries
  • Frees both outlets
  • Fits any standard outlet
  • Available in Duplex or Decor styles
  • Lasts over 100,000 hours
  • Light sensor turns lights on when it’s dark

Cost

The original cost of Night Angel was $12.99 + $6.99 shipping. A second unit was included for another $6.99, bringing your total to $26.97 for two units ($13.49 each).

The new pricing is three lights for $19.99 with free shipping, but a $6.99 “fee” for the triple offer and a $1 “web service fee,” bringing your total to $27.98 for three units ($9.33 each).

Night Angel began appearing in stores in February 2017 for about $10 for one unit.

Night Angel Review

Night Angel is a wall outlet cover that provides an automatic night light while leaving both of your outlets free. It is powered by copper prongs which draw power by touching screws on either side of the outlet.  A light sensor switches the unit on when it is dark, and turns it off when it is light. These low-energy lights should only cost cents per year to operate. Two design options include duplex or decor.

While Night Angel could be described as a knockoff of the popular SnapPower Guidelights (see below), they do provide a less expensive alternative that performs the same basic function as that product.

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Consumer demand for SnapPower has been high, and it is not a surprise to see an As Seen on TV alternative hit the airwaves. The ability to light pathways without consuming an outlet is an attractive feature.

Although Night Angel is slightly less expensive than SnapPower, it could still be described as expensive based on the materials and in comparison to traditional night lights or outlet covers. That is perhaps why the product disappeared briefly, and then returned with updating pricing that lowered the cost per unit by about 30%.

night angel review

night angel light illuminated

To install Night Angel, you are supposed to cut the power at the circuit breaker to the outlet where you plan to install it, then replace the old outlet cover with Night Angel. After restoring power to the outlet, you can test it by placing your finger over the light sensor. In my case, I did this and the lights did not engage. I tried bending the prongs inward in order to ensure a tighter fit, and that still didn’t work. I tried it on three other outlets, to no avail, and concluded that I had a defective unit.

After purchasing a second unit, I had the same problem, which made me suspect that Night Angel was simply not making a secure contact with the screws in the outlet. Thus, I decided I would try every outlet in my home until I found one that worked. On the sixth outlet I tried, Night Angel finally worked. I went back and pulled out the first unit I bought (which I was going to return, thinking it was defective), and found an outlet that it worked with as well.

During this trial-and-error installation phase, I realized that Night Angel can be quite touchy. Proper contact of the prongs with the screw can be affected by how tight the unit is screwed into the outlet, as well as pressure or movement of the plate.

Once Night Angel is installed, it does work as expected. I wouldn’t say the light is particularly bright, but it is attractive and functional. My wife absolutely loves them.

Now that Night Angel has become available in stores, it is a compelling alternative to SnapPower, especially without shipping costs and delays. I think that those who purchase Night Angel will be generally pleased with the product if they can get it to work in the desired outlet.

Alternatives

You’ve probably seen SnapPower advertising online in recent months. Read our review of that item here. You can also see consumer reviews for that item here, where it holds a 4.3 star rating among around 2,000 customer reviews. A SnapPower Guidelight costs about $16 plus shipping.

Video Review

Below is my full video review of Night Angel.

Your Night Angel Reviews

Have you used Night Angel? Give us your thoughts by leaving a comment below and a star rating above.

Updated February 2017 to reflect updated pricing and store availability.

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squint9
squint9
7 years ago

WARNING! If the outlet (1) has one side hot all the time and one side switched (like many bedrooms have) _OR_ (2) is dual-wired (like many modern kitchen counter or workshop outlets), attaching a device like this could pop one or two circuit breakers (best case) or cause a fire (worst case). Make sure any outlet you adapt with this device is just a simple outlet wired for one source of power.

James White
7 years ago
Reply to  squint9

Good point! The instructions state, “Night Angel should NOT be used on an outlet where one receptacle is always on, and one is switched.”

It also doesn’t work with GFCI outlets or those with telephone, data, or TV circuits.

squint9
squint9
7 years ago
Reply to  James White

They should add another • about outlets that are dual-wired (ie, one outlet on one circuit breaker and the other outlet on another circuit breaker). As I said, that is very common in kitchens. The reason is that usually means they are on opposite ends of the neutral which means there is 250VAC present … it is entirely possible the night angel contact will bridge the two circuits which will trip the circuit breakers at best … or start a fire at worst.

Thomas Blicher
Thomas Blicher
6 years ago
Reply to  James White

I purchased (4) from my local store and found out that the 2 units that had the sensor on the right worked fine in any outlet but the 2 that had a sensor on the left side would not work in any outlet. I went back to my store for an exchange and could only find units with the sensor on the left. They did not work either. What a pain.

Kim Blanchard Welscher
Kim Blanchard Welscher
7 years ago

I’d be careful when ordering. The wording in their ordering process is a bit tricky and while the offer says it includes 3 lights, if you place 1 order, you’ll only get 1 light for $19.99….and you’ll get NO satisfaction from customer service when trying to remedy the error. They won’t help you and insist that you place another order for 3 more lights.

Kat GV
Kat GV
7 years ago

I ordered 3 of these things paid $8.99 each plus $9.99 S&H off of PCH. tried one of these in 2 different houses one mobile in AZ and my home in California. THESES DID NOT WORK in either place tried in a few outlets and the pins would spread out too far to make ANY contact at all so Luckily I can return for a full refund to PCH less my return postage. May take 30 days plus for my money back but live and learn. this was my first and only order from them ever lol NEVER AGAIN PCH!!!

iCAREdammit
iCAREdammit
7 years ago

I bought one from my local store and it worked great. I didn’t know to cover the sensor so I just used a comforter over my head (lol!)and it powered on nicely. I suggest install it first and see if it powers on at night before returning it. Mine took maybe 2 minutes to install if that. Nice product.

freakinreviews
Admin
7 years ago
Reply to  iCAREdammit

The comforter over the head is great!

Cathy O
Cathy O
7 years ago

I have bought these outlet covers and have trouble with them from day one with shipping, not working and finally for a refund. First order did not arrive when they said it would. I call and they said they would resend the order. I got the order finally. I bought 4 boxes of each style. They were all one style so had to send them back. A new order came back after I called them to tell them of the mistake. They did not send the new ones until they received in there hands the wrong ones. The décor did… Read more »

Robin Whitworth
Robin Whitworth
4 years ago

I purchased 4 and absolutely loved them. I have had them a few years now and the other night we kept smelling a weird hot electrically plastic burnt smell. We thought our house was on fire. We monitored everything all night long, even throwing the mast power to the entire house to be sure. Finally after about 18 hours the house had not burned down and the smell had finally went away. We later noticed there was black Smokey look under my sons plug. It has burned up. Good thing the curtains were not over it when it happened or… Read more »

Heidi Antonacci
Heidi Antonacci
3 years ago

Hey James, I’m Heidi, I live in North Las Vegas, hi neighbor! Well Like mind think the same. I literally did everything you did. Up and down, back and forth to try to get the Night Angel to work. If I pushed on it sometimes I could complete the circuit. Well I don’t plan to sit on the floor and push it in to get light when I can run to Walmart and get a standard nightlight!!! I need it for my 83 yr old Mother who is legally blind. She need a lot of light to feel safe to… Read more »