How to Make a Simple Motion-Activated LED Night Light For Your Dark Hallway

Introduction

Having a dark hallway at night can be inconvenient and even dangerous if you're trying to navigate through it. Installing a regular night light can help, but it means the light is on constantly, which can be annoying if you don't need it at the moment. A motion-activated night light solves this problem beautifully - it will turn on automatically when you walk by, lighting up the space temporarily so you can pass through safely.

Making a motion-activated night light is a simple electronics project that's perfect for beginners. With just a few common components, you can build a useful gadget for your home in less than an hour. In this article, I'll walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to make a motion-activated LED night light for your dark hallway.

What You'll Need

To build the motion-activated night light, you'll need the following components:

Circuit Design

Here is how to connect the components together:

This circuit will light up the LED when motion is detected by the sensor. The resistor protects the LED from excess current.

Arduino Code

The Arduino code monitors the PIR sensor and turns the LED on when triggered. Here are the key points:

There are many example sketches online for reference. The code can be tweaked to adjust light duration, trigger threshold, etc.

Construction

Follow these steps to build the night light:

Usage Tips

Here are some tips for optimal use of your new motion-activated night light:

Customization Options

There's many ways to make this project your own:

So that's it! With these instructions, you should now have the knowledge to build your own useful motion-activated LED night light. Let your creativity run wild to make it look awesome too. No more stubbing toes in the dark hallway!