Dim LED Lights: Reduce Gadget Glare - Tips & Tricks
Dimming Unwanted LEDs on Your Devices
Often, manufacturers incorporate intensely bright LEDs into their gadgets, even when a more subdued indicator would suffice. Fortunately, you don't have to accept this unnecessary brightness.
The Prevalence of Overly Bright LEDs
For every device with a discreet indicator light, there are numerous others equipped with LEDs bright enough to illuminate a room. It’s a common complaint, as many companies favor prominent, highly visible LEDs on their products.
While some might find a bright LED useful – perhaps as a makeshift night light – most individuals prefer a darkened environment for sleep. Even during waking hours, these LEDs can be distracting.
LED Glare and Its Impact
Consider the glare from a bright LED on your AV receiver, game console, or television while you're trying to watch a movie. This can be a significant visual annoyance.
Instead of simply enduring this irritation, a simple solution exists. Addressing this issue is remarkably straightforward.
A Simple Solution: Blocking the Light
If you are capable of applying a sticker, you possess the necessary skills to eliminate the bothersome glare from your devices’ LEDs.
The process is incredibly easy and requires minimal effort to restore a more comfortable viewing or sleeping environment.
Essential Solutions for Reducing LED Brightness
We are not exaggerating when we state that the most practical solution available, excluding physically altering your devices by soldering the LED connection, is to simply cover the bright LED with a plastic covering.
Two distinct methods can be employed to address LED brightness. One approach is a do-it-yourself project, requiring the acquisition of blackout material – potentially with a light adhesive like electrical tape, or without adhesive such as vinyl window cling sheets – and precise cutting to the appropriate size.
For covering numerous small LEDs, a roll of black electrical tape combined with a hole punch proves remarkably effective. Position a strip of electrical tape onto wax paper, then punch holes along its length to create a supply of small, light-blocking dots.
Although creating your own solution isn't overly complex, the simplest and most adaptable option is to purchase a commercially available sticker set. LightDims is a well-known provider; they offer a standard black sticker comparable to the DIY electrical tape method, alongside a range of other choices.
Sets are available in white and silver for use with differently colored devices, and a semi-transparent film is offered for partial light reduction. This semi-transparent "Original" formula comes as both pre-cut shapes and larger sheets, ideal for dimming areas like the display of an alarm clock.
The pre-cut stickers, with approximately 100 per pack, are exceptionally convenient. The light-dimming film stickers are particularly useful when you need to see the LED indicator, but wish to reduce its overall brightness and prevent it from illuminating the surrounding area.
Should you choose a commercial solution, we recommend purchasing the variety pack, which includes all the products shown in the image. Individual sheets cost $6-8 each, but the variety pack offers the complete collection for $17.50. This provides four times the quantity and variety of overlays at approximately double the cost of a single pack.
Comparing LED Dimming Techniques
The effectiveness of various LED dimming solutions can vary significantly in practical applications. To demonstrate how different overlays and films reduce LED light intensity, we utilized a RavPower USB charger for testing. This charger was initially reviewed in 2014, and its notably bright blue LED made it an ideal candidate. Successfully dimming this intensely illuminated LED would indicate the product’s ability to manage any similar light source.
All photographs were captured using consistent exposure settings within a short timeframe, relying solely on ambient natural light. This approach was implemented to clearly illustrate the changes in light emission resulting from each dimming method.
LED Brightness – No Overlay
The image provides a reasonable representation, but the actual brightness is difficult to convey. The LED is exceptionally bright, capable of illuminating a darkened room and causing significant visual discomfort.
Using Original LightDims
The results achieved with a small 1/8" LightDims sticker were surprisingly effective in reducing the LED’s brightness. While the light remains visible and produces a slight reflection, it no longer projects light across an entire room. For those needing to see an indicator light but finding it overly intense, the Original LightDims offer an excellent solution.
Opaque Overlays – Complete Light Blockage
Both the homemade electrical tape circles and the "Black Out" LightDims yielded identical results in our testing. Light transmission was entirely eliminated in both cases. We anticipated the LightDims might offer easier removal, due to their lower adhesion, but neither left any residue upon being peeled away.
Regardless of whether you create your own overlays using electrical tape or purchase LightDims, blocking unwanted LEDs is a quick process. This allows you to refocus on more important activities, such as achieving restful sleep or enjoying entertainment without distracting light sources.