How To: Illuminate Dark Drawers Automatically Whenever You Open Them Using LED Strips

At night, it can be pretty difficult to see what's inside drawers and cabinets, unless you have night vision or something.

Sure, you can turn on the light, but sometimes you're in such a hurry that you don't have 5 seconds to walk over to the light switch and turn it on. Perhaps you want to retrieve something in a stealthy manner, so as not to cause a big scene by turning on the lights.

Whatever it is, wouldn't it just be easier if opening a drawer would illuminate its contents, instead of seeing this?

With the help of Mahesh Venkitachalam, you can now create automatic lights for all of your dark drawer and cabinet needs.

For this project, you'll need the following tools and parts:

• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue
• Soldering iron
• Solder
• MOSFET BS 170 transistor
• Resistors, 470kO
• Reed relays
• Wire
• LED strips
• Magnet
• 9V battery
• Battery clip 9V

First, you'll need to connect the reed switch, transistor, resistor, and the LED strip, as shown in the circuit diagram below.

Next, you should test the circuit using a small magnet. If you're happy with the results, solder it on to a small piece of the circuit board (PCB).

Now you should cut the LED strips into the desired pieces to attach inside your drawer or cabinet (using their self-adhesive strips). You can use a small plastic box to enclose PCB and 9V battery.

Find a great position for the magnets in the cabinet, so that the sensor on the PCB goes off when the door is opened. You can use hot glue to permanently place the magnets when you're satisfied with their position.

You can find more information on this hack over on Make.