Night lights come in a variety of forms. There are generally two types of nightlights, namely nightlights that emit a scattered, diffused pattern of light and nightlights that emit a narrow beam of light. Nightlights that emit a scattered, diffused pattern of light are designed to illuminate large areas such as restrooms or hallways. Nightlights that emit a relatively narrow beam of light are used to illuminate a relatively small surface directly in front of the lens such as a wall or step. To present more vivid effect, many different designs of nightlight are developed, for example, nightlights with movable frameworks for extending to user's desire places, nightlights with compact shapes for presenting beautiful outlooks, or nightlights with some other decorations. Some include illuminated images such as a standard night light having an image in a frame that attaches to a standard incandescent bulb. The conventional night light consists of an electrical assembly having an electrical socket integrated with a plug for insertion into a wall receptacle. A low wattage lamp is held in the socket and a small translucent shade is usually provided to shield the lamp from direct view. Some night lights are wall mounted type having an electrical plug adapted to be plugged into a wall outlet and a small light socket adapted to receive a night light bulb. Some type of night light relies on a photosensor for activation of the night light bulb. Typically, this type of night light does not include the movable shield for directing the light shining from the bulb, but rather relies on a light diffusing cover over the bulb. Nightlights are typically provided with different decorative covers that are illuminated by the light bulb of the nightlight. Such night light arrangement is of a type that is sometimes associated with a children's lamp, of which the base of the lamp is hollow and includes a light socket suitable for a night light bulb. The base of the lamp is translucent and includes an illustration of a popular children's nursery rhyme character or some cute figures. When the room is darkened and the night light is turned on, the characters depicted on the base of the lamp can be seen by the child in the room.

Night light normally is equipped with a casing shaped into a variety of forms so that when the bulb in the night light is lit, the shape of the casing is projected and entertainment of the surrounding environment is increased. A nightlight usually includes an outlet housing having a first end and a second end, a set of outlet housing prongs connected to the first end of the outlet housing, a socket connected to the outlet housing and electrically connected to the set of outlet housing prongs, a bulb received in the socket, and a bulb shade which partially covers the bulb. Some night lights comprise a transparent body having a light bulb provided therein, and two prongs for connecting to an electric source so as to energize the light bulb in order to provide light during the night. Night lights for residential use for providing a dim illumination generally are of two types: a low wattage bulb is energized directly from the voltage available at the electrical outlet, or a normal wattage light bulb for conventional illumination is utilized in conjunction with a series connected resistance or capacitor to effect dimming of the bulb and thus provide a desired dim illumination. Various devices are also known by means of which the light provided by a lamp or light fixture can be slowly faded out or increased over a period of time. Some of these may sense ambient light conditions, and slowly phase in to light up a room or area as light fades during sunset and the onset of night. Other types of light fittings may have the circuitry for programming them to fade-out over a given period of time, which may be in response to increasing ambient light levels at daybreak.

A night light normally uses a low wattage lamp which provides low level illumination. These night lights typically employ incandescent bulbs or fluorescent tubes to provide a reduced level of illumination as compared with daytime lighting. Incandescent night lights are the most widely used type of night light. A phosphor layer is interposed between first and second conductive electrodes. By controlling the voltage and the frequency, the light brightness will alter, and also to some degree the color. However, the night lights use an incandescent lamp as the light source which not only consumes a great amount of power but also generates generally insufficient luminance. Recent development has focused on the development of electroluminescent lamps (EL lamps). Electroluminescent lighting arrangements have been proposed for use in a variety of specific contexts, including illumination of footwear, headwear, backpacks, safety guides, moving objects, flying objects, containers, timepieces, and audio equipment, because of their flexibility, low power consumption, and low operating temperature, and their relative brightness, color choice, and wide viewing angle in comparison with other low power consumption devices. Rather than using an incandescent coil as the light source, EL lamps convert electrical energy into light by applying an electric field across a thin phosphor layer to produce or emit light. Light emitting diodes (LED) have made significant advances in providing a higher performing light source. LED lamps have very high efficiency, LED lights have become cost effective replacements for standard incandescent light sources in night lighting.