13 USB Gadgets For The Home That Are Actually Useful

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The USB revolutionized the way we use computers. This technology was originally designed to connect computers and peripherals without relying on confusing, specialized connectors. The simple beauty of this system is that USB ports and cables are almost always compatible. Today, the USB has become a critical part of countless devices, not just computers. Tech companies love to add USB ports to almost every product imaginable; If nothing else, it makes for a convenient charging port. That's why, while many USB gadgets are designed to be used with a computer or a phone, there are plenty of standalone USB-powered products.

USBs are so ubiquitous that you can find them on the light you take on camping trips, on the gadgets you pack in your travel bag, and as the charging port on countless items around your house. From oddly-shaped batteries to pocket-size fans, we have scoured the internet for the best USB gadgets to keep in your house. Who knows, you might just discover a gadget so ingenious, it will go right into your favorite digital store's cart.

Lightbulbs, just like most other light sources, are far easier to use than candles. However, it's undeniable that candles can have a certain charm. If you like to keep those feeble lights around but aren't the type to use regular lighters and aren't very good with matches, you'll be happy to learn about USB-charged lighters.

Whether you need to light a candle or often have to ignite a backyard BBQ grill, you can count on a USB-charged lighter. These devices work by creating a small thread of plasma that arcs between the lighter's two leads. There are many pros and cons to a lighter like the Reidea USB, the most noticeable pro being that errant gusts of wind can't blow out plasma.

Marketplaces such as Amazon have no shortage of plasma lighters that you can charge via USB ports, but some are better than others. Many users like the LcFun Electric Dual Arc Lighter due to its flexible neck. If you want something fancier, the same Zippo behind those flip-up liquid fuel lighters sells a Double Arc Rechargeable Lighter insert, which slots into traditional Zippo cases.

Many like to wind down at the end of a busy day by curling up with a good book, but doing so with the wrong light can cause eye strain, or it can make it hard to fall asleep. That's when night lights come into play. Book lights promise to give you a nice, soft bit of light that illuminates the pages uniformly without stressing your eyes. Most of these devices are quite small, which makes them ideal to use when you're at risk of waking up a family member or a housemate, or when you can't sleep during a long overnight plane or train ride.

While older reading lights might use batteries, new models are almost always recharged via USB cable. If you go shopping in the right stores, you will find no shortage of unique book lights to fuel your reading habits. However, if we go by reviews, traditional-looking devices such as the Hionxmga Book Lamp and bendable neck light models like the Gloucusent Book Light seem to be the most popular options. The Hionxmga can keep pages bright and legible whether you place the device on a table or attach it to a book, whereas the Gloucusent hooks over your neck, directing the light to whatever you're looking at.

Vacuum cleaners are essential for regular household cleaning, or at the very least they make the process easier. Bigger models might make it harder to vacuum some nooks and crannies, which is when a smaller vacuum comes in useful. The Yomile 2-in-1 Duster And Vacuum is a small, battery-powered device that can clean up desks, computers, and any area that is too cramped for normal vacuums, devouring waste and blowing away the dust deposits that clog your PC.

Yomile seems to sell a lot of different 2-in-1 dusters and vacuums on Amazon. However, most of them are nearly identical in terms of performance and battery life, with the exception of the Electric Air Duster 2-in-1 210,000 RPM, which doesn't include a HEPA filter. Generally speaking, Yomile devices are all inexpensive and charge fully in under an hour. They won't replace larger, more expensive vacuums that plug into a wall socket, but they should help keep your home and office computers clean.

For most, summer means it's time to break out the BBQ grills, fans, and mosquito repellant. But why spend money on one-off mosquito repellant coils or pour a sticky liquid on your skin when there are USB-powered gadgets that can create an invisible mosquito shield? The company Thermacell has a solid reputation of selling insect repellers that can keep your patio, home, or campsite free of mosquitos. Plug one of those devices into a USB socket or charge it beforehand, and it will keep you free of mosquitos all summer long.

Currently, Thermacell's most popular mosquito shield is the E-Series Rechargeable Mosquito Repeller, thanks in part to the glowing reviews it received from outlets such as the New York Times. However, before you purchase one of those gadgets, you should know that all Thermacell mosquito repellers require both a power source and a repellant. USB-powered Thermacells run on electricity and use liquid repellant formula, whereas all other Thermacells use fuel and a repellant mat. Do not get them confused when purchasing replacements.

Even if you rely on one of the best air conditioning brands for your home AC, it's always a good idea to keep a small, portable fan with you. When you're out and about, fans are a great way to stay cool during the summer: Just plug one in and relish in a steady stream of artificially-delivered wind. There are a lot of different table and handheld fans, many of which are either charged or powered with a USB cable.

The JZCreater USB Desk Fan and XNMBRCE Mini Fan, for instance, don't have an internal battery, but you can still take them anywhere. The JZCreater fan is perfect for people who spend lots of time at their computer, while the Mini Fan connects to most phones through the USB-C slot. On the other hand, fans like the FRSara Neck Fan use a USB cable to charge their battery. Once the battery is full, you can place the FRSara around your neck and bring a cooling breeze with you wherever you go.

Many use doorbell cameras as an added security measure for their home. These devices record everyone who visits, be they the mail courier or a curious animal like a dog or a raccoon. You might have one of those devices yourself, but you might not know that some of the cheaper front door cameras have an internal, USB-charged battery, making them a USB gadget.

Ring, Arlo, Nest, and more offer some of the best doorbell cameras on the market, and most of those brands offer products for every price range. Depending on what you purchase, you might only receive a single doorbell camera that records videos when someone sets off its motion sensor, but other models constantly monitor your front door and let you set up custom doorbell rings. Of course, the more bells and whistles, the more expensive the doorbell.

One of the extras you might go with is a direct connection to your house's electrical system. If you don't have this luxury, then the doorbell will run on a battery that needs to be recharged every so often. This is true for Ring doorbell cameras and other brands such as Wuuk Labs. You often have to take the entire doorbell off its mounting to recharge it, so it's best to do so when you're at home.

Blackouts are a fact of modern life, especially during the summer, when many people have their AC units cranked up. Unless you own a private generator that is right for your home, you won't be able to use the lights in your house. This makes flashlights a necessity for any home. Even if you never lose power, flashlights can light up a poorly-lit angle of your house during DIY repair jobs. Some people might consider standalone flashlights redundant since everyone has one of those in their phone, but dedicated flashlights last longer and are usually more powerful.

While many flashlights are designed with alkaline batteries in mind, internal battery flashlights that are charged with a USB cable are increasingly common. These devices are as good at home, lighting up dark hallways, as they are useful on a campsite at night. You could go with a simple-looking Energizer Tactical Flashlight, a flashlight with decent illumination and good battery life, or something pocket-sized and less powerful (but just as reliable) like the ThruNite EDC Flashlight Archer Mini, or something else entirely. It's hard to buy a truly terrible light, especially if you go with one of the best, most popular flashlight brands, but those are good options if you're looking for something cheap to use in case of emergency.

Eventually, everyone needs to do some repairs around their house. However, you don't need to be handy with tools to find some use for an electric screwdriver. Ryobi's might not be one of the most popular electric screwdrivers on the market, but the brand is well-known for striking a balance between quality and affordability, and that's exactly what this model does. Plus, unlike many cheap USB screwdrivers, the Ryobi uses interchangeable, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries it calls USB Lithium.

The USB Lithium Screwdriver Kit includes a small 2Ah battery, a USB cable, and of course, an electric screwdriver. For just $39.97, this is as good a screwdriver as you can find. Sure, it's not fast, but it beats using a regular driver. Plus, it's USB Lithium, which further drives down the price by removing the need for a traditional charger. We tried Ryobi's newest USB Lithium tools and came away impressed by the USB Lithium Multi-Head Screwdriver Kit, which could be a great fit for first time homeowners and those who only need to do occasional work around the house.

If you own multiple USB devices, a USB hub or a USB dock is indispensable. But why settle for a simple hub when you could get a smart and stylish light that doubles as a USB hub? The Ottlite LED Desk Lamp is, as its name suggests, a high-tech desk lamp. The device's main selling point is its LED light, which supposedly reduces eye strain, but it also has a digital display that reports the time and date, and can even detect the local temperature. As we said before, the Ottlite LED Desk Lamp also includes a 2.1A USB port that lets you plug in any USB-compatible device into the back of the light's base and charge it without taking up another wall socket.

We should point out that, while the Ottlite LED Desk Lamp looks like a great product, it is a tad expensive, at $109.99. If you can make do without certain frills and embellishments, Ottlite offers several other lamps with USB charging capabilities at more reasonable prices. Those include the Ottlite Charge Up, which doesn't have a digital clock built in but adds a wireless phone charger without removing the USB slot, so you can charge the batteries of two devices at once.

Smartphones can do so much more than making calls. We use mobile phones to track our workouts, control other devices, and even charge other phones. It's no surprise if, by the end of the day, your smartphone is filthy, and not in a way you can see. That's where UV light sanitizers like the PhoneSoap come into play.

The PhoneSoap uses powerful UV bulbs to sanitize everything inside the device. Just insert your phone, smartwatch, hearing aids, or anything else that fits inside the box, and wait until the procedure is over. PhoneSoap claims its products will disinfect 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. What better way to end a busy day in the city than by burning away all the microscopic hitchhikers that you picked up from using public bathrooms and doorknobs?

While the most basic PhoneSoap models only remove viruses and bacteria, the PhoneSoap 3 and PhoneSoap Pro let you kill two birds with one stone by charging your phone while it's being disinfected. Just plug the phone into the USB slot on the side of the case and run the cable through the opening. While the PhoneSoap 3 and PhoneSoap Pro are more expensive than the vanilla PhoneSoap, the USB slots are a welcome addition, especially if your phone's battery is on the brink of death after a long day.

Many modern electric devices run on batteries. If you don't have to insert a handful of AA batteries in a device to make it work, it probably has an integrated lithium-ion or lithium-metal battery that serves as the gadget's beating heart. However, you can reap the benefits of a rechargeable battery even when using a device that runs on AAs or AAAs. While many battery-charging docks plug into a wall socket, models such as the Amazon Basics AA NiMh Battery Charger rely on a USB slot and cable. Just plug this charger into a wall socket adapter or a USB hub, and it will start refilling the batteries.

Should you travel down the USB-charged batteries rabbit hole long enough, you will eventually find the Survival Frog EasyPower USB AA Rechargeable Battery. At first, these look like any normal AA batteries, but when you pop off the top of the units, they reveal a hidden USB connector. Unlike most rechargeable batteries, you can plug the Survival Frogs directly into a USB slot, no adapters or charging docks necessary. That said, you might have to deal with the extra headache of explaining to passersby why you plugged an AA battery in a USB slot.

What good is a home if you can't have a little fun in or around it? And of course, if you're going to have fun, you might as well do it with style. Countless classic toys have received major tech upgrades, and water guns are no different.

While many water-gun enjoyers swear by Super Soaker, the modern king of the water-soaked battlefield is Spyra. Less water pistol and more water rifle, these toys provide consistently powerful jets of water and even include screens that tell you how much "ammo" you've got left. At the heart of every Spyra water gun sits a lithium-ion battery that powers all these features — charged, of course, through a USB-C cable.

Spyra sells several different models. The features we mentioned above are available in the SpyraThree and SpyraGo, which are quite similar models — the main difference is that the SpyraThree has several firing modes. Spyra also sells a veritable (water) grenade launcher, the SpyraGravity, which uses its battery to launch reusable water balloons. The only Spyra blaster that doesn't employ a battery and has to be pumped by hand is the SpyraLX; Curiously, this analog water gun is sold for about the same price as the SpyraGO.

Air purifiers and humidifiers can be essential household appliances, depending on the house. The former get rid of allergens that keep you stuffed up, while the latter can prevent your skin from chapping. While we would normally recommend premium-priced purifiers and humidifiers, a budget alternative can get the job done, especially if you only need to treat a small area.

If you don't have the money to spend on a major air purifier brand, you might want to consider a device like the Koios H13 Air Purifier. This device is small enough to fit on most tables and clean the air that directly surrounds you. When you leave the room, it's easy to bring the Koios with you. Since this air purifier is powered by USB, you can plug it into a computer, a power bank, or a wall outlet (via an adapter).

The Geniani Portable Small Cool Mist Humidifier falls into the same category as the Koios air purifier. The Geniani is a small, form factor device you can plug into a variety of power sources, thanks to its USB slot. Unlike the Koios, the Geniani has to be refilled with water on a regular basis, but that's true of most humidifiers.

In order to appear on this list, items had to fulfill the following criteria: They had to be useful to have around the house, and they had to have a USB port. For the most part, these USB slots only ended up charging the devices. We prioritized items that we had covered or reviewed in the past — as long as our opinion was favorable. That's why the Ryobi USB Lithium electric driver ended up on this list instead of its competitors.

Another requirement for all the items that appeared on this list was the presence of positive reviews and user recommendations. Finally, we made sure to not suggest products that were too similar to one another. Since we highlighted USB-charged flashlights, for example, we couldn't talk about USB headlamps.