Our storage buildings are lit, but we don't publish whether the unit you rent has a light of its own, so bring a battery torch or lantern, especially if your unit is deep or you'll visit after dark. Ask us on 0800 2545585 about the unit you're booking. Don't fix a light to the walls or door: our terms say you mustn't "attach anything to the internal or external surfaces of the Unit". A wired light needs our say-so first, because the terms bar connecting "any utilities or services to the Unit unless authorised by Us". A free-standing battery light, carried or set on a box, is the simple answer.
What lighting our sites have
Our short FAQ on unit types says "the majority of our units are purpose built storage rooms inside our warehouse". The pages for Burton-on-Trent, Chipping Norton, Dorking, Leatherhead, Lincoln, March and Reading list motion-sensitive lighting alongside the site's CCTV and alarms. Those pages don't say whether that lighting reaches inside your unit, so treat it as building lighting until we've told you otherwise. For any other site, check its own page or ask us.
Customer reviews on our Bath, Bromsgrove, Cheltenham, Leatherhead and Reading pages describe the buildings as clean and well lit. Two reviews are more useful here because they're less flattering. One on our Burton-on-Trent page, posted in January 2024, says "the lighting is very poor once inside the storage unit. Take your own torch!" Another Burton-on-Trent review, from February 2024, says the "storage units are clean and well lit", so experience varies. One on our Chipping Norton page, posted in June 2026, says the "lights turned off automatically too quickly".
Deep units and moving day
If you're filling a large unit after a house move or downsizing, the back of it is the part that stays dim. A head torch keeps both hands free for boxes; a battery lantern set on a box lights the whole space while you search.
- Put the things you'll need first near the door, and leave a gap to walk down.
- Write large labels on the sides of boxes that will face you.
- If the lights go off while you're inside, step back out and move where the sensor can see you.
Visiting after work or in winter
Access is normally 6am to 10pm, seven days a week (check your site's page and confirm your hours when you book). Cheltenham's page shows 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 10am to 4pm at weekends and bank holidays, and also 6am to 10pm, so if you're planning evening visits there, ask which applies. From autumn onwards it's dark well before 10pm, so keep a torch in the car or van. Our guide to access hours has more. Whether the car park and entrance are lit after dark isn't on our site pages; ask about your site.
Online sellers picking orders
Business customers can pick and pack their own stock at the unit during access hours. Our pick, pack and post guide says "Power and lighting provision varies", and suggests "your own light if you want extra brightness for checking orders". Our Amazon and Etsy sellers' guide puts it the same way: "bring what you can use safely and independently, such as a battery or rechargeable lantern, and do your charging at home". Clause 20 bars storing power banks or any similar portable power source in the unit, and whether you can charge anything there isn't published, so charge at home.
Containers and drive-up units
The same short FAQ says we have "a limited selection of drive up units and external shipping containers at our Chipping Norton, Shipton on Stour and Warminster sites". How they're lit after dark isn't published, so bring your own light for evening visits and ask us when you book. Our container storage page has more on containers.
Can I fit my own light?
Here is what clause 22 of our terms says, and what it means for a light.
| What you want to do | What the terms say | So |
|---|---|---|
| Screw or stick a light to the wall, ceiling or door | 22(d): you mustn't "paint or make alterations to or attach anything to the internal or external surfaces of the Unit" | No |
| Wire in a light or run power to it | 22(e): you mustn't "connect or provide any utilities or services to the Unit unless authorised by Us" | Only if we authorise it; ask first, and see do storage units have electricity? |
| Use a magnetic light, or hook one over the door or a partition | Clause 22 doesn't mention either | Ask us before you do it |
| Carry a light, or stand one on a box or your own shelving | Nothing is attached or connected | Fine |
Our Box Shop sells a battery light called the "LED Light Switch" (£4.99 including VAT). Its product page says it "includes adhesive pads or screw mounts". Leave those in the packet at your unit, because of clause 22(d), and rest the light on a box or a piece of your own furniture instead.
If you leave a battery light in the unit, clause 20 applies to it as to anything else with a battery. You mustn't store a lithium-ion battery rated over 160Wh "unless they are built-in and cannot be removed", and you mustn't store "portable battery chargers, power banks or any similar portable power source", so pick a lantern that doesn't double as a power bank. Our lithium-ion battery entry has the full rules.
Ask us
We don't yet publish these site by site, so ask when you book, or call us on 0800 2545585:
- whether the unit you're booking has its own light, or relies on the building's lighting;
- how long the motion-sensitive lights stay on at your site, and whether there's a push button or switch to bring them back on;
- whether light from the building reaches inside units (for example through a mesh ceiling);
- whether a magnetic light, or one hooked over the door or a partition, is acceptable;
- how containers and drive-up units are lit after dark;
- whether the car park and entrance are lit after dark.
When you're ready, get a price online, or call us and ask about lighting while you book.
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