How To Set Landscape Lighting Timer

Later on you get all of your outdoor lights arranged outside of your house or your business, you may find it a hassle to remember to turn them on or off. Perhaps you only want them on when it's dark outside, or to only stay on for a set up menses of time, similar a few hours. Whatever your specific needs are, if you're hoping at that place are some ways to employ a timer on your outdoor lights, this is the right article for you.

Y'all can put outdoor lights on a timer a few unlike ways, depending on the blazon of lite you use. For lights wired to a switch, a timer will need to be installed at the switch. With smart bulbs and lights, the setup is much simpler, typically using an app or with a smart dwelling house hub. For lights that are plugged in, a simple outlet timer can be used.

Outdoor lights can provide an ambiance and welcoming feeling to outdoor areas and also provide amend security. If yous want your outdoor lights to operate efficiently and stay on for a set amount of time, you need to use a timer. To learn about the types of outdoor timers and how to install them, first let's encompass the various types of outdoor lighting timers.

Types of Outdoor Lighting Timers

If you desire to put a timer on your outdoor lights, there are many options for you to do this, and then don't worry. One thing that'south important to pay attending to is that the timer hardware is outdoor rated. Outdoor-rated timers are weatherproof and are designed to be more robust than indoor calorie-free timers, which ways they'll be able to endure much harsher conditions.

Outdoor timers can withstand harsh, repetitive changes in temperature, humidity, and sunlight intensity that are very normal in twenty-four hours-to-day life outside. Any blazon of outdoor timer can go the chore done, here is some information on a few different outdoor timers that are great options.

Mechanical Outdoor Outlet Timer

If you accept existing lights that plug into an outdoor electric outlet, likely the easiest solution for you lot is to add a plug-in outdoor mechanical timer. Mechanical timers, similar this outdoor Christmas low-cal timer (on Amazon) with two plugs are an piece of cake dial-type timer setup. You can set it to be on for 14 hours and off for 10 hours for instance, automating the apply of the lights.

Mechanical outdoor timers are piece of cake to use. However, you may have to bank check them every calendar week or and then to make certain they have not drifted by an hour or two. This can be a hassle simply however saves y'all from remembering to turn the lights on or off. Well-nigh units don't accept any problem with this, simply keep an eye out…if this is going to happen it'll happen immediately, on the first 24-hour interval or so. If you're using these type of plug timers for twelvemonth-circular use, then you'll have to adjust the timers during daylight savings shifts, and whenever the power goes out.

Photoelectric Outdoor Outlet Timer

Photoelectric outdoor timers are similar to mechanical timers, however, they have a light sensor instead of a mechanical dial. The low-cal sensor detects sunlight and can exist set up to turn off (or on) withal many hours after sunset you'd like to set them for. The reward of this is obvious, but a mutual problem is that the light sensors can sometimes habiliment out.

Devices like this 24-hour outdoor photoelectric inaugural timer (on Amazon) with 3 outlets are piece of cake to ready too. They can too exist fix to diverse on/off intervals, and it comes with a remote to change the timer settings so you do not even have to get outdoors if you don't want to. Like the mechanical outdoor timer, photoelectric timers are as well a not bad option if yous have existing lights that plug into an outlet that you lot want to add a timer command.

Switch Timers & Smart Switch Timers

If yous take outdoor lights that are controlled by a light switch, you can buy a light switch that has a born timer. Timers similar this programmable light switch timer (on Amazon) with automatic shutoff make turning off your outdoor lights piece of cake. With a touch of 1 push button, you can plan information technology to plow off after, five, 10, twenty, or even thirty minutes. You lot can even extend information technology from up to one to iv hours.

Likewise a traditional switch timer, y'all can also use this smart switch timer (on Amazon) and control your lights from anywhere with an internet connection and you can check out more on smart bulbs and how to use them in our split up guide. Smart switches can still be turned on/off with the concrete switch, merely can also be operated with vocalisation commands, mobile apps, and automatic triggers based on the time of day set in the smartphone apps.

Smart switch and traditional timer switches do require you to remove your existing switch from the wall electric junction box. If you do this, brand sure your principal power is off first! If you are just non comfy messing with electrical wiring, you can hire an electrician for aid. If you like the idea of a smart switch that doesn't require any electric work, residuum bodacious there are some wireless options for smart switches in the next section.

Smart Outdoor Lights

If you would like to take an even easier route to get timer control on your outdoor lights, you can buy smart bulbs and lights. Smart bulbs have built-in connectivity to your router, typically through a hub. For example, Philips Hue has corking smart bulbs that can be controlled through their app and with smart hubs, like Google Banana, Apple Home, and Amazon Alexa, all of which you can use to set timers for the outdoor smart lights.

Some Philips Hue smart lights crave the Hue Smart Hub (on Amazon), and some do not. However, if yous are using multiple smart devices in your home it is all-time to apply the Hub to foreclose your router from getting clogged upward and slowed downward.

For ultimate simplicity and ease of use, you can even incorporate a Phillips Hue Smart Switch (on Amazon) or a Smart Dimmer Switch (on Amazon). Unlike the traditional wall switches, these smart switches are battery-powered and work by connecting to your network and smart home system. As such, they do not get connected to your electric system and you practise not accept to worry near wiring into a wall socket.

The smart switches are actually stand-alone switches that you lot tin can mount anywhere in your domicile past using the included adhesive backing. Another great thing is that you lot can control more than than one smart light with a unmarried switch. With these smart switches, yous can create a routine that will plow the lights off after they've been on after a certain amount of time.

How to Install a Timer on Outdoor Lights

Depending on the type of timer y'all program to utilize to control your outdoor lights, your installation will differ. If yous are doing any type of installation where you have to work with exposed electrical wires, please be safe and make certain your power is off.  Here is a brief overview of how to install each option, including the get-go which is the outdoor outlet timers installation.

Outdoor outlet timers, both mechanical and photoelectric are very simple to install. All you practise is plug them into the wall outlet, then y'all plug your lights into the timer. Yous can easily change the settings of these types of timers with mechanical knobs and/or push buttons.

Installation of Switch Timers & Smart Switch Timers

Out of all the timer control options, smart timers and smart switch timers are the about physically difficult ones to install. Before installing/uninstalling whatever wall switches, turn off your power outset. To install wall timers, yous commencement accept to remove your existing electrical switch. Here are the basic installation steps:

• Turn the main power off and double-check that it is off! Otherwise, you will be in for a shock or worse.
• Unscrew the wall plate on your existing switch.
• Remove the wall switch and disconnect the wires on the back.
• Make certain yous have enough bare wire to connect to the new switch. You may need to apply a wire stripper if they are not long plenty.
• Wire in the new timer switch. Brand sure you connect the wires correctly (green is always for ground, white and blackness are power)
• Employ wire basics and/or electrical tape to secure the wire connections.
• Put the switch into the wall junction box, screw information technology in, and install the wall plate.
• Turn on the ability and let at that place be light!
• Note:  If you lot are not comfortable with electrical wiring, consider hiring an electrician or getting a friend with more than feel to help you.

Smart Lite Bulb Installation

Installation of smart light bulbs is the simplest of all options. All yous have to do is screw in the smart bulbs, pair them to the app and you are practiced to start controlling the lights and setting timers from anywhere. If y'all are using more advanced setups, similar using the Philips Hue Hub – you'll accept to install and pair that device too. Fifty-fifty with the actress devices, the setup is unproblematic. All smart bulbs and lights walk you through the initial setup and installation procedure, and then you'll be certain to take a streamlined setup for smart lights, faster than any other method.

Source: https://sortatechy.com/can-you-put-outdoor-lights-on-a-timer/

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