Comments on: Installing Dusk to Dawn Photocell in Exterior Lighting to Save Power

By: wm. chapman

wm. chapman — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:19:16 +0000

I have a porch light just outside my kitchen door in which I was using one of these power-saving bulbs – you know the type – a little florescent tube wound in a tight spiral. I tried installing a small photocell much like is pictured above – and when I finished and tested – it blew! I got another one, thinking the 1st was bad, tried it and blew it also. I changed to an ordinary incandescent bulb and now it works. Do the power-savers have some kind of inductive kickback that destroys photocells?

By: vince

vince — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:42:45 +0000

I am looking for a low voltage photo cell that I can use to control my address light fixture that is mounted over my garage door. Everyone I have found requires mounting in a box. Since this is the front of my house, I would prefer one that I can mount above the address light fixture without a box. Is anyone aware of a lv photocell that can be installed without a box?

By: sblackb

sblackb — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:38:37 +0000

Tom,

You're not the first person to have made a similar comment. I installed mine in April of 2008 and it's still running strong, so maybe they had some bad quality control. Based on other's comments, I have posted several other dusk to dawn sensor options with my favorite being

Lumatrol A-Series Wire-In Photo Control (Dusk to Dawn) / 208-277 Volt / 1000 VA / A-1068

If you need a 240 volt version, try this article for more options: http://www.watthackers.com/wp/more-options-for-in...

Thanks for the feedback.

Scott

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:52:28 +0000

This Hampton Bay sensor is a piece of junk. I installed one, only to have it die when the light bulb blew. I installed another and when that light bulb burned out, it took the second one with it. This problem is not unique to me (http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/Dusk_to_Dawn-Lighting-... Don't waste your time with this POS.

By: Sam

Sam — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:53:13 +0000

Should there be 2 photocells on 2 different lights that operate on the same circuit?

By: abaloneking

abaloneking — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:11:42 +0000

I bought a timer that replaces the light switch , that operates three outside light fixtures.All three lights have cfl's. the fixtures came originaly with photocells,so when the photocells stopped working I put the timer in.The cfl's would not work with the photocell but it loves the timer and so do I.I set it once over two years ago. and have not changed a lamp since.The timer cost about thirty bucks at lowes,. You must disconnect the photocell if it is still working in the fixture.

By: sblackb

sblackb — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:47:25 +0000

Cap, check out the follow-up article I did on alternatives to the Hampton Bay Photo Cell.

By: CAP

CAP — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:11:43 +0000

Hey this was fun to read. I did exactly what you did with our front porch lights back in 06 when we built the house using the exact Hampton Bay replacement photocell and drilling the hold twice because I too put it on the bottom and had the flickering light thing. By moving it to the topiIt worked great for about 2 years then the photocell went out. I installed another one and it lasted exactly 2 more years and now nada. I have to do it again. Luckily it's not hard just a pain in the neck and irritating they can't make something last longer than that. Is there a higher quality replacement photo cell out there? I'd rather pay $25 and have it work than to keep replacing the shoddy hampton bay part.

By: Slap Happy

Slap Happy — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:42:04 +0000

I just installed photocells on my outdoor lights and discovered some things that might be good to know. I found the same photocell as the one shown here at Home Depot for about $7.50. The packaging was updated a bit and it now says that they are not compatible with compact fluorescent bulbs. Since that’s all I use, I kept shopping. I eventually found a photocell sold at Ace Hardware (AA-105-BPA) for the same price.

The advantages of the Ace Hardware photocell are it works with all types of bulbs up to 1800 watts and it has a built-in timer to delay the on/off switching and help eliminate any flicker. (Of course, it still has to be mounted where the light doesn’t shine on it.) The disadvantages are it has a little bigger housing, which might limit where it will fit and it doesn’t include a backing nut, which is required if you want the photocell to protrude out of your fixture as little as possible. These nuts are virtually impossible to buy separately, but I was able to get the same result using some 5/8″ rubber grommets as spacers.

Another useful tip I discovered when installing my photocells is if one switch controls multiple outdoor lights, those lights are often wired in series. In that case, a photocell can be installed on just the first fixture (closest to the wall switch) and the wires can be connected so that photocell will also control all the other lights after it. Basically, you separate the three black wires behind the first fixture, connect the black wire that runs to the wall switch to the black wire on the photocell. Next, connect the black wire from the light fixture, along with the black wire that runs to the other lights to the red wire on the photocell. Connect all the white wires together as normal.

I can now finally leave my outside light switch on and the photocells take care of the rest. Now if I can just figure out how to keep all the bugs from building nests inside my nice warm fixtures.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:56:05 +0000

Thanks for posting this project, I just installed this photo sensor on 2 exterior LED latterns, WORKS GREAT!!! My Home Depot had these sensors for $7 each. cheers!