Welcome to Ask Wirecutter, where deputy editor Annemarie Conte helps you figure out how to make the most of your stuff in real life.If you have a shopping conundrum for our advice columnist, submit it using this form.
Dear Wirecutter:
I have been searching for years for a device that will turn my outdoor lights on when it gets dark, and then turn them off at, say, 11 p.m., on again at 4:30 a.m., and off again when it gets light.
Sounds like a pretty reasonable use case, right? But I cannot find such a device!
It appears there are two types of low-voltage light controllers out there:
1) timers that turn on and off at whatever times you set, regardless of how light or dark it is.
2) light sensors that turn on when it gets dark and turn off when it gets light, whenever that may be.
I have tried putting these two types of switches in series to achieve my goal, but they seem to interfere with each other: The timer can’t seem to keep track of what time it is. Plus, it’s a kludge.
Onward, boldly! Into the darkening fog! CA
Dear CA,
As you mention, this feels like a problem that should have a simple solution. It’s just lights and timers, right? But there are many factors at play—including different devices and platforms and ecosystems—that make it overwhelming.
This is one of those problems that begs for a smart-home solution, since there is no non-smart solution. “Traditional timers and photoelectric switches have limitations that may not meet your needs, or take serious wrangling and expense,” smart-home supervising editor Jon Chase said. “You have oodles and oodles of smart-home options. The world is your oyster.”
Actually, it may be literally your oyster because, as you note later in your email, you live on Vashon Island, Washington, a place that exists at a latitude where daylight hours vary by about seven hours in the course of a year (and it also happens to have some of the most delicious oysters in the country).
Lucky for you, we have recently completed new testing on smart outdoor lighting, including path lighting, and we have a few options that should solve this issue for you.
