# Wireless photocell



## NoBot (Oct 12, 2019)

You could install Lutron Caseda switches and let them run dusk to dawn, OR
Leviton sells a 24 hour Astronomical Timer. You would need one for each switch


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

Lots of options if you're willing to do WiFi or smart home.

My house is all smart via Alexa and I dont even need a photocell-- the app determines dusk and dawn every day and switches accordingly


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

Caseta switches can work together with mechanical switches, I would think you could do this with the photocell wired in the same way as a regular mechanical switch. 

I am going from memory but Caseta may only work with mechanical three way switches, if that's the case, I guess you could wire in the photocell to operate a flip-flop relay in place of the three way switch. 

In fact I guess you could put a four way mechanical switch in between the flip flop and the caseta as a manual switch to operate the lights by hand. That way the homeowner doesn't even have to deal with the Caseta at all if they don't want to.


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## CMP (Oct 30, 2019)

I'm old school, I would use a photocell to switch a relay, and run your lighting circuits through the relay.

Add a timer or motion sensor to the control loop if so desired.


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## caldridge (May 29, 2017)

Apologies for the late reply, thank you all for the insight however, there are no switches controlling these nightlights. They are pulled off of outlets close to them which may not be the best way to do it. It was all done in a log cabin remodel which is hard enough now I'm trying to make a miracle happen. They make photo cell nightlights, however home owner want all to match and have metal plates... Kinda feel up a creek.


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## Almost Retired (Sep 14, 2021)

caldridge said:


> Apologies for the late reply, thank you all for the insight however, there are no switches controlling these nightlights. They are pulled off of outlets close to them which may not be the best way to do it. It was all done in a log cabin remodel which is hard enough now I'm trying to make a miracle happen. They make photo cell nightlights, however home owner want all to match and have metal plates... Kinda feel up a creek.


when it comes to light fixtures, I Always tell HO,
You buy them
I will advise on lumens etc, but not the look pretty part

no doubt you have considered multiple photo cells, one per light, and a short ways away from the fixture to avoid the appearance problem


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## caldridge (May 29, 2017)

Almost Retired said:


> when it comes to light fixtures, I Always tell HO,
> You buy them
> I will advise on lumens etc, but not the look pretty part
> 
> no doubt you have considered multiple photo cells, one per light, and a short ways away from the fixture to avoid the appearance problem


I have thought about and discussed with the home owner the different options. He is very particular about the way his house looks though. My best option as far as I can tell is doing the legrand step light with built in photo cell, then swapping the plate for a nicor step light plate. From there just hope there is some good functionality.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

caldridge said:


> Apologies for the late reply, thank you all for the insight however, there are no switches controlling these nightlights. They are pulled off of outlets close to them which may not be the best way to do it. It was all done in a log cabin remodel which is hard enough now I'm trying to make a miracle happen. They make photo cell nightlights, however home owner want all to match and have metal plates... Kinda feel up a creek.


Are they LED? If so, why not suggest they just stay on? LED night lights use less current than a phone charger. Hell, they use less current than most photocells.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

caldridge said:


> I have thought about and discussed with the home owner the different options. He is very particular about the way his house looks though. My best option as far as I can tell is doing the legrand step light with built in photo cell, then swapping the plate for a nicor step light plate. From there just hope there is some good functionality.


Will they all come on at the same time with the built in photo cell?


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

Almost Retired said:


> no doubt you have considered multiple photo cells, one per light, and a short ways away from the fixture to avoid the appearance problem


I like this idea, but one per string is all you need, it could be at the end of the line. I am sure there are photocells that look nice. 

On the other hand, for what they cost, two GPS Lightlocks in the basement - one for each side - would come on within milliseconds of each other. Yep, I think that's the answer. 

GPS Timers Home (gpslightlock.com)

The owner of the GPS Lightlock company is a contributing member and moderator here.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

dspiffy said:


> My house is all smart via Alexa….


Does it ever bother you to know that the CIA, the Russians and Kim Jong Un are all listening to your every word?


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## Almost Retired (Sep 14, 2021)

MHElectric said:


> Does it ever bother you to know that the CIA, the Russians and Kim Jong Un are all listening to your every word?


a better question is do they really care what he has to say?
sure they listen, have any of us said anything worth anything to them?


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## Almost Retired (Sep 14, 2021)

Almost Retired said:


> a better question is do they really care what he has to say?
> sure they listen, have any of us said anything worth anything to them?


there is so much info out there that you have to target someone to cut through all the noise


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

Almost Retired said:


> a better question is do they really care what he has to say?
> sure they listen, have any of us said anything worth anything to them?


Even if I dont have anything of importance to say, I still don’t like it.

Complete Invasion of privacy.


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## Almost Retired (Sep 14, 2021)

MHElectric said:


> Even if I dont have anything of importance to say, I still don’t like it.
> 
> Complete Invasion of privacy.


i dont either just to be clear

but im not sure what can be done about it
i dont have alexa etc.
but im not going old school just to avoid the possibility


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

MHElectric said:


> Does it ever bother you to know that the CIA, the Russians and Kim Jong Un are all listening to your every word?


I really dont think they are. There's absolutely nothing of interest to them being said at my house, it would be a complete waste of their time.

And if they really wanted to, I have a laptop with a webcam and a smart phone. I'm on the grid.


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## caldridge (May 29, 2017)

splatz said:


> I like this idea, but one per string is all you need, it could be at the end of the line. I am sure there are photocells that look nice.
> 
> On the other hand, for what they cost, two GPS Lightlocks in the basement - one for each side - would come on within milliseconds of each other. Yep, I think that's the answer.
> 
> ...


would this work if there are 3 different locations pulled from 3 different outlets?


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

dspiffy said:


> I really dont think they are. There's absolutely nothing of interest to them being said at my house, it would be a complete waste of their time.
> 
> And if they really wanted to, I have a laptop with a webcam and a smart phone. I'm on the grid.


Yeah, I get it. Most of us are not involved in international espionage or criminal activities, so in all honesty, they really don’t care about what we are doing.

But this is the beginning offense for a completely invasive government where your rights as humans no longer exist. It’s just early on in the game. There not going to go from the “Land of the free and the home of the brave” to complete invasion/control of all human rights in a few days. More like a few generations. My kids are a lot different than I was as a kid. My parents were much different when they were kids. This is where the game is played.

I don’t think I want see where things are in a decade or two.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

BTW - I just completely derailed this thread with my nonsense! Sorry about that.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

caldridge said:


> would this work if there are 3 different locations pulled from 3 different outlets?


Yes, but you'd need three.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

MHElectric said:


> Yeah, I get it. Most of us are not involved in international espionage or criminal activities, so in all honesty, they really don’t care about what we are doing.
> 
> But this is the beginning offense for a completely invasive government where your rights as humans no longer exist. It’s just early on in the game. There not going to go from the “Land of the free and the home of the brave” to complete invasion/control of all human rights in a few days. More like a few generations. My kids are a lot different than I was as a kid. My parents were much different when they were kids. This is where the game is played.
> 
> I don’t think I want see where things are in a decade or two.


Serious question: What does Amazon Alexa/Echo have to do with the government? Or, for that matter, your rights?


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

dspiffy said:


> Serious question: What does Amazon Alexa/Echo have to do with the government? Or, for that matter, your rights?


I believe it’s just a platform that has interest to the government due to it’s technology. Very similar to Facebook and some other things out there.

Someone Invents something that sells. The government sees that it has potential for “homeland security” (!!!!!!!??????!!!!!!). And some type of negotiations are made in a discrete format.

On a scale of 1-10 of conspiracy theories and whatnot this lands at about a 1.7 Facebook and other companies have confirmed on multiple accounts that some of their software has been shared with government agencies.

The real question is how much and who are they targeting. But that’s a topic that probably would just go down a deep rabbit hole and I doubt anybody on this site has even the slightest idea. It would be all speculation.


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## Greg Sparkovich (Sep 15, 2007)

dspiffy said:


> Lots of options if you're willing to do WiFi or smart home.
> 
> My house is all smart via Alexa and I dont even need a photocell-- the app determines dusk and dawn every day and switches accordingly


Does Alexa act as it's own hub and if so what kind of switch(es) do you use? I have an elderly customer that I absolutely love ...she has a light under her porch roof that is controlled by a timer which she can no longer reset. I think her porch roof is hollow and I could shoot a cable through to the side to mount a photocell, but an Alexa routine would certainly be easier...
I'm just getting into smart devices, so talk to me like I'm stupider than you think.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

Greg Sparkovich said:


> Does Alexa act as it's own hub and if so what kind of switch(es) do you use? I have an elderly customer that I absolutely love ...she has a light under her porch roof that is controlled by a timer which she can no longer reset. I think her porch roof is hollow and I could shoot a cable through to the side to mount a photocell, but an Alexa routine would certainly be easier...
> I'm just getting into smart devices, so talk to me like I'm stupider than you think.


Yes, with Alexa devices you do not need a hub unless specified, which is why I went that route.

The downside is when the internet goes down, the lights are stuck on or stuck off until it goes back up.


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## Greg Sparkovich (Sep 15, 2007)

Interesting, I wonder what kind of switches you have? 
I have GE envision switches and I'm pretty sure that they work as manual switches that I can dim from both locations since they are both hardwired and connected to a hub.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

Greg Sparkovich said:


> Interesting, I wonder what kind of switches you have?
> I have GE envision switches and I'm pretty sure that they work as manual switches that I can dim from both locations since they are both hardwired and connected to a hub.


Leviton have the option. Treatlife is the other brand I use frequently and they do not have the option, but they come on right away.


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## Kevin (Feb 14, 2017)

I think you're on the right track. You're after a wireless photocell, well how about a sun-less photocell? 

The GPSlightlocks should be able to be programmed to come on at nearly identical times...


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