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Photoelectric Light Controls

Is there a photoelectric light control such as you might use for outdoor lighting that cleanly turns power on and off. I have one that seems to use some sort of triac circuit like a light dimmer. It turns on and off gradually. If you put your finger over the photocell in daylight you can make the light come on to varying degrees of brightness by varying the daylight on the cell. The sort of weird waveform this sort of phase control puts out is unsuitable for most compact fluorescent bulbs. So I need to get one that has a pure on/off output.

I was thinking of adding a relay between the control and the light socket. That would make the switching clean but there's always the possibility that it will chatter on and off at dusk or dawn. So another possibility is to use a junk AC adaptor with a DC output switching a relay with a low voltage coil. A capacitor on it would iron out any chatter.

But presumably there's already something available that is suitable.

Reply to
Steve Kraus
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Steve,

The type of photo control you need is available. I was in the same situation installing CFL fixtures outside the last two houses I've owned. What you need to do is look at the controls themselves, which may require opening the package in the store, to read the "fine print" specs on the controller itself. What you're looking for is wattage/current ratings listed for both incandescent and Ballast loads. If it has a Ballast rating, it's suitable for switching fixtures with ballasts, such as flourescent, sodium, mercury vapor, etc. These controllers have relays in them. You can hear it click when it turns on or off.

The ones I've used were made by Area Lighting Research, but the outside package/box could have various brand names, but the controllers themselves have the ALR brand. I got mine at the large home-improvement warehouse type stores, so it shouldn't be hard to find. They are a bit larger and cost a couple bucks more than the triac-type "incandescent only" ones but will work with any kind of load within its current/wattage limits.

Mike WB2ME

Reply to
WB2MEP

Steve,

The type of photo control you need is available. I was in the same situation installing CFL fixtures outside the last two houses I've owned. What you need to do is look at the controls themselves, which may require opening the package in the store, to read the "fine print" specs on the controller itself. What you're looking for is wattage/current ratings listed for both incandescent and Ballast loads. If it has a Ballast rating, it's suitable for switching fixtures with ballasts, such as flourescent, sodium, mercury vapor, etc. These controllers have relays in them. You can hear it click when it turns on or off.

The ones I've used were made by Area Lighting Research, but the outside package/box could have various brand names, but the controllers themselves have the ALR brand. I got mine at the large home-improvement warehouse type stores, so it shouldn't be hard to find. They are a bit larger and cost a couple bucks more than the triac-type "incandescent only" ones but will work with any kind of load within its current/wattage limits.

Mike WB2ME

Reply to
WB2MEP

I installed a couple of photo controls on the lights in my back yard about 6 years ago, and have been using them with Philips Universal CFLs with no problems. I just checked and the ones I have are dated 6/97 and made by "Home Equipment Mfg. Co", model SW-103CT. They do have a ballast rating noted on them. Another characteristic (noted on the housing) is that they don't work immediately - even if you cover the photocell with black electrical tape, it takes half a minute or so for the light to come on, and when it does, it comes on full brightness. The housing is a cylinder about 1" diameter and 4" long, with a swivel and threaded fitting at one end.

I got mine from All Electronics, mostly because I was ordering some other stuff and they had them for $4 where the hardware store wanted $8. They are currently selling an "SW-103" photo control (their catalog number PC-5) that doesn't look exactly like the ones I have, but it does have a ballast rating, so it might do what you want.

Standard disclaimers apply; I don't get money from any of the companies mentioned.

Matt Roberds

Reply to
mroberds

use

that

voltage

There's all sorts of solutions available. The only screw in one I've found to be worth anything is the microcontroller type, I picked one up at Home Depot but you can probably get them other places. It allows you to program the amount of time the light will be on for once triggered by darkness from

1 to 16 hours so it's immune to the light produced by the lamp once triggered and works great.

Another option is to get a standard hardwired photocontrol and mount it remotely on a junction box but that's a lot more work.

Reply to
James Sweet

What's there now is a hardwired type mounted on the same plate as two floods. One flood is photo, the other switched. So I would expect a solution to mount the same way; it need not screw in.

Reply to
Steve Kraus

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