The Best Outdoor Light Timer: It's a Must-Have!

I’m sharing the BEST outdoor light timer that automatically turns your outdoor lights on at night and off in the morning!

Looking for an outdoor light timer that automatically turns your lights on and off for you? We installed this timer on our outdoor lights several years ago and have been SO happy with it so today I’m sharing the details of our timer with you! (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})

Why Have an Outdoor Light Timer?

There are several reasons why we love having an outdoor light timer. For one, keeping a few outdoor lights on at night is great for security. We have teenage daughters who are coming and going at night and it gives me peace of mind knowing that they’ll never be getting out of their cars in our driveway in the pitch black since our porch lights and driveway light will be on. And when we’re gone on vacation, it’s an awesome security feature to have your lights go on automatically at night so it looks like someone’s home. There is even a random setting that you can use while on vacation so that the lights go on and off at random times.

Another reason we love having an outdoor light timer is that we have a Nest video doorbell and a Nest driveway camera (you can read more about our Nest system {here}) and keeping a few lights on gives much better resolution of the video they capture. Also, our outdoor light timer also saves us money! Before we got our outdoor light timer we would often forget to turn the outdoor lights off in the morning so they’d stay on around the clock several days a week.

Why I Chose This Particular Outdoor Timer

After heavily researching outdoor light timers, the one that we installed is the Honeywell Programmable Light Switch Timer found {HERE} – if it’s out of stock the other timer I found with the same great features is {THIS ONE}. The reasons that these are the best are that (1) they have excellent reviews on Amazon, (2) they’re compatible with LED bulbs (which is what we use for our outdoor lighting since they’re energy efficient), (3) they have a backlit display so you can see it at night, and (4) they have a sunrise/sunset feature that automatically turns the lights on and off at the correct time, even automatically adjusting for daylight savings so you can set it and then forget it!

The timer be placed on almost any single pole switch that has a neutral wire. It comes with detailed installation instructions and was simple for us to install on our own but as with anything electrical, hire an electrician if you aren’t 100% comfortable with doing it yourself.

Can You Use it for Indoor Lights Too?

Yes! While we use our timer for our outdoor lights, it can instead be used on indoor lights, ceiling fans, pool pumps, or other devices.

Don’t Forget the Switch Plate!

When you purchase this outdoor light timer, unless you are replacing a “Decora” (large, rectangular, toggle) light switch you’ll also need to add a new switch plate to your shopping cart since the timer doesn’t come with one. If your swapping it out where there’s a single switch, {this switch plate} that we added to ours will do the trick. If you’re swapping it out for a switch where there is a second non-Decora wall switch next to it, you’ll need to add {this 2-gang switch plate} to your shopping cart.

What If I Just Want a Plug-In Outdoor Light Timer for Something Like Christmas Lights?

If you’re looking to put Christmas lights or string lights on an outdoor timer, I recommend {this outdoor light timer}. I love it because it’s SUPER easy to use with a dawn to dusk sensor or you can use the countdown timer to have your lights turn on at dusk and then turn off automatically after 2, 4, 6, or 8 hours which is ideal for Christmas lights. But what I love most about it is that it has a remote control that can be used from inside too! You simply plug the timer into an outdoor outlet, plug your lights into the timer, and then set it to your preferences.