How to Install a Landscape Lighting Timer
Lights add a whole new dimension to your landscape. In the past, people had to remember to turn off these lights. Of course, sometimes the lights would be left on all day or left off during the night hours. The pattern of the lights made it easy for others to see when the homeowner was on vacation. A landscape lighting timer can make it easy to control when the lights come on, when they go off and how late into the night they burn. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Determine how much control you want over the landscape lighting. You can install timers that allow you to set hours of operation, length of operation, automatic adjustment for daylight savings time, synchronized operation of multiple transformers and more.
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Decide if you would rather have in-home control of the landscape lighting timer or have to go outside to make adjustments to the timer.
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Install the control unit for the system either indoors or outdoors, depending on the unit purchased.
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Attach the landscape lighting transformers to the control unit. For some systems, you will need to run wires from the transformers to the timer unit. Other systems allow you to simply plug the transformer(s) into an adapter that then plugs into the wall outlet. The adapter communicates with the control unit via the home's existing electrical wiring system.
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Set the timer using the control interface to turn the lights on and off at your desired times or after being on for a certain number of hours. Each brand of landscape lighting timer has its own unique user interface for setting timer options.
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Tips & Warnings
If you don't want to bother yourself with start times and stop times, you can simply install landscape lighting with a photo cell to cause lights to come on at dusk and turn off at dawn.
Many newer models of transformers for low-voltage wired lighting systems come with built-in timers. Consider purchasing an additional timer if you have multiple transformers or the transformers are hidden in your bushes.
Some lighting timers require no tools to install and can be up and running within 10 or 15 minutes of opening the package.
Double-check to make sure the timer unit you plan to purchase will work with the number of transformers in your lighting system. You don't want to start running wires only to find out your timer won't work with your system.
