Timer light switch for LED bulbs

[mossman70]

Hi all,
I do apologise if this has been posted elsewhere but the one's I've seen don't fully cover my query and some are quite old so might be outdated.

I currently have 3 outside GU10 down-lights which turn on/off from a single 1 gang MK light switch inside the porch.

I'm just in the process of doing up the front yard and would like to use the lights for ambient lighting throughout the night which will also double as a security feature but rather than switching them on in the evening and off in the morning manually I would like this to be done via a timer switch (don't want a photocell) but its got to fit nicely onto the existing flush mounted single back box.

As I'm a tight a**e I use 3 GU10 3watt bulbs so my maximum output is 9watts and the timer switch I was looking at (Timeguard ZV700) only controls a minimum of 20watt (not 100% sure if it even controls LED bulbs??), I would like to keep the LED low wattage bulbs if they are going to be on all night for obvious energy saving reasons.

Do any of you fine folk know of anything that will help me solve my above dilemma??

Many thanks
Sean

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

You can't be such a tight arse, if you want your garden continuously lit up during the hours of darkness!

 

[mossman70]

You can't be such a tight a**e, if you want your garden continuously lit up during the hours of darkness!

I know what you mean but its only 9 watts so aint that bad??

Cheers
Sean

 

[TicklyT]

If both live and neutral are present at the switch, then an immersion heater timer, or a single channel heating programmer would do the job.

 

[mossman70]

If both live and neutral are present at the switch, then an immersion heater timer, or a single channel heating programmer would do the job.

Thanks for the reply TicklyT,
Can you recommend a cheap one that will do me for what I need and that will also fit onto a single gang back box?
Many thanks
Sean

 

[mossman70]

If both live and neutral are present at the switch, then an immersion heater timer, or a single channel heating programmer would do the job.

Would this work OK??

http://www.timeguard.com/products/t...1-24-hour-compact-immersion-heater-timeswitch

 

[mossman70]

Job sorted.....just an update for this thread, thanks for the info

 

[jasperzentai]

Hi a noob need some advise into timers

I am doing somewhat similar to this project. I am looking for a wall mounted timer switch to automatically power on/ off my 7W G24 LED bulb array

I noticed that some timer (especially programmable ones) all state a minimum power the switches can work (most need a minimum load of 22W), which is far less than the 7W load I am looking at

So which timers should I get? This thread uses an immersion heater timer. Can I assume all immersion heater timers (be it digital programmable or analog) should work? Or does all analog timers work in general for low watt loads?

 

[ericmark]

In the UK often there is no neutral to the light switch which is why the lighting controls need a minimum wattage but other countries use different methods. This should be posted in electrics outside UK. I have no idea of system used where you live.

 

[jasperzentai]

In the UK often there is no neutral to the light switch which is why the lighting controls need a minimum wattage but other countries use different methods. This should be posted in electrics outside UK. I have no idea of system used where you live.

We very much follows the UK standards over here in Singapore, hence I posted in this forum.

 

[viewer]

If you use a volts free type of timer where the actual switch part of the timer is mechanical you shouldn't have a problem as the load is switched just as if you had a switch on the wall. The timer needs its own power supply with L, N and often E to work. Immersion heaters, CH timers, plug-in timers and so on all work like this.