So I think I’ve been under a rock or something, assuming that it was going to require an afternoon of disassembling and figuring things out in order to make our front porch light turn on by itself when it gets dark. You see, because it gets dark so early, I’ve been leaving our porch light on all day so it’s on when we get home from work. Talk about wasting energy!
our little light, pre-upgrade
“Upgrading the porch light” has been on my to-do list for quite some time, but I just never took the time to research exactly what we’d need to do.
So on Friday night when I was at Home Depot (I know, what a romantic Friday night, ooh la la), I walked past the outdoor light section and thought I’d take a look. And then I was amazed. Is it really this easy? And cheap?
a whopping $7.97
It’s really that easy. And cheap. A $7.97 simple screw-in attachment that turns the light on when it’s dusk, and off at dawn. Genius. (In case you’re doing your own research, this little device is called a “photocell light control/sensor”…I kept googling “light off at dusk attachment” and eventually improved my vocab and knowledge once I found it at Home Depot!)
So I unscrewed the light bulb from the porch light and took the attachment out of its packaging…
the screw-in piece & a bug-covered bulb (ew!)
…then screwed the light bulb into the attachment…
...5 seconds later...
…and then screwed it back into the porch light…
i can't believe how easy this was
easy peasey
…and, voila! A more energy conscious and upgraded porch light! The bulb just hangs down about an inch lower than before, but still looks great!
all done!
{I suppose I could have cleaned up the fixture from bugs and whatnot before taking pics, but whatever!}
So there you have it folks, a 30-second porch light upgrade, saving us money and making it so we never have to remember to turn on or off the porch light ever again. 
I can’t wait to see how it works!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Leila! You clever girl! My boyfriend installed those on our yard lights too and I never knew how he did it (I thought it was a miracle) until I changed the bulb one day. Tada! Little aparatus.
Thanks for the tutorial – very useful for anyone who doesn’t know the secret!!
xo Terri
What a great invention! its kinda like the clapper but cooler
I’ve been nagging the hubs about getting one of these. Glad to hear it’s so easy to do!
we got one of those too!! (but ours didn’t work same thing.. need to go talk to husband to see why.
such simple things make life better, huh?!
xoxo
I love your blog. Thanks for the tip, these were installed today on our front and garage lights. Although, it made me realize we are due for some new…non builder grade brass….outdoor lighting.