Internet Access in Building

[woody1]

...one of the lights is mounted in the ceiling so the plug itself is in darkness 24/7 and is very difficult to access.

Unless we're talking pitch black during the day, a dusk-to-dawn switch may still work.

We currently have them running off mechanical timers but these are crudely set to turn on at 5pm throughout the year which seems a waste just now.

Are they incandescent? If so, replacing them with LEDs would save energy, even if you left them on 24/7, and they should also have a much longer life.

Can't you just replace the mechanical timers with plug-in dusk-to-dawn switches?

[WTFH]

We currently have them running off mechanical timers but these are crudely set to turn on at 5pm throughout the year which seems a waste just now.

OK, so it the issue that you don't want to have to adjust a timer because that takes 30 seconds of effort?
I provided a couple of links above to other sensor/timers, but you can also get smart plugs that you configure using bluetooth:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0929GGT...eniuslink=true

[mrdo]

Thanks again.

Unless we're talking pitch black during the day, a dusk-to-dawn switch may still work.

Unfortunately, this is the case for one of the lights as there is no light whatsoever above the ceiling.

OK, so it the issue that you don't want to have to adjust a timer because that takes 30 seconds of effort?

As above, the light (and plug) are mounted in the ceiling which is very difficult to access. It's a 3-man job to get there otherwise I'd just suck it up and change the timer once a week or something like that.

@ WTFH - that could well be what I'm looking for! I will investigate further but thanks for posting - much appreciated.

[woody1]

The lights themselves are powered by standard plugs via extension leads (both in different parts of the lobby so not connected) but one of the lights is mounted in the ceiling so the plug itself is in darkness 24/7 and is very difficult to access.

Presumably the other end of the extension lead isn't accessible, so you can't install the mechanical timer on that end?

Just thinking outside the box. Could you find a way of dangling a dusk-to-dawn sensor from the ceiling so it is in some daylight? Or have a (magnifying) mirror reflecting some daylight back up to the sensor?

[mrdo]

Just thinking outside the box. Could you find a way of dangling a dusk-to-dawn sensor from the ceiling so it is in some daylight? Or have a (magnifying) mirror reflecting some daylight back up to the sensor?

That is literally thinking outside of the box. I hadn't paid much attention to where the extension lead originated from so I might investigate that.

Having investigated the link that WTFH posted, tech support at Eve Home confirmed that the features/plug is iOS only so I have now discounted that which is a shame.
Now investigating smart plugs flashed with Tasmota such at this:

https://www.mylocalbytes.com/products/smart-plug-pm

Someone has even created a timezone command helper:

https://tasmotatimezone.com/

Thanks for all your help so far - much appreciated.

[woody1]

Having something like this hanging from the ceiling might do the job. With a bit of fettling, it could be wired into the 3-pin plug connected to the light.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/315131919134