Honeywell Home RPLS730B1000 7-Day Programmable Light Switch Timer, White

This thing is really cool. I wanted something that I could use to put my porch light on a timer with a CFL bulb, and this works perfectly.Some other available products (light sensors and other timers, including a Honeywell timer similar to this one) only work with incandescent bulbs, which defeats the purpose of putting lights on a timer to save energy. I could leave my 26-watt CFL (100w equivalent) on all day and still use less electricity than a 100-watt incandescent on an 8-hour timer.With this model, you can program either a single on/off cycle to repeat every day, or up to 7 separate on/off cycles for each individual day of the week. I think you can also set an every-day cycle and combine it with 6 additional day-specific cycles if you choose. The cover for the programming buttons also functions as the manual on/off button, and using it does not interfere with your programs.There is another model that works with CFLs -and- can be set to vary its on/off times to match your local daylight calendar (Honeywell Econoswitch RPLS740B 7-Day Solar Time Table Programmable Switch) but for the extra cost, I didn't need that feature.I had some trouble figuring out that you have to slide a toggle under the button cover to "ON" before the switch itself will work AT ALL. I thought that was a bit confusing in the instructions, so now you'll know. Programming is not very difficult but it took me a few tries to figure it out. When you are finished programming, just close the cover and press it once (as if you're turning the light on) to exit programming mode.To use this timer, you need to have a light switch where the power enters at the switch rather than at the light fixture. That's because the timer itself needs to have electricity constantly, in order to operate while the light is turned off. If your power enters at the light fixture instead, shutting off the light would also kill the power to the timer. Most houses are wired the correct way, which typically means at least 1 pair of black/white wires entering the switch box. If instead there is no white wire (i.e. neutral) at the switch, only two black wires or a black and a red, you won't be able to use this timer. (Note: There is no safety concern if your switch box doesn't contain a white neutral wire - it's just an antiquated wiring practice).As a side note, this switch has some sort of capacitor inside that saves your programs during power outages. It isn't a battery, so you would never need to replace it. It has worked fine through a couple of brief outages so far.Edit: Lost power for over a week from some nasty storms this summer (July 2012), but the timer remembered all of my programs and the clock was still correct. Awesome!

These timers are easy to install and work perfectly. I installed them on all of my outdoor lights, so I never have to worry about turning lights on/off. The timers are easy to adjust. I have an on/off program for each season, so the lights are only on in hours of darkness, and I don't waste energy.

Easy to program and easy to read good quality LCD screen

I have two of these, the first installed more than 2 months ago. These control my front porch light, and my garage lights. Some notes for people considering these:The pros:- this will fit in a standard gang box (some alternatives I looked at were so large they would not have fit). I fit this in a 2 gang and a three gang box, with decora rockers. A bit of a push, but doable.- they work with any light, including the cfls- they can operate as a standard, if but expensive, regular switch- they are actually remarkably easy to program, despite being small (but see a con below about the LCD)- you can program like 9 programs. Each program is an "on - off" sequence. So for me, it takes two programs to turn the lights on in the AM, before we go to work, and then turn them off, then turn them back on, in the PM, before we get home, and then turn the off after we go to bed. I have no idea why you would need 9 programs, but there you have it.The cons:- as others have noted this requires a neutral wire. So, for example, you cannot install this in a loop that is past the light itself where just hot wires come into the box.- as a result of the observation above, installation is not simple for non electricians like me. My home has somewhat complex wiring (red wires, white, black, some hot and wired on outlets, some outlets wired for switches etc.). The instructions warn about wiring this hot, but I had no choice. I could not determine which wire was neutral and running up and down to shut the power off got old. It did not seem to affect the unit (wiring it hot).- the three wires that come out of the unit are silver strand, not solid - I think 16 gauge. This means you have to use twist caps to get the connection. In one case (the 3 gang box) I had like 4 or 5 white wires to connect with this - which was a mess and hard, and if the strands are loose, the connection will not work.- the LCD panel is not backlit. Most switches are about 4 ft high. I had to use a flashlight and bend down to see the LCD . . . so reprogramming them for me requires a flashlight so I can see the LCD. This in fact is why it does not get 5 stars.- the switch for manual on off is a click switch on little square pins, so the cover of the switch feels a little "dangly" when you push it to turn lights on or off manually. Therefore, sometimes you cannot tell if it "clicked." This cover does however cover over the programming buttons, so it is nice for that.You would think with this many cons this would not be 4 stars, however, they are relatively minor quibbles. Once they are set up, these seem to work well. I do not know about long term reliability.- mike