Skip to main content

HappySprout may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

The best outdoor light timers to manage your property lighting

Don’t feel like you need to brave harsh weather or risk electrocution to turn your outdoor lights on and off. Remote controls and smart apps help you control your outdoor lighting from inside. Timers are weatherproof and stay strong in harsh climates.

You may love the look of outdoor and seasonal lights on your home, but you don’t love the installation and maintenance process. These lighting products enable you to set up times for the lights to turn on and off at dusk or dawn or the time intervals you want. Some options include remote controls, and others come apps so you can manage your lights without moving.

Dewebwils Outdoor Light Sensor Timer

Best Overall

The dual 3-prong outlet and remote control help you manage lighting your outdoor devices at the times you want. You can set them to go on or off at dusk to dawn or after intervals of two, four, six, or eight hours. The wireless remote control helps you turn your lights off and on from anywhere in your house to outside. You can plug two appliances into the timer at the same time; for example, if you want Christmas and holiday lights to shine. The sensor timer is weatherproof with a heavy-duty and durable design to protect your systems inside and outside. It comes with an extension cord and battery for the remote control.

BN-Link Outdoor Timer

Best Remote Controlled

This outdoor lighting timer has photocell sensing technologies to turn your lights on and off automatically. It remains waterproof as long as you use it at least 2 feet off the ground. It comes with three grounded outlets so you can install three sets of lights at once.

Choose when you want your lights to turn on and off at the time intervals you want—whether it's 2-hour, 4-hour, 6-hour, or 8-hour intervals, at dusk or dawn. Use the remote control to control the timer. The remote can operate up to 100 feet, so you don't have to go outside in bad weather to manage your lighting preferences.

Tonbux Outdoor Smart Plug

Best Multi-socket

This 3-outlet Smart WiFi Outdoor Plug helps you manage your outdoor lights without moving an inch. It comes in IP44 housing material to withstand debris and water—just don't immerse the case. The Tonbux outdoor smart plug can be controlled using voice commands via Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Download the Smart Life App and use the app to set timers when you want to turn your lights on and off. This Smart Plug can work with iOS and Android devices, but can only support 2.4GH WiFi.

Vavofo Outdoor Smart Plug

Best Smart

Use this Smart Plug to switch your outdoor electrical devices on and off by downloading the Smart Life app on your smartphone. The Smart App helps you schedule each device connected to the VAVOFO Smart Outdoor Plug to turn on and off at times, you decide. The plug itself works with a secured 2.4 GHz WiFi network with a range of up to 300 feet. Use voice commands with Alexa and Google Assistant for convenient control. The outdoor plug has an IP64 rating to protect your device from outer dirt and water.

These outdoor light sensors ease the burden of deciding when and how you want to light certain areas of your property. To activate them, all you need to do is a flick of your wrist on a remote, a finger swipe on an app, or a voice command. Now you can put away that ladder!

A guide to growing rosemary indoors from seed to spice up your dishes
Tips for a delicious rosemary harvest
Potted rosemary plants on a table

Many herbs can grow indoors under the right conditions. Rosemary belongs to this lot. The easiest way to do it is to purchase existing seedlings and repot them at home, leaving them with room to grow. Because of that, many people don’t readily know how to grow rosemary from seed — at least indoors and in a way that will help the plant thrive.

Some of the most important questions to keep in mind when growing rosemary indoors from seed are: What kind of soil does rosemary like? How do I care for my indoor rosemary? By answering those queries, we’ll help you grow successful rosemary plants.

Read more
Plants don’t have to be difficult to propagate — these are the easiest to start
The easiest propagation methods for beginners
Mother of thousands plant with plantlets

Propagating plants is one of the easiest ways to get new plants for your garden. You can propagate a plant you already have, or exchange plant cuttings with friends and neighbors to get new plants. Depending on where you live, you might even be allowed to take cuttings from local public areas. There are a variety of ways to propagate plants, too! Although turning one plant into two can seem daunting, there are actually many beginner-friendly propagation methods and plants. So if you’re curious about propagation and are looking for easy plants to propagate, here is what you need to know.

Select the plant you want to propagate
Before you can propagate a plant, you need to have a plant to propagate from. Here’s what to look for when selecting the plant itself.

Read more
How to propagate dracaenas from cuttings
Make more dracaena plants to share with fellow foliage lovers
Close up of dark and light green dracaena leaves

The dracaena is an interesting plant with many unique varieties. It can be either a tree or a shrub, and it comes in several different shades of green, plus a few shades of red. This easy-to-care-for tropical plant is a big hit for both indoor and outdoor gardens. If you already have one, you might even be itching for a second or third dracaena. Of course, you can get an entirely separate dracaena plant, but you can also propagate your own dracaena at home. Not sure how to get started? We’ll help you out with this step-by-step guide on how to propagate dracaenas from cuttings.

Why and when should you propagate dracaenas?
The why is easy to answer: Because it’s a great way to get more dracaenas! Propagation works by cloning the parent plant, often, but not always, through a cutting. The cutting grows into a second, separate plant that is genetically identical to the parent plant. This means that you have a second plant of the same type, to plant, give away, or propagate further as you wish.

Read more