Your guide to Day Night Sensors and how they light up your world

At Brite Lighting & Electrical, we are all about joy and smiles, and love anything that has the potential to light up our customers’ lives! 

Since we stock a wide range of load shedding, lighting, electrical and solar essentials from leading brands, we fully understand what makes a good electrical product. 

Day night sensors are one of our fastest selling products and this article will explain everything you need to know about them. 

What are day night sensors?

Day night sensors are also called photocells and allow lights to automatically come on when the sensor detects a certain level of darkness. 

The fact that they automatically come on means that they are an excellent security tool. Instead of having to remember to turn on your essential lights when it gets dark, your day night light sensor automatically does it on your behalf. 

Day night sensors help improve your home’s security and offer benefits in many ways: 

• Give the impression that you’re home when you are out or on holiday
• Make it safer when arriving home late at night
• Give you one less thing to do during busy evenings when you need to turn the lights on
• Help you to save on electricity by not having lights on unnecessarily

Day night light sensors come in various sizes and amp ratings to suit your needs. 

For instance, you may need a powerful day night sensor to connect to your outside lighting as you will likely need it to illuminate a large area with many different lights consisting of different amperages.

How does a day night sensor work?

Day night sensors work by using resistance. They contain photo resistors that prevent the flow of electricity to the globe during the day when the conditions are light. This is what keeps the light off. 

When it starts to get dark, the resistors decrease their levels of resistance and allow the electrical current to flow once again. When this happens, the unit will automatically switch on. 

Some day night sensors are adjustable and allow you to choose at which level of darkness your light should turn on. There are also many brands available but Brite Lighting & Electrical only stocks the highest quality in the market from brands such as Waco, Luxn, and Olite. 

Can you add a day night sensor to any light?

Yes, you can fix your day night sensor light to any light fixture but you will need to ensure that the switch is turned on permanently. 

How to connect day night sensor

Your new day night sensor will likely come with a plastic bracket. You will need to connect the part containing the photocell to the plastic bracket, and the best way to do this is on a flat surface. 

If you want to connect a day night sensor to a lamp, you will need to connect it to the wires in the wall. These wires should consist of red, white and black wires. 

Most day night sensors come with a user manual in the box in case you get stuck or need specific advice about the particular model. If you cannot install it yourself, we suggest consulting a qualified electrician to install the product. 

Once you have connected your day night light sensors, you’ll want to know if it’s working properly or not. Below, we cover how to test if your day night sensor is working. 

How to test day night sensor

Testing your day night sensor is a good idea and should be done on a regular basis. Outdoor day night sensors, especially, are durable but can be prone to damage and wear and tear from sunlight exposure and rain. 

The last thing you would want is your day night sensor to stop working when you’re on holiday or arrive home late at night and feel vulnerable.

Testing your day night light sensor is an easy process and should be done when there is currently no load shedding or power outages. 

To test your day night sensor, you will need to ensure that the power is turned on. 

Your day night sensor should have come with a black plastic bag. Once you have located this black plastic bag, place it over the cover (which is normally white in colour). 

The bag should now be covering the unit’s photocell which is underneath the cover. This simulates dark conditions and allows you to test if your day night sensor is working or not. 

If your day night sensor is working correctly, the light should automatically turn on. 

Before you conduct your test, ensure that the unit has received plenty of natural light beforehand and that there have been no obstructions in front of the cover. You should also not have any swaying or moving objects in front of the sensor as this can interfere with the photocell’s processes. 

If you are looking for a good day night sensor, look no further than Brite Lighting & Electrical. 

We have a modern and spacious store on Great North Road at the Argus Center in Benoni. Our friendly and professional sales staff are always there if you have any questions or need any product recommendations. 

Alternatively, if you are far from the East Rand, you can conveniently shop online on our safe and secure platform. Visit our online store and browse our extensive collection of electrical and lighting items. 

We offer nationwide delivery and you can, therefore, shop for all your electrical and lighting essentials from the comfort of your couch!

Learn more: https://britelighting.co.za/blogs/news/7-factors-to-consider-when-buying-lighting