Pole light replace or repair
 

My sister's pole light is always on. Anyone have advice re easy to repair, or she should replace.

The cheapest and easiest fix is to buy a "dawn to dusk" bulb or bulbs. These bulbs have a built-in sensor to turn the bulb on and off automatically depending on whether it is night or day.

Another option, a WIFI color changable, schedule setable light bulb, like the Govee from Amazon for about $20

The sensor is shorted. The easiest fix is to buy a dawn to dusk bulb and install it. Or you can replace the sensor.

As long as pole got 120V replacing sensor waste of time IMO. As other said get photo sensor bulb about 3 bucks at Walmart that goes off during daylight.

Robot or human?

****

The sensor has probably failed, replacement sensors are under $10, and if you cannot do the replacement, I would guess a handyman could do this for around $20.
I have seen the automatic lights installed several times, I have ony seen these in standard size lamps, not the candelabra size

They do come in candelabra size. Lots of choices. Here is one:

Amazon.com

Does she want it on at all? If not, just take the bulb out.

The original use - to light your house number for emergency services - is now redundant with GPS

In my opinion, the lamppost lights are very helpful to light up the neighborhood for security purposes. Every house on my street has a lamppost light.

hire a handyman to change out the sensor

Not a chance a handyman would do a photocell replacement for $20 . You actually have to take the light off the top of the post to get to the photocell

Replace the photo eye at the top of the pole. Very easy to do.

Sometimes. But, if the house is 30 years old and the electrical system has been changed so many times that you cannot find the lamppost circuit, and all of the lamppost parts that need to be disassembled, including the screws, the collar on top of the pole, and the bushing that holds the sensor onto the pole, are rusted or otherwise stuck together, it may not be very easy to do. Replacing the light bulb is easy to do, and it accomplishes the same result. I know from experience.

Another vote for a dawn to dusk bulb replacement .

Not mine, the photo cell was 4 inches down from top and wires wasn’t long enough to pull cell out which made it very difficult. After year so the new one quit working. That when I just screwed in photo cell light bulb. Photo cells are junk IMO. Not worth hassle or to pay someone to replace it. It will just go bad again.

The dusk to Dawn photosensor is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced. Simple job.

Not
 

a handy man will charge $60, the going hourly rate

$60 for labor and $16 for the sensor ( Ace Hardware price) = $76
Buy the Dusk to Dawn bulb .....

Most likely a dirty photo Eye or defective one. First step is clean the photo eye with mild soapy water. If light goes off after a while you have solved the problem. If it does not go out, the next most probable issue is a defective photo eye that needs replacement. If you can work electrical things then the easy step is to remove eye and get a new one that looks just like yours. This means you have to remove old one and take to any hardware store and get one the same size as the one you have, reinstall and the problem should be fixed.

Pole light
 

I called SECO and it was fixed the next day.

FYI most neighborhoods, especially villa neighborhoods, require the yard light to be in working condition to provide security lighting. This is a Villages rule.

I removed my bulb two years ago, having first checked with VCDD, who said:

"You are correct in that each lot must have a lamppost but nothing in the Deed Restrictions mandate that it must be lit. You are free to not have your lamppost lit if that is your preference."

These are only 5 watts.

Agree. We paid $75.

I have a lamppost with 3 candelabra bulbs. I use 3 led, 2.5 watt bulbs, which are each equivalent to 25 watt incandescent bulbs. These provide more than enough lumens to lighten up my yard. So, these 5 watt bulbs are actually more than enough, or even too many lumens to provide adequate light for a yard light. Led bulbs provide way more lumens with lower wattage than incandescent bulbs.

Note that the wattage of the bulb has nothing to do with the amount of light produced. The real measure of lighting is the lumens. Led bulbs produce way more lumens per watt than incandescent bulbs.