Light Bulbs for Dusk to Dawn
 

The lightbulb in the lamppost by our garage that used to turn on at duck and off at dawn needs to be replaced. Is there a special bulb we need to get? I don't know if the bulb has a sensor or there is a sensor / timer built into the lamppost by The Villages.

The lamppost has a light sensor on it. You just need a bulb or bulbs that fit into the socket. If you get LED bulbs, they should last many years.

The sensor is in the lamp post. The bulb is a standard bulb or newer led. Pull the old bulb to check what watt it is, probably 60.

The sensor is on the lampost. The bulbs use the smaller screw in plug called Candelabra bulbs, then you must decide if you want to save money on the bulbs and replace them every year or two, then get the incadescent bulbs. They're cheap, maybe a $1 a piece or less.

However, if you're like most of us, you want to only change the bulbs every five to seven years and you want to use much less electricity, then buy the LED bulbs. I used to use the curly LED bulbs and they were much brighter, but they've been done away with and now this is about all you can find. Go to Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart or order from Amazon.

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-phjr...798668.jpg?c=2

As mentioned above, try replacing your bulb with LED bulbs. If that doesn't fix the problem, change the sensor. Fifteen dollars at ACE Hardware. Have a handyman or electrician do it. If you turn off the breaker, it's a pretty easy 3 wire diy project.

The curly bulbs were most likely CFL’s.l

For those who want to know:

CFL means "compact fluorescent light" bulb.
LED means "light emitting diode" bulb.

Who knew it? Be honest.

Me. Although I would replace 'light' with 'lamp' for CFL (not a bulb).

We used a "bug" light CFL to reduce the small insects that were flying around and getting inside the lamp, it has been in for at least 3 years and seems to be working well (bugs are much less). I think I got this at ACE, as Lowe's was not around. Also, I have not found an LED equivalent 'bug' light, but will keep looking.

I put 3 of those CFL's in my lampost in 2011 and one is still going strong. The other 2 CFL's finally burned out and were replaced by LED's and those 2 LED's have since needed replacing. The CFL's were great and one puts out as much light as 3 of the LED's.

I just found they are still available online at lightbulbs.com, a 60 watt that uses only 13 watts and is only $3.29 apiece.

https://www.lightbulbs.com/catalog/p...cp/12778md.jpg

TCP 12778 - Twist (Candelabra Screw Base) Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb

Robbie, I will look at these, but these appear to be a real yellow light, the CFL I have is much more white than yellow and looks very similar to the typical white post lights. Note sure if i will get reported by a troll for having a yellow post light............

Here's a reference leaning towards LED with a warm color temperatureas a more attractive alternative.

Do LED Lights Attract Bugs? - Super Bright LEDs

"LED bug lights are simply light bulbs with a yellow coating that decreases the color temperature of emitted light. Because of the coating, bulbs will emit a peak wavelength of light that is around 550-600 nanometers.

However, yellow-coated bulbs aren’t the only lights that can reduce the presence of bugs. LED lights that emit warm-colored illumination, such as yellow strip lights, yellow malibu light bulbs for landscape applications, or gold-tint filament bulbs, are great for creating an area that is less likely to attract bugs."

hahahaha honestly I did ....but then again I can be a techy-nerd about some things. And having a hubby who worked for an electric utility in customer service helps!
Avoid CFLS .... they contain mercury and shouldn't be thrown in regular trash. We use LEDS everywhere but be aware, not all LED bulbs are dim-able. AND many old dimmer switches don't work with LEDs and your lights will flicker.

I replace these all the time, and I would suggest the following:

1) Check to make sure the bulb is not bad, or that an accumulation of bugs have affected the base of the bulb making contact with the electrical contact on the fixture. I see this frequently.

If the bulb is the culprit, any bulb can be used. LED or incandescent. Depending on the actual lamp on your post, the type of bulb base can be Medium (the same size you're probably familiar with that you would use in a lamp or light fixture in the house), or it could be the smaller base. It really depends on your individual lamp, and is easy to determine when you remove the old bulb. If you only have one bulb in your fixture, my guess is that you have a regular sized light bulb in it.

2) If a new bulb doesn't do the trick, its more than likely the post lamp dusk/dawn sensor. These are easy to replace. Typically when these sensor fails, the light will either not come on, or wont go off.

Hope this helps.