YCA1030 Dusk to Dawn Sensor, Hard-Wired Post Eye Photocell Sensor for Outdoor Lights, Automatic Light Control Switch, UL Listed

Easy to install. Comes with wiring instructions.

Good quality.

Works perfectly. Very easy install. Small profile. Great price point.

I used this photocell to turn on automatically the lights in front of my garage, I don't have street light nearby and I wanted a little more protection. It works perfectly, no problems. IMPORTANT: while it's easy to install following the instructions, initially it seemed to be not working correctly, the light was turning on, then off after a few seconds, then on again in a minute or so, the off... in a continuous loop. I thought that the sensor was defective, but just before returning it I realized that in order to make it less visible I installed it at the back of the fixture, directed towards the wall. So what was happening is that it was turning the light on, then it was seeing the reflection of its on light very close and was shutting down power, and on again. I just had to turn the sensor outside and everything now works perfectly...

Most photocells, Amazon, retail, and otherwise, use Cadmium-Sulfide based LDRs (light dependent resistor) which have been around for decades. These are easily identifiable by the brown/red squiggly object inside the lens. Unfortunately over time these are prone to drift, meaning their light sensitivity weakens to the point where the light stays on longer than it should and eventually fails altogether. I specifically purchased these because they use phototransistor/photodiode technology which is not only more precise, but is not subject to the drifting issues like CdS sensors. Internally these use modern electronics and relays which are more reliable to control the load as opposed to a thermal bimetal switch which is the older way of switching loads on and off. This was installed in the pole light in my front yard. The old one was a CdS and bimetal switch variant which came on way too early, so it was due for replacement. This was identical physically and wiring wise. Upon first power up, there is about a 10-11s delay with the light switched on. After this, the sensor has about a 3s delay after “dark” to turn on, and about a 5-6s delay after “light” to turn off. Long enough to prevent false triggering, and short enough to not be waiting forever. It is also UL listed so this is safe to use. Not all off brand products carry this, so I was happy to see it.

Easy to install

The photocell sensor worked well but didn’t last a year. Tried emailing the published email address for the seller to inquire about the 1 year warranty but never heard back from them. Amazon isn’t able to do anything on their end after 60 days so I ended up just buying another sensor. Just beware if you purchase this and have a warranty issue that you will not hear back from them.

Work fine. Clear instructions. Build on this unit seems better than cheap ones I've seen at hardware stores. Only annoying thing was the wire lead length could have been a couple inches longer.

Good photo cells.

Dont work.