Reverse lighted toggle switch

I would really like to find out if such a device is available. The type of switch I am looking for is a regular wall panel light toggle switch with a light inside the toggle. I know these are readily available everywhere where the toggle is lighted when the switch is in the off position. They are commonly used in bathroom to provide assistance in finding the switch in the dark.

What I am looking for is the reverse of this, in other words, I want the toggle part to light up when the switch is on rather than when it is off. Here is my application. Some of my neighbors have seen prowlers around our residential area and many of us decided to leave our front door outside lights on all night. The problem is that we invariably forget to turn it off in the morning and so a couple of bulbs are burning needlessly for several hours most days. We are retired so we often don't go out of the house until mid-morning or later. If the inside switch was lit up we would notice and turn the lights off when we arise in the morning but now, since in daylight we can't see that the outside light is on, we forget to turn it off. Has anyone seen this or know where they can be found?

Reply to
Bob Daun
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"Bob Daun" wrote in news:41c89946$1 snipped-for-privacy@newspeer2.tds.net:

Why don't you just install a "dusk to dawn" switch? They automatically turn on when the sun goes down, and automatically turn off when the sun comes up.

Reply to
Old Fangled

Reply to
RBM

You can buy a light sensitive adapter that goes between the fixture and the bulb that will do exactly what you want. Light on at night and off during the day. Home Depot or Lowes. MLD

Reply to
MLD

I had one of those for years. It would never allow the light to come on full, but that was OK because the bulb lasted forever. BUT, I just found out the dimmer was the source of the radio noise that has been a problem all that time.

Reply to
William W. Plummer

Some of my neighbors have seen prowlers around our

Agree with poster who suggests screw-in sun sensor that fits between bulb and socket. Another, more economic solution vs having light on all night, is a motion sensor head (kit) that detects motion and lights up the existing porch light, which IMHO is more of a deterrent than the "on all night " solution. If the kit is hard to find, just replace light with a single or double spotlight with integral motion switch.

Reply to
Roger

turn off the tv. the news lies to you, those guys arent prowlers, nobody wants your stuff, and if you absolutely must, put the light on a timer.

randy

Reply to
xrongor

I installed switches with pilots for my three "outside light" switch locations for exactly the same reasons you mention, and also used them on several closets where the switches for the closet lights are located on the outside of the closet doors. The ones I use mount behind a regular duplex outlet plate, the switchc omes through one of the holes in the plate and is flipped "sideways". A good sized easily noticed red neon pilot lamp fits in the other hole of the plate.

Here's the ones I used:

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You should be able to get those piloted switches anyplace that handles electrical products. As a previous poster said, you do have to have access to a neutral wire to install them per code, though the tiny amount of current required to light the neon pilot lamp could easily flow to ground without causing any big whoop, unless there's a GFI ahead of the switch. But, if you say I told you that I'd have to kill you.

Happy Holidays,

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia

I use a low tech approach. For the oven light and the garage light I have painted (girlfriends red fingernail polish) the part that shows when the lamp is on. It shows up well; almost as good as a light.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

We use a compact fluorescent specifically designed for this application.

It's a compact twist design, 150-watt equivalent, designed for cold weather exterior use, with a built-in photocell in the base. Just screw it in to replace a standard bulb and leave the switch on. No problems with it so far.

Reply to
Joshua Putnam

Sounds like just what I need (though maybe not as much as

150-watts). Where can I buy?
Reply to
blueman

Change the bulb to screw-in florescent. A 9-watt florescent bulb running for

24 hours uses less energy than a 60-watt bulb running for eight. Even at 24 hours, a florescent bulb will last years.

You are, however, solving the wrong problem. You should kill the prowlers.

Reply to
JerryMouse

| ome of my neighbors have seen prowlers around our residential area | and many of us decided to leave our front door outside lights on | all night.

Far more effective would be lights on PIR sensors that switch on then any person approaches. Much more disconcerting to any prowler. YOu can get hi-low lights (for incandescent lamps) that have a photocell and come on dimmed overnight, switching to full brightness when someone approaches - the best of both worlds.

Owain

PS Sorry - googlegroups broken - no references / post may not thread correctly

Reply to
Owain

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