The Honeywell PLS750C is a simple solution for controlled interval lighting with most any type of load including fluorescent lights and small motors. The "small motor" feature was important to me because I use an outdoor receptacle to operate an electric string trimmer. The circuit is shared with outdoor lighting switched with the PLS750C timer.
Never again will my wife be impatiently waiting to depart for vacation while she watches me reprogram 7 timers that were programmed for a previous season with the wrong ON/OFF times. The PLS750C is truly a "set it and forget it" timer with the intuitive menu that prompts the user to enter geographic coordinates to continually adjust for the ever-changing sunrise/sunset times. The 4 hour clock backup is a good tradeoff to eliminate the batteries required by most self-adjusting wall switch timers. If power is lost for more than four hours, it is quick and easy to reset the clock. The user ON/OFF program will remain in memory indefinitely during power outages. One reviewer on another site mentioned a vacation home with frequent outages lasting longer than 4 hours. The inferior battery-backup style timers would probably be the best option in those situations when no one is at the home to reset the clock during extended power outages.
The part number for the non 3-way Honeywell timer is RPLS740B. It took me forever to find the 3-way version because it is not yet listed on the Honeywell website (as of Feb 26, 2012). As mentioned by a previous reviewer, opt for the 3-way version (unless you are intimidated by the extra wires) because it will work fine as a 2-way switch and the cost is the same. You might have a future application for a 3-way timer.
Unless I missed it, I saw no comments about using the timer to switch OFF/ON several times during the nighttime hours of each 24 hour period. I like to program a few OFF periods lasting only 5 or 10 minutes during the nighttime hours to enhance the "someone is home" appearance. By staggering brief OFF periods with different timers you create the illusion that someone is moving room-to-room inside the home.
Though my first two PLS750C timers have been in service only about one week, the clocks are accurate relative to my atomic clock. The Box Store versions of the Intermatic self-adjusting battery backup wall switch timers were poor time keepers, requiring periodic adjusting of 5 or 10 minutes every few months. Some models of the Intermatic self-adjusting wall switch timers were recalled due to a safety hazard associated with replacing the battery. The attractive illuminated LCD screen on the Honeywell PLS750C makes the timer much easier to read than other timers I have used.
I configured a cost calculator comparison chart showing an annual power savings of $112 by replacing only five 60 watt incandescent bulbs with lumen-comparable CFLs programmed to operate dusk to dawn with the Honeywell PLS750C wall switch timers.
I will be ordering several additional Honeywell PLS750C wall switch timers.
Google "Handy Math dot com" for the spiffy power consumption cost calculator if you wish to know precisely what it cost to operate your lights. Over a one-year period use 12 hours for the dusk-to-dawn ON time in the calculator to reflect the changing hours of darkness, or use 4,380 hours per year for each dusk-to-dawn light and you'll have a good number for a realistic average.
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I don't usually post any review but I'm just so angry with Honeywell that I need to share with other people so they don't make the same mistake by buying this switch. I bought two of these wall switches because of its functionality(sunrise/sunset) and its looks. The setup was so easy until when it stopped working and Honeywell will not give you its warranty without you paying their professional group. But before I get to that warranty issue, let me tell you about my setup. I bought two of these switches 10 months ago, one for my porch and one for the kitchen, using the single-switch installation. Each switches is attached to two 15 Watts Sylvania CFL(so total of 30 watts for both per switch).Recently, I noticed that the display is off on one of the switches(it seems like it has no power) and there's no way for me to turn on the switch manually. The switch will turn on once it reach the time that I set it to turn on. So it semi-working but it's not good if you want to manually turn on your lights. Few days after, same issue started happening on the other switch as well. The switch has 3 years warranty and since I'm only on my 10month, I should not have no problem getting a replacement, well I was wrong. I called Honeywell technical support and they want to find out how much load does each switch have. Telling them that it's only using 2-15 watts is not enough for them and since I have no idea, I told them I will have to call them back and once I have those information available. After I had my electrician friend checked it, he told me that the issue is not the wiring or load but the switch is defective. I called Honeywell support again this morning, at first, the tech told me that it might be wiring issue but I told them that it has been working for 10months and if it's wiring issue, it would not work from day 1. I also said that the switch is not completely dead since it still turns on when it scheduled to turn on but I just could not manually turn it on since there's no display. At this time, support told me that since this is a professional product, I will need to be transferred to their professional group to perform the troubleshooting and if it need replacement, they will need to install the switch for me. I told him that if they come to my house I'm pretty sure they will charge me for the service. Support said that I will pay for the service but not sure how much. So I told support that I will not waste my time talking to your professional group because I have no intention on paying them to come to my house to install a new switch. I rather buy another similar product and guarantee that it will not cost more than $100.
So be careful when buying this switch, basically its warranty is useless from day 1, unless you're willing to spend more money for their professional group. I just bought the GE digital timer which is less then $30 and it has same functionality as the Honeywell switch.
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Great product IF it works. If you follow the instructions it really is simple to install and to program. Stay calm, stick with the instructions and you'll do fine. I bought two of these units to control my outside lights from dawn to dusk and when they worked they were exactly what I wanted. However after a couple of days they would randomly just shut off, the display would go blank and none of the controls / buttons would do anything. They wouldn't do it at the same time but just randomly and independently. I discovered that if I turned the breaker off for 5 seconds and then turned it back on that they would 'reset' and work again apparently as if nothing had happened. But sure enough within 24 hours or so they would shut off again. I checked the wiring, checked the line voltage etc and nothing helped.So I did what anyone would do and called the Honeywell customer assistance hot line. To give them credit it is relatively easy to get connected to a live person, I called 4 times and each time got to talk to a person within 60 seconds of picking up the phone. However the live person is very obviously in India.... I don't care if he says his name is Chuck or Henry or whatever they are in India and can't do anything except read the prompts on their computer monitor. You would think that that one of the requirements for the person on the phone is that they had at least a basic working knowledge of the product that they are supporting and general wiring and electrical principals. Don't try using logic with these people it's almost comical, the fact that volts x amps = watts was seemingly baffling to them.
Now here is the part that completely frustrated the heck out of me. After calling 4 separate times and each time being instructed to perform certain diagnostics requiring accessing the switch to measure voltage or get a code printed on the back of the switch etc I was told that because this was a 'professional unit' that I needed to get a licensed electrician or installer to come trouble shoot the switch. No where on the box or the paperwork in the box does it say that this switch will not be warranted if installed by a home owner. I very calmly told the person on the phone that I was not paying $100 or more to have an electrician come troubleshoot a switch that could be replaced with one that actually worked for less than half that cost. Again this 'logic' was impossible for the person on the phone to grasp.
So bottom line is this. The product is great, it does exactly what it is advertised to do (when it works), and when it works it works very well in fact I don't think you will find a comparable product for the price. However be prepared to simply toss it in the trash IF it doesn't work.
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I've owned one of these in my prior home, and had ZERO problems with it over several years. I've just purchased this one for my new home, and the pros include:Excellent quality construction
Works perfectly in a 3-way wiring setup
Works perfectly with LED lighting
Attractive, and very easy to program
Highly recommended.
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I was looking for a timer for my exterior lights that would would fit into an existing 3-way setup with CFL's and this worked perfectly. It took a little bit of online research to correlate the included instructions with my existing 3-way wiring but that was a quick exercise.One caution: this unit requires a neutral feed so folks with older wiring will be out of luck.
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