Indoor and Outdoor Timers — Intermatic

In past articles, I have written about the double-digit growth of the home automation market and how it’s showing no signs of stopping. The “smart home” and “internet of things” (IoT) will continue to drive this growth for the next decade. Personally, I am a big fan and our home operates on a home automation platform with full customization. While this can be extremely convenient and at times offers peace of mind by not worrying if you turned off the oven, it does come at a cost.

While there is a financial cost, the real cost I am speaking of is when something inevitably goes wrong. As every retailer can attest, when something runs on a computer and software there will be times it fails. I am still recovering from the mocking handed out by my wife when a software update took out our ability to turn on the living room lights for three days.

All of this could have been avoided if I had used the reliable and easy-to-install lighting controls offered by Intermatic. Intermatic is a family-owned business offering lighting controls and energy-management solutions for 130 years. Intermatic offers solutions in 18 categories for both retail and OEM markets. We recently received a shipment of a few of their indoor and outdoor timers for review.

We provided our testers with the HB11k, a heavy-duty outdoor timer with cover; the TN311K, a lamp and appliance timer; and the T101, a 24-hour mechanical timer switch. Click here for a brief video.

All three timers share a few similar qualities: simply plug them into the appropriate receptacle, turn the dial to the desired on/off times and plug in the device you want to control. These timers can control indoor/outdoor lighting, fans, pumps, fountains, conveyors and the list goes on.

All of our testers commented on how easy it was to get set up and running on their set schedule. Some elected to control outdoor patio lights and one decided to use the lamp timer to turn on and off the lamp to give the impression someone was home while on vacation. If you are looking for a product that sells itself with mass appeal and virtually no chance of a return, take a look at the wide line of products offered by Intermatic.