On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 11:08:24 -0400, wrote:


[snip]

I use a series of solid-state relays so all the holiday lights are
controlled by ONE timer, and so go on and off at the same time. This
is a temporary setup That I put out in the middle of October (a few
Halloween lights). The individual outlets still have GFCIs.

Great idea... Are these anything like the X-10 devices? I used these in a
previous home for all interior lighting, either in wall switches or plug-in
modules.


An easy way to do this is to put an SSR in a Bell Box with a 120v
cordset, receptacle and a low voltage cable going to a wall wart.
Plug the wall wart into the timer controlled strings and plug the
power to another circuit. Then you are still controlling additional
lights with the timer but you are using another circuit.

I do that, with long (low voltage) wires between them so all my lights
come on and flash together. I have some pictures of the lights at
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com/winter.html Click on any thumbnail
to see a larger picture.

You can't see the flashing in the pictures, but one side of the yard
flashes "Happy Holidays" (or other sayings) in Morse code and the
other side flashes out of phase (so there's always some lit).

All these used to require 7 circuits, but since most of the colored
lights are LEDs, that's 4 circuits now. I now use 9 SSRs: 4 for
always-on stuff, 4 for flashing lights, and 1 (NC) to disable an
electric heater while the lights are on.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"So far as I can remember, there is not one word
in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."
--Bertrand Russell