Darken your lightness! A low-cost energy-saving versatile lights-on reminder

The loft is by its very nature a place which the householder seldom visits as the dust, cobwebs and “creepy crawlies” found there do not make it a very pleasant place to be in. It does, however, typically contain a few essential items and very often, with the limited space available in some homes, is used to store all kinds of things which are only required once in a while, such as Christmas decorations, suitcases for holidays etc.

This makes the occasional visit necessary and many householders install a light bulb or two to help them find their way around when checking the tank or locating their suitcase. Having completed their task, they are often in such a hurry to leave that they forget to switch the lights off behind them. This can mean that the lights can accidentally be left on for weeks or even months at a time, resulting in a huge waste of energy.

One solution to this problem would be to fit a time delay switch to turn the lights off automatically after a suitable period should the owner forget to do so – but what is a suitable period? Should there be a problem with the tank for example, the work might take a few hours to complete while finding a suitcase should take no more than a few minutes and it would obviously be inconvenient and even dangerous if the lights were to suddenly go off. So, another solution was required.

The simple Loft Light Alarm has therefore been designed to sound an alarm if the light has been left on for a prolonged period and so remind the owner to switch it off rather than doing so automatically. It uses a timer to sound an alarm 15 minutes (which can be altered if required) after the light has been switched on and, since it is extremely easy to install, the unit should find many uses around the home beyond that for which it was originally designed.