Most helpful customer reviews

89 of 90 people found the following review helpful.
Good product, but be sure to read wiring instructions carefully
By faffie
The timer works as most people have already discussed in their reviews, and is great because no other timer I have found will control compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL's). However, please be VERY careful wiring it.

A distinction that should be clarified is that this TI070 model must have a load OVER 40 watts in order to function. If you are controlling CFL's (as I am) that is more than 3 bulbs since a 60W incandescent equivalent draws just 13 watts. I actually had to add a fourth bulb to bring the total load from 39 watts to 52 watts (slightly wasteful). However, the TI071 model can handle loads less than 40 watts according to the instructions. But, apparently that model requires a neutral wire, which the TI070 model does NOT.

So, to summarize:

TI070 model: Needs a load of at least 40 watts, does NOT need a neutral wire connection
TI071 model: Can handle a smaller load below 40 watts, DOES need a neutral wire connection

Hope this is helpful!

UPDATE (8/1/10): I also recently bought a TI071 model (for loads below 40 watts) and it also works great. I am very pleased with these products because they can control CFL bulbs, and with our high electric rates here in CA, that is important.

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful.
The best light timer by far
By Lurfy's Ma
As far as I know, there is nothing even close to this on the market.

I have had a few of these for many years. None have ever failed. Setup is straightforward and programming is reasonable.

Having the lights automatically adjust for sunrise/sunset is great. If we leave the house at 4pm and come back at 9pm, the front lights are on.

There is a little bug in the programming (TI034). It screws up if it is programmed to turn on before midnight and turn off after midnight. I forget now how it screws up, because I changed mine to turn off just before midnight. I think it just stayed on.

I would like more flexible programming, but that usually comes with complexity. There isn't much space there for a display.

1. Be able to set an offset (sunset +/- nn minutes).

2. A random feature where it would vary the actual on/off times by +/- nn minutes. This is a minor point, because it already vary some because of changing sunset/sunrise times.

3. Automatic adjustment for daylight savings. That may be a problem, because they could change the cutover date, so maybe it's better as it is.
This also allows me to synch the clock twice a year. The timer does not keep perfect time, which is surprising. I would think it could use the 60 Hz from the grid to stay perfectly in time. Maybe an upgraded model could include a received for the time signal from Colorado? :-)

This is one of my favorite gadgets. It used to be very hard to find. I am glad that Amazon is now carrying it. I often give them away as gifts.

07/30/10 Update: Aube makes quite a few models. It took me awhile to figure out the differences and I bought one wrong model. Some of them are designed for more heavy-duty work and controlling motors (033 & 035). I see that they now have a few new models with more programming options and higher wattage ratings. Most of mine are the 034. These are fine for porch lights. Our front porch light is also wired in with the front outside plug so it can control external Christmas lights. The 500 watt max for the 034 is limiting. I may get the new 071 or 072 to replace that one.

Here's a summary of the model from the Aube website (aubetech dot com). Please excuse the (. . .). That's the only way I could find to make a table.

. . Model . . . . . . . . . . . Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Programs
. TI032-3W . . . 500 W @ 120 V, 40 W minimum . . 7 manual
. TI032-3W-5 . .500 W @ 120 V, 40 W minimum . . 7 manual
. TI034-3W . . . 500 W @ 120 V, 40 W minimum . . Sunset/sunrise
. TI070-3W . . . 500 W @ 120 V, 40 W minimum . . 7 manual + Sunset/sunrise
. TI073-3W . . . 500 W @ 120 V, 40 W minimum . . 21 manual + Sunset/sunrise
. TI033 . . . . . . 2400 W max., 1 HP @ 120 V . . . . 7 manual
. TI035 . . . . . . 2400 W max., 1 HP @ 120 V . . . . Sunset/sunrise
. TI071 . . . . . . 1800 W @ 120 V, 0 W minimum . . 7 manual + Sunset/sunrise
. TI072-3W . . . 1800 W @ 120 V, 0 W minimum . . 21 manual + Sunset/sunrise

The 3W means 3-way. The -5 is almond color.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Form and Function
By G. Taylor
You can have both! I bought this to replace a dead Intermatic that lasted an amazing 5 years. Thanks to Amazon, I found this first -- Aube by Honeywell TI071/U Solar Programmable Timer Switch, White -- but, due to the fact that I have only two wires (no neutral) for my switch, I found this timer, which is made for single pole or 3-way switch applications. It has two black wires (line and load), yellow (3-way) and a green ground wire.

The thing works like a charm and is very easy to install -- with helpful, legible, literate instructions that walk you through the process. They thought this through to the end: it not only comes with caps but the wires are labeled and pre-stripped, to boot.

I'm using this timer to control a 120-watt PAR38 driveway flood light, so my requirements are just for sunrise and sunset adjustments, but you can also set specific times to turn it on and off for different days. And it has a random mode, as well, I guess to fool potential burglars. You program sunrise and sunset via entering your city's longitude and attitude -- if it's not listed in the instructions just go to [...] to find where you are. And by the way, it's quite accurate and even has bias settings in case you want it to turn on later or off earlier, when it may still be light out or not quite dark yet (very cool).

I've had it a week now and it hasn't missed a beat -- no flickering or anything amiss to report. Long-term, we'll see. But based on its design, I feel pretty good about its reliability.

The one caveat about this device is that it needs the bulb in place to create the circuit, meaning that when the bulb burns out you need to pull out a tab from beneath the timer to cut the circuit before you change the bulb. (The directions state you should do this to avoid possibly shorting the timer out.) I tried it and it's easy enough to do when installed; no need to take the switch plate off or anything.

There really aren't too many timers like this out there, which I don't quite understand, since they are incredibly useful. And this one definitely is: useful, convenient, well engineered and really nice to look at. It goes without saying but highly recommended.