I'm always leaving the wc light on...

[BigRedSwitch]

Must be an age thing but I find that I'm often leaving the lights on in rooms where the light switch is outside the door, e.g. bathroon, w/c, kitchen. I wondered about fitting door peephole viewers at the top of the door (to eliminate privacy concerns) so that the light from the room would shine through and alert me. But I have a cheaper alternative but I don't know how effective it would be, and that is to get some clear 15mm perspex rod, cut it to door width size, and glue it in the door as if it was a peephole viewer.

So what do you think chaps, is perspex rod a goer?

Thanks for looking.

[Grendel]

I suppose some sort of timer switch would be the better answer . We don't tend to shut the toilet door and often not the bathroom door so the problem doesn't arise in our house. Perhaps go with the idea of a peephole to see if it works and then if not perhaps a bigger panel?

[etaf]

doesn't the light come through the side door jam, or from under the door now ??

I would think timers, as well

if you leave a toilet light on upstairs - wont notice until you next go up anyway -
our doors are often left open and in a bungalow - so walking past

my daughter/granddaughter - would not like peepholes, even if high ..... :(

[dewaltdisney]

You can buy motion sensor LED light bulbs for a fiver. I have one as a porch lamp and it works perfectly. It would be an ideal solution for you it comes on when you enter and switches off after you leave.

DWD

[Someone-Else]

you can buy motion sensor LED light bulbs for a fiver

But you can't have a "naked" lamp in a bathroom.

I would suggest one of these Click here

But on the other hand, if it is an LED lamp, the switch will cost more than the lamp will use in a year.

[dewaltdisney]

They look like an ordinary light bulb. I have ordinary bulbs in shades in all my bathrooms.

DWD

[BigRedSwitch]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Before I got carried away with draught-proofing you could see the downstairs w/c light below the door. There is a glimmer of light around the door where it sits imperfectly in the frame but you have to be in the right position.

A light switch with a neon would have been perfect but I'm told that they don't exist - I'm told I would have to use a double-pole switch (somehow).

Old-style door frames used to be full-height floor to ceiling and they incorporated a fixed glass window which did the job but no good for modern-build houses with low ceilings.

I have looked at motion-sensor bulbs for use in the w/c but I get conflicting statements in Amazon ads about what the led to incandescent ratings are and I guess I might just end up taking a punt onone of these. Unfortunately, the lights in the bathroom and kitchen are flush to the ceiling led units so back to square one with those.

I dismiss the idea of a timer switch totally - remember, my switches are outside the w/c so I cn imagine the frantic yells when the light goes off and the occupant not in a fit state to open the door and reset the timer.

Ian

[big-all]

i have several off the sensor bulbs general comments

the use between 0.5 and 1w when off[sensor working]
they are about 7w and perhaps 50w equivalent or around 650 lumens the only problem will be iff you are relatively motionless for perhaps 3 mins they go off and need a waving screaming motion from a fairly fixed position on a throne that will usually work well in any location but iff the bulb orientation places the bulb side on away from the throne may need extra motions [yes i know pathetic choice off words ]but dont know how well they will function [if at all ] with a cover clear or frosted

worth mentioning if a shower or bath present you need a gap under the door off around 12mm to allow the extractor to draw fresh air from the house

its also worth doing association take something to the bog and when you leave it in veiw so you pick it up it reminds you like a door key/soap/toilet roll/puzzler and pen so the routine gets engrained to switch the light off

[aeromech3]

I have an LED sensor bulb at one end of my kitchen diner, the downside is you cannot switch it on during a dull day.
I should think adding a cord pull switch for an upstairs bathroom would solve that one.
My upstairs bathroom has a frosted glass panel above the door frame, gives natural light for the landing and quite noticeable light ''On' when the door is closed.

[Grendel]

How about running a secondary light fed from the main bathroom light situated outside the room with a lowish wattage possibly coloured bulb or led as an indicator that the light is on. Would also serve to indicate the bathroom is in use if privacy is an issue.

[dewaltdisney]

The cheapest way is to gaffer tape a thread with a ping-pong ball hanging in the doorway so you hit your head each time, which will remind you to turn the light off. Pavlov's dog conditioning.

DWD

[BigRedSwitch]

worth mentioning if a shower or bath present you need a gap under the door off around 12mm to allow the extractor to draw fresh air from the house

Yes, I did have such a gap but I also had a draught so I've eliminated the gap. I do have a ceiling extractor fan but that vents through the roof and that's draughty too so i've sealed that over with clear tape. When I exit the shower I open the windows to ventilate the room.

Back to the issue of remebering to switch off the lights - I'm going to try putting an A4 sheet of paper telling me to turn the light off - it may work!

Thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts and I declare this thread closed.

[big-all]

try a funny joke or drawing that says something like "i am full off bright ideas " that will both remind you and cheer you rather than than give the unfriendly boarding house vibe to others

[ericmark]

My shower room has a 12 watt bulb, really not enough to worry about, when not in use, door always left open, one so we can see not in use, and two it allows the heat into the hall, and so turns the thermostat off earlier, so saves money. A simple pneumatic light switch could turn the lights off, but not easy to reactivate in the shower, and it would be dangerous if it goes off while in the shower, the same with a PIR, should it switch off while in the shower, it could be dangerous. The same for any automated off switch.

I have just refitted my outside lights, and got rid of the PIR control because it would switch off at most inopportune moment. The new light has a smart bulb which when switched off takes 60 seconds to switch off, and dims first, (Wiz) so even if some one switches it off, I get warning it is about to switch off.

Perspex will channel light, I had it on my old dinky toys so looked as if head lights were on, same idea as fibre optics, so a hole with a perspex plug will allow light but no vision, but I think that is going OTT on energy saving, does the radiator turn off as well?

I was reading the spec for one of my smart bulbs, ¼ watt on stand-by, so yes I can say hey google turn off all lights, but it is still using some power. And if I get a power cut, on return of power, all my smart bulbs turn on, also all my smart switches turn off, not sure what the smart relay does. However the power used by all my smart lights when on, is a fraction of the power used when lights were tungsten, and I think that is what we forget. The electronic control power use can now exceed the power used for the devices it controls.

And watch this forum for the number of times people complain their LED bulb will not switch off, we have for years used two wires close together to the light switch, using an AC supply, so we have inductive and capacitive linking, which can be enough to cause an LED bulb to light even when not switched on, they often have a leak resistor to stop this, but it still means we use a little power even when lights are switched off.

Even my RCBO's in the consumer unit use a little power to work, it is impossible to stop using any power unless you turn off the main isolator, and although the advert shows the Freddy Boswell look alike turning the lights on/off by clapping his hands, that is not really possible by simply fitting a smart meter, which like any other electronic device must use some power to work.

It is the same with many of the so called energy saving ideas, OK my one cup kettle saves energy as only boils on cup at a time, but leaving the kettle empty and only putting one cup of water in the kettle, will likely mean kettle gets switched on with no water in it, and you need a new kettle, costing far more than energy saved.