A want a light switch with a timer and a motion sensor. Does it exist?

May 18, 2024 6:37 AM

I want to control my bathroom LIGHT with a motion sensor and my bathroom FAN with a timer switch. They are both on the same plate. I need the switch to do this and I cannot find it. The problem is, of course, that motion sensors all have a timer for how long it stays on after motion which messes up the googling. Please can you help me find this. In Canada. Thank you.

Alternatively is there some technical reason this cannot exist? Because it's really weird how impossible this is to find. I even asked chatGPT to suggest search terms and didn't find anything.

posted by If only I had a penguin... to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Are you aware that the bathroom light will time out when you are in the shower, unless you have a shower with no doors or enclosures? I have never seen the combination you are looking for.
posted by Ferrari328 at 6:42 AM on May 18

You say they're on the same plate, but are they currently controlled by the same switch or by two different switches? What does the current plate look like? If they're on different switches, I don't think you need a combination switch, just two new different switches (one timer, one motion activated). If they're on the same switch I don't think you can have them go on/off at different times without electrician's work.

Maybe you mean you have a single-gang double switch, something like this? If so you know if you have room to expand to a larger double-gang box?
posted by mskyle at 6:54 AM on May 18 [2 favorites]

Are these currently controlled by a single switch in a single gang box? Both motion sensors and timers are bulky devices and I'm not aware of any in a single gang package.

Also if it is a single switch your wall wiring might not support this configuration.
posted by Mitheral at 7:02 AM on May 18

Response by poster: The current plate looks like this and has a switch (of the large rectangle kind used with that plate) on one side and a bunch of little timer buttons in the other rectangle.

I want to replace the switch side with a motion sensor. I have thoight of the shower issue. My understanding is that most motion sensor switches also have just a regular switch on them so you can set the light to on if you need it. Or if worse comes to worse I'm fine with sticking my arm out the shower door every 5 minutes.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:05 AM on May 18

Best answer: What you’ve got now is two independent devices— one switch, and one timer. You don’t need a combination device; just replace the switch with an occupancy sensor.
posted by jon1270 at 7:10 AM on May 18 [5 favorites]

There are two separate switches behind the plate. You can leave the timer switch and replace the other switch with a Decora Motion Sensor Switch.
posted by mskyle at 7:10 AM on May 18

If you already have one side with a working timer, I'm guessing you would just keep that unless you wanted to swap it for a fancier timer. So all you need to do is replace the current light switch with a motion-sensor switch. Home Depot has a whole category of those to choose from; most are about the same.

Making this change is about as easy as confirming the power is off at the breaker, removing the switch cover, and then removing and replacing the lightswitch. I will say that about half the time I open up a switch box, I find some peculiar "previous owner" wiring weirdness, like an extra wire, or two wires the same color where there shouldn't be, or whatever, but with some thought I've always been able to tell what is going on.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:13 AM on May 18

Response by poster: Thanks everyone. That explains why it "doesn't exist". And the time is broken (just cosmetically) which is why I figured I might as well replace it now while I'm going to be having someone in to do some handyman kind of work.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:35 AM on May 18