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Fake TV simulator holiday

Updated: October 2026

You are leaving a UK home empty for more than an evening, and a single lamp will not carry the fortnight. A fake TV simulator holiday setup is one after-dark cue on a window you have already checked from the street. How to aim the LEDs is [how to set up a fake TV simulator](/hub/diy-supplies/tv-simulator/sub/tv-simulator-how-to-set-up). The product table is the [TV simulator comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/tv-simulator). Peter F. used council and police pages plus listings saved on 15 October 2026. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are leaving a UK home empty for more than an evening, and a single lamp will not carry the fortnight. A fake TV simulator holiday setup is one after-dark cue on a window you have already checked from the street.

Our top picks

Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV

Best overall

Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV
8.6/10about £16.95
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XGHDPBM XGHDPBM USB fake TV light

Preis-Tipp

XGHDPBM XGHDPBM USB fake TV light
7.7/10about £10.49
View offer
YZRDCXM YZRDCXM wall-mount TV light

Alternative

YZRDCXM YZRDCXM wall-mount TV light
5.6/10about £9.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the simulator does while you are away
  2. 2.Curtains, post, and bins
  3. 3.A pattern that repeats every night
  4. 4.The afternoon you leave, and a caravan

What the simulator does while you are away

It waits for dusk, then runs a changing glow for about 4 or 7 hours. It does not know you are on holiday, and it does not vary Tuesday from Saturday. In this folder the Defender EL00240 is the unit whose United Kingdom reviews mention holidays, including a neighbour who thought the television had been left on. That is a curtain cue, not a measured effect on burglary. West Yorkshire Police still put locks first. The lamp does not collect the post or put the bins out. If you leave it on always-on, you lose the off period that makes a television look used. Dusk plus 7 hours is the longer winter evening. Dusk plus 4 hours is the shorter summer one. That split is a Defender instruction tip, not a law. Confirm the mode from the pavement, not from a bright kitchen at noon.

Curtains, post, and bins

Daytime curtains are the other half of the same signal. Thurrock Council says leave curtains as you usually would during the day, use timers in the evening, cancel milk and papers, and ask a trusted neighbour to take mail and bins. East Devon Council says do not close them in the day just because you are away. Drawn curtains read as empty. Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner says to ask a neighbour who has keys, and not to broadcast the holiday. For post, ask Royal Mail about holding it. nidirect pairs timers with bins, post, and an alarm that is set. Do not leave a key where a letterbox can reach it.
Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV

Testsieger

Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV
8.6/10about £16.95
View offer

A pattern that repeats every night

The simulator’s weakness over a fortnight is repetition. Every dusk it does the same thing. You cannot programme these units for a different hour on Friday. The sensor follows darkness, not your diary. If you want a second pattern, put a timer lamp in another room and vary that lamp. Do not sit the lamp on the simulator’s sensor, or the dusk mode may never start. When to choose the lamp, the simulator, or both is fake TV versus a timer light. One Defender review describes timer modes as two static LEDs. If your pavement check shows that, a return is more honest than leaving it running for two weeks.

The afternoon you leave, and a caravan

Set the dusk mode and look from the street after dark. Leave daytime curtains as usual, cancel deliveries, and ask someone you trust to take post and bins. Do not announce the dates. The simulator does not replace the lock. A caravan or motorhome is in scope only for a 240 V plug-in on a mains socket. Only the Defender bullets name caravans or motorhomes, and that listing is 240 V. Do not put it on a 12 V leisure outlet. If you have not yet chosen a listing, use the best fake TV simulator UK page before you pack. The pick there is the plug-in, and only when a mains socket is near the window you can check.

Common questions

Is a fake TV enough for a fortnight away?
No. It covers one window after dark, on a cycle that repeats every dusk. Thurrock, East Devon, Hampshire, and nidirect all treat an empty home as curtains, deliveries, bins, and a person who can look in. West Yorkshire still leads with locks. A second identical unit on the same curtain does not collect the post.
Should curtains be open or shut in the daytime?
Leave them as you usually would during the day. Thurrock and East Devon both warn against drawing curtains all day while you are away, because that itself looks empty. Evening light is separate: a simulator aimed at the fabric after dusk. Heavy curtains that block the glow should not be shut across the only window you are using.
What about post and bins?
Ask a trusted neighbour to take them, which is Thurrock’s wording, and cancel milk and newspaper deliveries. Hampshire suggests a neighbour with keys and not advertising that you are away. For letters, ask Royal Mail about holding the post. A simulator does not see a full letterbox. Someone who walks past in daylight does.
Will the same dusk cycle every night look odd?
It can, over many nights, because the unit has no weekday programme. Dusk plus 4 hours or dusk plus 7 hours starts when the sensor sees dark and then repeats. The simulator cannot vary that by day. A timer lamp in a different room can. Keep that lamp off the simulator’s sensor so the dusk mode still switches.
Can you use it in a caravan?
Only as a 240 V plug-in on a mains socket. Defender is the only listing here whose bullets name caravans or motorhomes, and the voltage field says 240 V. A 12 V leisure socket is the wrong supply. USB models still need an adapter, and several pages say that adapter is not in the box. If the pitch has no mains socket near a window you can check, do not treat a simulator as the light for that van.

Related pages

TV simulator buying guide

TV simulator

Best fake TV simulator UK if the window socket is free

How to set up a fake TV simulator before you leave

Fake TV vs timer light: the cue someone outside sees

Sources

Public UK sources on occupancy lighting, BS 1363 plugs, product marking, and the Ofgem price cap. Prices are the amazon.co.uk shelf prices for these ASINs on 15 October 2026. They move. Page updated 17 October 2026.

  1. West Yorkshire Police, Easy Street (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. Ask the Police, lights or radios on a timer (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Avon and Somerset Police, lighting (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Thurrock Council, while away from home (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 35 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, UKCA or CE marking in Great Britain (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Ofgem, price cap 1 October to 31 December 2026 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Defender plug-in simulated TV instructions (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  9. ERA FakeTV installation notes (retrieved 16 October 2026)