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Fake TV vs timer light

Updated: October 2026

The house will be empty tonight, and you are deciding between a lamp on a plug-in timer and a colour-changing TV simulator. A fake TV vs timer light choice is about what a person outside can infer. A steady lamp says a room is lit. A simulator says the colour on that curtain keeps changing. Neither one is a lock. The product table is the [TV simulator comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/tv-simulator). Peter F. used amazon.co.uk listings saved on 15 October 2026. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The house will be empty tonight, and you are deciding between a lamp on a plug-in timer and a colour-changing TV simulator. A fake TV vs timer light choice is about what a person outside can infer.

Our top picks

Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV

Best overall

Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV
8.6/10about £16.95
View offer
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 a person outside is supposed to think
  2. 2.What UK police actually say
  3. 3.When the lamp is the better buy
  4. 4.When to use both, in two rooms

What a person outside is supposed to think

A timer lamp is a familiar brightness in a room people expect to see lit. If the time never changes, police pages tell you to vary it. A fake TV shifts colour so a curtain looks like a television left on. Defender’s United Kingdom reviews include a neighbour who thought the set was still on, and they say there is no sound. Use the lamp for “someone is in that room”. Use the simulator for “a television is on behind that curtain”. A unit pointed at the floor does not read as a television. Placement is in how to set up a fake TV simulator.

What UK police actually say

Most public advice names the timer first. Avon and Somerset Police suggest timer lamps, varied times, and upper rooms. Ask the Police says lights or radios on a timer. No cited page gives a success rate. West Yorkshire’s Easy Street page lists a fake LED TV simulator next to a timer switch, and it still leads with locks. ERA’s notes say a FakeTV can sit in another room, and that nothing here guarantees there will be no break-in. Holiday admin stays on fake TV simulator holiday.
Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV

Testsieger

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

When the lamp is the better buy

Buy the timer lamp when you need a clear light in a lived-in room and you can change the times through the week. A simulator cannot vary itself by weekday. Its dusk cycle repeats whenever it gets dark. The running cost of a 2 W or 5 W simulator is about 0.4 or 0.9 pence for seven hours, using Ofgem’s 26.32 pence per kWh average for England, Scotland and Wales from 1 October to 31 December 2026. That is arithmetic, not a bill, and it does not apply in Northern Ireland.

When to use both, in two rooms

Use both in different rooms. ERA pairs a timer lamp for the light-on cue with the simulator in another room. Do not park the lamp on the sensor. A bright lamp can hold off the 0.5 lux sensor printed for the Defender plug-in. A radio on a timer is a third option from Ask the Police, not a product in this folder. If you only buy one thing, buy the lamp for an upstairs room you can vary. Which simulator listing to order is the fake TV simulator buying guide.

Common questions

Is a timer lamp enough?
It is enough when the job is a light on in a room people expect to see lit, and you vary the times. That is the default in Avon and Somerset and Ask the Police guidance. It is weaker if the same lamp clicks on at the same minute every night. A simulator does not fix that by sitting next to it. It adds a different cue in a different room.
What does a fake TV add that a lamp does not?
It adds changing colour on a curtain or blind, which a steady bulb does not. In this set that pattern is usually dusk plus about 4 or 7 hours, not a weekly schedule. United Kingdom reviews of the Defender plug-in include a neighbour who thought a television had been left on, and they say there is no sound. It is not a picture of a programme, and it is not evidence that a burglary was prevented.
Should both be in the same room?
No. Put a timer lamp in one room and the simulator in another. ERA’s notes warn that a lamp can stop the dusk sensor switching on. A 0.5 lux sensor, as printed for the Defender unit, is held off by a bright room. Sharing a windowsill is the mistake.
Do police recommend a fake TV or only timers?
They recommend timers far more often. Avon and Somerset and Ask the Police talk about lights on a timer, and Ask the Police also mentions a radio. West Yorkshire’s Easy Street page names a fake LED TV simulator or a timer switch, and still puts locks first. That is one force listing both options, not a national ranking. Do not describe either product as burglar-proof.
Which one is easier to see from the street?
Whichever one is on a window people walk past, and not hidden by a blackout curtain or a street lamp. A timer lamp upstairs is the usual police suggestion. A simulator reads as a television only when the glow hits a curtain and the housing stays out of sight. A floor socket that lights the carpet is hard to see from the pavement. Check from outside after dark before you rely on either.
Does either one stop a burglary?
Neither page should claim that. Police advice treats lights as one occupancy cue and still leads with locks. ERA says a FakeTV does not guarantee there will be no break-in. A simulator that repeats the same dusk cycle can itself look mechanical. If the door, the alarm, or a hot plug is the real problem, this comparison is the wrong trade.

Related pages

Best TV simulators

TV simulator

Fake TV simulator buying guide: plug, USB, and box

Fake TV simulator holiday: one window, not the fortnight

How to set up a fake TV simulator before you leave

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)