Buy-It In Israel

Using Shabbat timers for operating lights and fans

Posted on 27. Jun, 2010 by buyitinisrael in Halacha, Miscellaneous

The Torah prohibits 39 activities on Shabbat.  Included in these prohibitions are activities such as switching on or off lights, fans, air-conditioning and heating systems.  A common practice today in Jewish homes in Israel and abroad is for the use of a Shabbat timer (shaon Shabbat) to perform these activities, where a timer is set before Shabbat and continues to operate on Shabbat without any human involvement.

Halacha background: Masechet Shabbat (Daf 18) discusses the case of a water powered mill that one operates before Shabbat with the intention that it will continue to grind wheat on its own throughout Shabbat.  Since the mill is powered before Shabbat, Beit Hillel sanctions its use even when the mill continues to operate on its own on Shabbat.  There is no violation of Shabbat because the mill functions on Shabbat without any human involvement. Once the mill is started before Shabbat, it continues to operate on its own on Shabbat. This opinion is brought down by Rabbi Joseph Karo in the Shulhan Aruch, Orach Chaim 252/6, and it is this halachic decision that serves as the basis for the common practice to use timers to operate certain mechanisms on Shabbat.

It is recommended to hire a licensed electrician to install a Shabbat time.  The timer, or clock, is placed in the electricity panel (luach chashmal) of the home.   Where the timer will be controlling one or two circuits, the electrician will wire the circuits directly to the Shabbat timer. However, if more than one or two circuits are involved, it will be necessary to install a contactor in the panel as well, and the circuits will need to be wired through the contactor.  Sometimes, when there is no room for a contactor in the panel all the circuits involved are gathered into in one phase and controlled together by the timer. During the installation of the Shabbat timer, the main breaker needs to be shut-down for approximately 1-2 hours.

When setting up a timer for lights, one should think carefully about which lights will be included in the system.  Areas that you may not want to control with the timer are bathrooms, halls, and sometimes the kitchen (if there are small children around).  Additionally, when bedroom ceiling fans are involved, it is advisable not to include them on the Shabbat timer that controls the lights in the dining room, for example.  For this reason, it is even a good idea to set up two timers for lights in the home: one for living areas and one for bedroom areas.

There are generally two sizes of timers; one is full size (taking up three spaces in the panel) which costs approximately 120 Shekels, the second option is single space which runs at around 170 Shekels.  The single space timer is used, usually, in order to conserve space in the panel. There are different Shabbat timers available on the market today, however, the best quality timers are made by Grasslin, a German company. There are two types of timers:  One is with time reserved, i.e., when the electricity goes out, the timer keeps working.  The second option is without time reserved.  The different in cost is about 60 Shekels.

The basic installation cost for a timer without reserve is around 375 Shekels, plus VAT.  When there are few circuits involved, a contactor may be added to control the numerous circuits.  The added cost for installing a contactor is 200 Shekels.

Meir Shetrit contributed to this article.  Meir is a licensed electrician with more than 20 years experience in electrical and lighting design both in Israel and the US.   Meir works in the Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Modi’in, Rehovot and Rishon Lezion areas.  He can be contacted by telephone at 054-808-4011 or by e-mail at melite@barak.net.il.

The contents of this article are designed to provide the reader with general information and not to serve as professional advice. Readers are advised to hire a licensed electrician to perform electrical work. Similarly, the contents of this article do not serve as halachic advice or guidance. There are many different circumstances and factors that may impact each homeowner’s situation and therefore readers are advised to consult with a Rabbi regarding their usage of Shabbat timers in homes in Israel or abroad.

© Copyright 2010.

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