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I had a timer for the string of white LED Christmas lights I uses to light the walkway from the driveway to the front door before I got the little stick-in-the-ground lights. It eventually died in the middle of last winter, but about 90% of my outside electrics did the same. The photoswitch ones are usually around $20 at Target; I hear they are aailable at HD but tend to be stocked in the scary "seasonal merchandise" area where I do not dare to tread for fear of the deadly Impulse Item.
Yes while a PES would work. A PES would also turn the heat lamp on at dusk year round no matter the temp. Using a PES you also need to locate it so there is enough light change to activate it and shield it from the light it will control.
The timer I had was one that turned on at dusk and off at a timed interval- 2,4,6, or 8 hours or "Dusk til Dawn."
I suppose if you're the sort of person who needs a totally installed sealed system it would be a problem, but I'm always an active component of any switching system I use: things get moved, reprogrammed, or even repurposed for more seasonally appropriate uses.
This may sound cranky, sorry, very tired and I got assigned an editing job for which I have no enthusiasm and not much more time.