Sims can replace bulbs themselves, but may get electrocuted, though having even a low level of mechanical skill greatly reduces the risk of being electrocuted when changing a bulb. These clickable lamps also have bulbs that will periodically burn out and need to be replaced.
Lights that have been turned on or off manually, or that have been turned on by a burglar alarm, will go back to automatic at 8:00 am. Clickable lights will also go on when a burglar alarm goes off. In The Sims, whether a light is clickable and can be turned on and off manually depends on its internal coding. Light options and customization The Sims Occasionally, the lights may not turn on automatically, requiring the player to manually adjust them. In The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, the lights will turn on automatically if a Sim enters a room, arrives home (if they are alone), or wakes up. Indoor lights that are on auto will be on between 7:00 pm and 7:00 am unless all Sims in the room are asleep. In The Sims 2, when an outdoor light is on auto, it will turn on at 7:00 pm and turn off at 2:00 am. In general, lights placed indoors on community lots are always on, but some custom lights may not behave in this way. However, many custom lights will only turn on automatically between 6:00 pm and 8:00 am, either because they are based on unchanged Maxis lights, or because they are based on pre- Hot Date lights. Hot Date changed most, but not all, Maxis lights so that they will turn on whenever a Sim enters the room, regardless of the time of day. Indoor lights will generally turn on when a Sim enters a room and turn off when no more Sims are in the room, or when all Sims in the room are asleep. In The Sims, outdoor lights come on at 6:00 pm and turn off at 3:00 am. In The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, lights are divided into five tabs in buy mode under the following titles: Table Lamps, Floor Lamps, Wall Lamps, Ceiling Lamps, and Outdoor Lights. As in The Sims, "Hanging Lamps" is the label used for ceiling lamps. For the most part, the "Miscellaneous" category contains street lighting. In The Sims 2, lights are divided into these categories: Table Lamps, Floor Lamps, Wall Lamps, Hanging Lamps, Outdoor Lamps, and Miscellaneous. There is also an "Other" category, which mostly consists of outdoor lights. When Hot Date introduced sub-categories into buy mode, floor lamps were labeled "Standing Lamps" and ceiling lamps were labeled "Hanging Lamps". Ceiling lamps were introduced in Hot Date. Wall lights were introduced with the downloadable Wall Light Pack, which was included in Livin' Large. When The Sims was first released, there were only floor lamps and table lamps.