Motion sensor

[Pete]

Just trying to sort light switch locations and if we decide to have motion sensors in d/s toilet and long corridor with three rooms off it do I still need light switches adjacent to rooms as back up or can I do away with them completely? TIA

[Jeremy Harris]

It's a very good point, as we have quite a few motion sensors to turn lights on and off, and we learned a couple of lessons along the way. 

 

I found that PIR motion sensors are fine in rooms like the downstairs WC, our walk-in wardrobe, several cupboards and one of the hall lights, but I had a lot of problems with false triggering on the sensor in the utility room (which has the back door leading directly into it).  That sensor was positioned to come on if we either entered the utility room via the backdoor or from the door into the kitchen, and it tended to be triggered by something it could "see" through the back door glazing, I think.  I ended up replacing that unit with a microwave Doppler sensor, which is fine, but needed a bit more setting up (they can sense motion through walls and doors, so the sensitivity adjustment is more critical).

 

The only light where I sometimes wish I'd also used a wall switch is the one in the hall.  We have three other lights in there that are manually switched only, and sometimes it would be useful to be able to manually switch the fourth light, which is only on a PIR sensor.  It's not a major issue, though, and if I was that bothered by it then fitting a Quinetic remote switch would be easy as a retrofit.

 

On a positive note, we now wonder why on earth we used to live in a  house where the lights didn't come on and go off automatically.  The lights in the utility room and downstairs WC are perfect on motion sensing alone, especially the utility room, as often we enter that room carrying stuff, either bags of shopping when coming in the back door, or washing baskets etc when coming in from the kitchen.

[Hecateh]

46 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

On a positive note, we now wonder why on earth we used to live in a  house where the lights didn't come on and go off automatically.  The lights in the utility room and downstairs WC are perfect on motion sensing alone, especially the utility room, as often we enter that room carrying stuff, either bags of shopping when coming in the back door, or washing baskets etc when coming in from the kitchen.

Totally agree, I now wish I had even more.  The only place that I think a switch is useful is in my bathroom where the PIR triggers a low light for using the bathroom at night and the switch controls bright lights for other essentials, that may be potentially beneficial for a downstairs loo also.  In my downstairs loo I have a switched light and have added a battery pir light which is adequate the majority of the time.

[Pete]

53 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

It's a very good point, as we have quite a few motion sensors to turn lights on and off, and we learned a couple of lessons along the way. 

 

I found that PIR motion sensors are fine in rooms like the downstairs WC, our walk-in wardrobe, several cupboards and one of the hall lights, but I had a lot of problems with false triggering on the sensor in the utility room (which has the back door leading directly into it).  That sensor was positioned to come on if we either entered the utility room via the backdoor or from the door into the kitchen, and it tended to be triggered by something it could "see" through the back door glazing, I think.  I ended up replacing that unit with a microwave Doppler sensor, which is fine, but needed a bit more setting up (they can sense motion through walls and doors, so the sensitivity adjustment is more critical).

 

The only light where I sometimes wish I'd also used a wall switch is the one in the hall.  We have three other lights in there that are manually switched only, and sometimes it would be useful to be able to manually switch the fourth light, which is only on a PIR sensor.  It's not a major issue, though, and if I was that bothered by it then fitting a Quinetic remote switch would be easy as a retrofit.

 

On a positive note, we now wonder why on earth we used to live in a  house where the lights didn't come on and go off automatically.  The lights in the utility room and downstairs WC are perfect on motion sensing alone, especially the utility room, as often we enter that room carrying stuff, either bags of shopping when coming in the back door, or washing baskets etc when coming in from the kitchen.

Thanks Jeremy. So I take it where you do have the motion sensor you have no wall switches at all?

[PeterW]

I’ve fitted sensor lights in WCs before and they make sense. The microwave ones from Philips work very well, and they aren’t switched so no switches on the outside walls, or pull switches in the rooms. 

[Jeremy Harris]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

Thanks Jeremy. So I take it where you do have the motion sensor you have no wall switches at all?

 

 

So far none of our motion sensor lights have wall switches, and for the majority of them that's fine. 

[Roundtuit]

I fitted a pir sensor in the WC as I don't like pull cords, and I didn't have wall space for a switch outside. It works well, and in retrospect I might have put a couple more in other places.  My mother-in-law did suffer a 'lights out' moment once, but to be fair, she had exceeded the allocated dwell time! ?

[Adam2]

To see how we get on with the idea I just fitted a PIR as a switch replacement in downstairs WC (one from CP Electronics). This is reasonably discrete and also includes buttons to turn off/on. Initially you keep wanting to hit the button but a few days in and getting used to not thinking about it. Only small issue is that the switch location is not perfect for sensing door entry but generally comes on before you would hit the switch regardless. In our new build will happily go with no switches in bathrooms for certain lights. Am also experimenting with Fibaro sensors and light controls and aim to use these in other areas for light automation....lots of choices there but at least for bathrooms it seems that self contained PIR/light systems are cheap and work well without switches. 

 

[Ed Davies]

21 minutes ago, Roundtuit said:

I fitted a pir sensor in the WC as I don't like pull cords, and I didn't have wall space for a switch outside.

 

Why not a wall switch inside? If there's no bath or shower or what have you in there then there's no wiring or building regulations restrictions involved.

 

Even with a bath or shower wiring (and hence building) regulations only require that the switch be outside the zones. Some people are still a bit squeamish about having an ordinary wall switch in a bath or shower room because of the possibility of condensation on the switch causing drips into it or electricity tracking across the surface. I really doubt that'd be a problem (apart from anything else, most other countries allow them with no problem) but still choosing a proper brand from a reputable supplier seems wise. If there's just a toilet and basin that wouldn't be a concern, anyway, as there's no significant amounts of steam and no zones.

Edited January 30, 2019 by Ed Davies

[Jeremy Harris]

Our bathrooms are areas where I didn't fit motion sensors, as we don't want the ensuite bathroom lights to come on in the middle of the night.

[Roundtuit]

5 minutes ago, Ed Davies said:

 

Why not a wall switch inside? If there's no bath or shower or what have you in there then there's no wiring or building regulations restrictions involved.

 

It's future proofed for putting a shower in at a later date, and the shower will go where a light switch would (unless I put a switch on the hinged side of the door...). TBH, now I've tried it, even if I had space for a switch I'd still go PIR sensor.