Security light going off

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14 Apr 2010
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Staffordshire
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United Kingdom
I have fitted a few security lights over the years but always get the same problem.
When the wind gets up the lights look like strobe lights, on-off-on-off.

I believe that the PIR's on outside security lights detect motion, (this being the reason why they keep going on & off.) is this correct? if so, Is there an infra red detector that works off an intruders body heat?
or is there another solution to this problem?
 
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PIR - Passive Infra Red.

Works on heat + movement AFAIK

A combination of both will trigger the light.
 
pir's work by detecting fast changes in infared ( ie thermal ) radiation within it's " field of vision"..

you can fool one by moving very slowly into it's FOV and even more so if you waly directly towards or away from one..

if there's a gust of wind then it may bring warmer or colder air across the FOV of the sensor so it sees a change..
 
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Some are adjustable but until the dog died I had to walk the thing most nights and would talk on local radio repeater to other radio hams while out. Some PIR's were very good but I even could see the back of some houses light up as I walked by.
With mobile phones being the norm now it is not only people like me who trigger them and they even trigger each other.
My neighbour's light is OTT around 300W and when it come on my small 11W lamp goes out. However as his light goes out mine is re-triggered and we get a nice sea saw effect as they take over from each other in lighting the area. This is not uncommon and as long as no tree blows in wind or cat jumps on fence there is no problem. But once it starts only cure is to switch off.
This is why I use such a small lamp idea is only to light around my door not to light up whole neighbourhood however some people do not have the same thought and the 150W limit to lights without licence seems to land on deaf ears.
Central heating and hot water boilers also mess them up so now mine is very rarely switched on.
A bike placed so anyone sneaking around the back will likely trip over it and make a noise is far better unless neighbour lights it up! Set a trap of course not one of the kids left it there. Even if they did leave home 10 years ago?
 

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