2 way switching incorporating PIR

[cdbe]

I'm a big fan of PIR light switches, I have 3 in my house and don't need to wave my hands around - they just work when they need to.

I want to fit one to the upstairs landing (I can't find the light switch when I come out of the bedroom), but downstairs (open plan) I'll need a manual switch. Is this possible? The switches I have are ceiling mounted. Doing my head in trying to figure it out, I think the on would be ok but it won't switch off if the downstairs switch is on?

 

[EFLImpudence]

I'm a big fan of PIR light switches, I have 3 in my house and don't need to wave my hands around - they just work when they need to.

I want to fit one to the upstairs landing (I can't find the light switch when I come out of the bedroom), but downstairs (open plan) I'll need a manual switch. Is this possible? The switches I have are ceiling mounted. Doing my head in trying to figure it out, I think the on would be ok but it won't switch off if the downstairs switch is on?

Not a good idea. The PIR might switch off when a person is halfway down the stairs.

Just put another switch by the bedroom door.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Not a good idea. The PIR might switch off when a person is halfway down the stairs.

There’s the same risk with switches. My first wife used to do that when I was on the stairs!

 

[cdbe]

Not a good idea. The PIR might switch off when a person is halfway down the stairs.

Just put another switch by the bedroom door.

I can design out the safety issues - the PIR would cover most of the route and I tend to have them on a long timer - unfortunately my kids/wife (unlike T of TC's - I'd just get the more direct shove in the back) would never switch off a light so I'll still save loads. And there's 4 rooms opening to the landing.

Just want to know if it's possible at this stage. I suppose alternatives are a conventional two way and second PIR light (or even a basic plug in or battery PIR nightlight). But as I said, PIR is good because the family absolutely love giving our money to the shareholders at outfox the market.

 

[flameport]

2x PIRs, one at the top, the other at the bottom of the stairs.
Lights switch on when one or both PIRs are triggered.

A PIR and standard switch cannot work as required, as the PIR is by design only on for a short time, but a switch could be on or off for hours at a time.
Best case with PIR and a switch is that the switch would work as light on or light is PIR controlled, but that doesn't solve anything as it could still be left on permanently.

Another option would be a PIR, momentary switch and a separate staircase timer relay, where the PIR or the switch trigger the relay to activate the light, but that is swerving into the realms of unnecessary cost and complexity.
There is also the consideration that PIRs and timer relays consume energy all the time, and the cost of operating a couple of LED lights is tiny in the context of total energy use in the home.

 

[ericmark]

I have seen PIR's advertised to work with smart switches, but I have never tried fitting one. To have the switches in parallel with the PIR clearly lights can be left on, and in series with PIR lights can switch off when required, neither is really what is wanted. With a smart relay change of state of the switch wires changes the state of the relay, so using a phone or voice controls works with the system in the same way as adding an intermediate switch.

We can say hey google switch on landing lights and it works, so I suppose you could also have a smart PIR do the same, however the question is why would you want to? It is so easy to say hey google turn off landing lights why would you want a PIR to do that function? I have programmed in off commands in case we forget, I have 5 GU10's as the landing light, and a double smart relay so it turns off 4 to start with and then the fifth centre light so one does have some warning.

I tried to see what the smart PIR's will do, but all it says is "Simply set a 'smart scene' to activate your home in the action." One would need to down load the app to find how it integrates. Tried another make and it says "Energy Saving – Automatically turn on connected smart devices when you come and go" but this seems the problem with smart devises you don't know exactly what they can do until you buy them and try.

And as said for me voice commands are ample. I have been removing PIR's as too easy for them to turn off at inopportune moments. Most the outside lights are now on smart controls instead, I still have one or two PIR's but the lights they are fitted to have others that cover same area, so only really for the odd nocturnal visitor which are very rare.

 

[robinbanks]

Have an illuminated /back lit light switch that the PIR switches on. Much easier to find a light switch that starts glowing when you walk near it

Perhaps there is a switch out there with its own light sensor and led so it glows at night, but will take many years of glowing all night to chew through the amount of electricity you can buy for the price of one PIR and an hour's faffing installing it

 

[cdbe]

I'm going to do - landing upstairs on a PIR, stairs on a standard two way switch (or possibly timer with a long "on time") and ground floor "landing" area on another PIR - both are large enough to merit two lights.

The wife wants "lights in the stairs" so I'll start a new thread for that!

 

[SUNRAY]

We have 2 outside lights with PIRs and 2 way switching to override. There's nothing to stop it being done.

how about delay off pushbutton, even a pneumatic to save energy.

 

[cdbe]

Just an update, haven't done the ground floor one yet so, so far I have the stairs conventional two way set, up and the FF landing on a PIR - it's perfect! It switches on the light literally as the bedroom doors open, when coming up the stairs it (completely reliably) switches on when you reach the top step!
Ignore the bulbs they're just what I had to hand, the one lit up is the PIR, the other is switched and the PIR switch is at the back between the two.