Fitting Automatic Light Switches

[securespark]

Following on from a thread I started in GD... I was talking about saving money. My three boys never turn their lights off.

I'd like to fit some kind of occupancy sensor. One bedroom is easy (picture not included) as I can just fit a 1G PIR sensor designed to replace the switch.

The other beds are a bit tricky: one has an architrave switch:

The other has a bookcase blocking the view of a PIR sensor switch:

I can fit ceiling-mounted occupancy sensors, as suggested on the other thread, but are there any alternatives?

The final obstacle may be that the lights have (or will have) CFL's? I have not yet found a PIR switch that can handle one 18W CFL.

 

[ericmark]

I think you need to work out costs. The electric used with an 18W discharge bulb will likely cost less over 5 years than cost of PIR. And how do you think they will do home work while waving their hand to keep light on?

Units like this

are cheap enough at under £30 but once you move to these you also have the wiring to contend with. Although the 15 min max is more usable than 6 min on other unit. Click on picture to see more.

Switching the lights on/off on/off defeats the unit how long before your kids work that out?

 

[sparkyspike]

I would say without hesitation, that the best course of action is to encourage/educate your kids to turn their lights off. Otherwise, how else will they learn?

 

[ElectricDunc]

How about one of those pneumatic stair way switches. They would be constantly pushing it on for a few minutes of light. Guarantee they'll be asking for the old switch back and promising to switch it off when they leave the room!

 

[sparkyspike]

And if they don't learn the second time round, fit a momentary switch! They'll have to get into bed quick before their vision-persistence fades out!

 

[securespark]

 

[RF Lighting]

I'm begining to think that PIRs are probably not very well suited to a bedroom.

First problem is the light staying on for it's preset time. If the lads are tired and go straight to bed, they'll be laid there until the light switches it's self off.

Problem two. What happens if they roll over, or get up in the night. The light is going to come on again, and they will not be able to switch it off.

 

[JohnD]

CFLs are so cheap to run that it isn't worth buying fancy switches.

Energy costs on space heating and water heating are much greater, think about savings there.

You can do the BG online survey if you need ideas.

(see Energy Savers Report on http://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy-efficiency.html

 

[sparkybird]

I fitted some of those PIR switches recently for a client in his hall/stairs/landing. He chose and bought them and I have to say, I'm glad he did and not me, as I don't think that they did the job very well - seemed to go on and off at will despite me spending ages adjusting them... unless they had a ghost!

SB

 

[Zambezi]

I have used them on a few jobs, mostly for communal areas (stairs, landings etc) and the first ones I used were rubbish and very temperamental, changed them for some very expensive German made sensors and they were brilliant.
One customer tried to get me to fit them to their kids bedrooms but I refused to for all the reasons listed already.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

My employer's offices have lights which after 6 or 7pm go into half-hour timed mode, i.e. every 30 minutes they go off and you have to get up, walk to the switch and flick it off and on. (There's enough permanent illumination to be able to see to do that, just not enough to work.)