LED floodlight, PIR and Microwave sensors and smart home integration

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Hi there,

I’ve a garden about 19m long and 6m wide that I want to cover with floodlight as burglaries have been on the rise around my area.

I was looking at LED floodlights with PIR sensors and now came across some models with microwave sensors with may be a bit better. I was thinking first to install 2 or 3 floodlights and connect them to 2 or 3 different PIR sensors around the garden to ensure any movement at odd parts would be detected but it ended up looking overcomplicated and I’m back to 2 or 3 floodlights working standalone and perhaps with microwave sensor.

I’m just worried about a couple of cats that can activate it, but so far, I’ve heard the sensitivity of microwave can also be adjusted. The model I’m thinking is this http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-elec/pel00418/30w-led-floodlight-with-microwave/dp/SR09946

Ideally, I would like to also have manual control of the lights from inside with a switch, but it seems PIR lights can do this as they have only 3 wires (earth, live and neutral) and the microwave has a remote control, but I believe it must be IR sensor so only when facing the light I can control it. I’m thinking about a smart home automation system like Samsung SmartThings with Z-Wave protocol, so if anyone knows a way of integrating floodlights and smart home systems that would be a bonus

Any thoughts?


Thanks!
 

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I’ve a garden about 19m long and 6m wide that I want to cover with floodlight as burglaries have been on the rise around my area.
I realise that you are talking about a 'conventional' approach, but it's worth thinking about the fact that, whilst some would-be burglars (particularly inexperienced ones) will be frightened off by lighting, a good few will welcome illumination to show them what they are doing. Neighbours may well take less notice of seeing your garden lit by floodlights (particularly if it often gets triggered by wind, animals etc.) than they would of seeing torches moving about your garden. ... just something for you to think about!
Ideally, I would like to also have manual control of the lights from inside with a switch, but it seems PIR lights can do this as they have only 3 wires (earth, live and neutral) ....
Many 3-wire (2-wire+earth) PIRs and PIR lights have the facility for 'manual overide', by switch the power off/on in quick succession.

Kind Regards, John
 
Many PIR lights, and pretty well all separate sensors allow for a manual override.
There will be a 4th connection - a switched live (SL) between PIR sensor and light. If using a separate PIR sensor then this switched line MUST be available on a terminal or you can't wire it up. Where the PIR is integral with the light fitting then it depends on whether the manufacturer put a terminal on that wire.
In many cases they treat the combined unit as being a separate sensor and light packaged into one unit - with the interconnections done inside the terminal box, so having 4 terminals (L, SL, N, E). All you need is a switch between L and SL to override the sensor and turn the light on.
But in some, the SL isn't accessible due to the way the unit is wired. With these, you would have to modify the internal wiring (if possible) to connect an override.
 
... There will be a 4th connection - a switched live (SL) between PIR sensor and light. .... In many cases they treat the combined unit as being a separate sensor and light packaged into one unit - with the interconnections done inside the terminal box, so having 4 terminals (L, SL, N, E). All you need is a switch between L and SL to override the sensor and turn the light on.
As I recently wrote, that used to be the case (and presumably still is with ones which take replaceable 230V bulbs), but it has somewhat changed with the advent of 'integrated' LED PIR lights. These do not necessarily switch the 230V at all (hence no 230V S/L connection existing or available) - but, rather, the sensor electronics drives the LED (at DC ELV) directly. However, I think that they usually do have the 'pulsed manual over-ride' facility.

Kind Regards, John
 
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I realise that you are talking about a 'conventional' approach, but it's worth thinking about the fact that, whilst some would-be burglars (particularly inexperienced ones) will be frightened off by lighting, a good few will welcome illumination to show them what they are doing.
And to add to that, point your lights down onto the garden not, like it seems everyone does, have it illuminate the whole neighbourhood. I can't remember where I saw it, but I've seen a website where they demonstrate how the "normal" aiming of a "security" light simply dazzles anyone looking at the building, while giving the criminal enough light to work by. Put simply, the light helps the criminal and makes him invisible. The light needs to point downwards so that it lights up the criminal without dazzling anyone (or the CCTV) who might observe them.
 
I'm coming to terms that is better to have a manually operated flood light from inside the house with a regular switch or perhaps a switch which is connected to zwave so I can control remotely and then I'll put a camera with IR like the Ubiquiti unifi G3 https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-video-camera-g3/ with an IR extender that then can detect movements on a specific area and send alerts. Thanks!
 
Look at gjd lighting pirs and controllers , proper external security sensors not like most mickymouse stuff out there! They have been around since the 1980s
 
I’ve a garden about 19m long and 6m wide that I want to cover with floodlight as burglaries have been on the rise around my area.
And you want to make sure that the burglars can see properly. Very considerate of you.


I’m thinking about a smart home automation system like Samsung SmartThings with Z-Wave protocol, so if anyone knows a way of integrating floodlights and smart home systems that would be a bonus
"Smart" home automation systems is one hell of an oxymoron.


Any thoughts?
My thoughts are that you'd have to be barking mad to introduce Z-wave (or anything similar) into a home security system without a great deal of diligence in looking at what the particular maker(s) of the Z-wave stuff were doing about their security, lest you create another oxymoron...
 
Your not permitted to set a trap, but you can watch an intruder blunder into danger, best I think is the garden pond, natural of course so he can't see it in advance.
 
Unfortunately, someone trespassing on your land can sue you and win if they are injured by something that you could reasonably have mitigated. So if your pond isn't fenced and the b***ard falls in, then you could find yourself in trouble.
Yup, crazy isn't it - but that's the way it is :rolleyes:
 
AIUI that only applies to things which are intrinsically "unexpected hazards", so if he fell into an unprotected trench being dug for a cable, that would be one thing, but falling into a garden pond (in a garden), or poking his eye out on the branch of a shrub is not something the owner could be held responsible for.
 
There's probably a large grey area - but it can be expensive to prove that you are in the right. I know someone who had their garden fence (alongside an alleyway) pulled down - and then the vandals sued for injuries. Their insurance had to pay out (IIRC a 5 figure sum) as there was no way to prove that they were responsible for the damage :evil: Unfortunately they had the misfortune to find themselves with nightmare neighbours - and that includes bricks through windows.
And they can't move - who's going to pay full price for a house with that sort of problem ?
 

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