Sensor question

[Ollieandoscar]

Hi all new member here.

My question is, I have a driveway that is 70 meters long, have recently installed automated gates and i'm looking to put up 6 lamp post style lights with a sensor at both ends of the drive so they can be activated from any direction.
Any help with sensor makes/models and cable requirements would be much appreciated, each light has three heads and will be running the Eco 11 watt bulbs or three 60watt in each making it either 33 watts a post or 180 watts.

Thanks for taking the time to view this.

 

[ericmark]

Why do you want sensors? To me with a car it has head lights so no need to have lights down the drive when using a motor vehicle and if walking either two way switching or push switches with timer would do the same thing.

I will admit visitors may not know there is a switch but will electric gates I would have thought there would be an intercom link and you would turn on the lights when opening the gate.

There are beams which can be used but in the main inferred and OK in a factory but you don't bend down in a factory to tend to garden or have children.

PIR or similar either end could switch on the lights but it is the time it takes to walk from end to end of the drive and if the timer will run for long enough for you to activate the PIR on the other end before it times out.

It may be better to use a simple switch 70 meters is a long run and unlikely you will get a PIR which will span that distance yet not be set off with trees.

Other option is PIR on each lamp but it really does need some one to visit to work out what is best this is not really a job which can be done over a DIY forum.

 

[mfarrow]

By the time you've driven up the drive the CFLs will just be starting to warm up! Regarding the alternatives, I'd choose halogen lamps in preference to 60W normal incandescent, or maybe even LEDs?

Ideally you'd want to wire the gate end with the gate opening mechanism itself, and the house end with IR-beam detectors, in order to prevent nuisance operation due to cats, birds etc, and ensure the beam covers the entire width of the driveway.

Most detectors will run on extra-low DC voltage, so you'll need some form of power supply and contactor/relay to engage the lighting.

 

[Ollieandoscar]

Why do you want sensors? To me with a car it has head lights so no need to have lights down the drive when using a motor vehicle and if walking either two way switching or push switches with timer would do the same thing.

Thanks for the input.
I own a guest house and rather than explain about where switches are the sensor option seemed more simple, the drive dosent have any trees, so not a problem, and yes car head lights are handy for coming down the drive at night, but people walking don't. And I won't be gardening or trying to pick up children at night...???
Probably go just hard wiring them without sensors and put them on a timer and leave them on constant whilst it is dark.
Just thought I would ask for some input, thanks anyway.

 

[bernardgreen]

I would use a through beam sensor at each end of the driveway with a time before OFF long enough for someone to walk slowly the length of the driveway. It will mean the lamps stay on for that length of time after the person has left the driveway as the exit sensor's timer will be triggered.

I would also use LED lights as they are full brightness immediately.

Using ELV ( 12 or 24 volt ) LEDs and sensors will make the installation simpler at the cost of a power supply. It would also enable simple battery operation to cope with power cuts ( although the gate wouldn't open if it did not have battery back up for use in power cuts ).

 

[ekmdgrf]

If you use two light beams a small distance apart, one can deduce direction of travel.

You could also augment the arrangement with some PIRs along the drive.

If you want to be really off-the-wall, run a light curtain the length of the drive or have a video camera with image recognition, you could write some really interesting algorithms for that.

Personally I'd also have light beams running parallel to the drive and high voltage conductors in the ground either side. That way I could tell if people wondered off the drive and play a recorded message "return to the path or you will be penalised." I think I saw that in the film once