Smart lighting - bug or poor install

[techdude101]

When I say smart lighting, I mean a PIR sensor triggers the light to turn on.
I keep finding that lights go off when I am still in the room, motionless for a few seconds.

Is this due to a poor installation (not enough sensors, threshold not set correctly etc...) or just a bug with this type of setup?

 

[Newboy]

Usually due to the length of time the light is set to stay on once triggered - once you stop triggering the PIR the timer takes over to govern the length of time the light stays lit.

Not really useful if you intend to use in a room where you won't move much once you're in

i.e. living room watching telly - not suitable

 

[Taylortwocities]

Sitting on the dunny, reading a book. Not suitable.

 

[333rocky333]

On some sophisticated stuff you can optimise the trigger but more common for touch stuff than pirs, but who knows what system your using
.
set 1, first trigger on, lights on for set time. further triggers ignored,lights off at end of time regardless of movement.
or
set 2 first trigger on lights on for set time. further triggers restart time, lights off if no movement for set time.

Sounds like you need to increase your times or have the sensors relocated as it may be you have moved too far from the sensor after your first trigger.

 

[techdude101]

I notice this problem in colleges, government buildings and similar places.

I don't have smart lighting in my house.

 

[DaftPunk]

I've found microwave detectors to be much more reliable for this sort of installation.

I don't think PIRs are the right solution for a domestic property though.

 

[bernardgreen]

There are occupancy detectors which ( it is claimed ) can detect a person in the monitored area even if the person is not moving around.

I don't know how these sensors detect stationary people, the method is not the same as that used in a normal PIR as PIRs depend on the person ( or heat source ) moving across the field of view.

There are sensors can detect a person as a stationary heat source in a place where there should not be a heat source but these have to be trained to ignore non human heat sources such as lamps, computors and other items that run warm. They tend to be very expensive and have to be re-trained every time equipment is moved.

 

[ericmark]

I note in local college the PIR sensor is a problem with even a class full of students it goes off and conversely when leaving the room for dinner break often still on when one returns.

Now seems they are still being used in corridors and store rooms but not in class rooms it was a fad that didn't work. With over head projectors being able to turn off selected lights is also important.

Pre-LED lighting yes I would worry about the power but today they are not really required.

To connect to alarm in the same way as my sons central heating so setting alarm turns heating down makes some sense. However one does have to be careful my father-in-law had a garage door installed with no mechanical over ride and the consumer unit was in garage with no side door.

This I am afraid is common, systems are installed without enough thought. I watch advert for Hive and wonder how many people leave the house on a regular basis not knowing what time they will arrive home? I would think more important to move heating between living and sleeping area so bedrooms are not hot when no one is sleeping.

Can you see a PIR in a bedroom. You rolled over last night and woke me up when the lights came on. Having button on TV remote to switch lights on and off OK but automatic no does not make sense in most rooms of the house. Maybe OK for kitchen but that's about it.

 

[ekmdgrf]

Presence sensing is a right pain in the ____. PIR sensor sense movement, so as you've seen, if there isn't any, the room is assumed empty. The only way around this is to have a timer on the PIR so that it keeps the light on for a period of time. This doesn't really work too well and invariably you either pop in and out leaving the lights on and the room unoccupied or you stay still too long and the lights go off. PIR lights tend to be really bad for a sitting room where one tends to....sit for a long time. Offices get around this problem by having a large number of people, so on the law of averages, someone is always triggering the PIR. Another options is beam sensors. If you have two staggered, you can work out direction of travel and see if people are coming or going. The only probably is that people tend to place items in the way of the beam and also they can very easily mistrigger eg if you walk half way through and then turn back. I have PIR lights in the hall and that works rather well as the lights turn on as soon as I enter and since it's only a transit area I leave and the lights go off. It goes a bit wrong if I need to work in there. In theory, if I turn the lights off and on using the switch, they stay on but this feature doesn't seem to work, even though the manual says it should, probably largely due to my buying cheap-ass PIRs. I also have one in the toilet and that seems to work too, only I have to set the timer a little longer. It's a bit annoying having the light stay on after I leave but it's easier then trying to train the YL to turn it off. In the fullness of time I might add one to the bathroom too, with a flow sensor on the shower, so I can tell if people are using it.