Soffit Downlights c/w switch & dusk to dawn sensor

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Hi
Im going to be fitting downlighters in my soffits soon, & am thinking I would like them to be on whenever its dark, just for better security, but also have the option to switch them on/off. Would a dusk to dawn sensor be an option? How would I wire it up to the switch in my hallway to allow manual control of the lights, but also be able to work with the sensor? Maybe easier just forgetting the sensor & switching them on/off manually?
Thanks
 
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Im going to be fitting downlighters in my soffits soon, & am thinking I would like them to be on whenever its dark, just for better security,


Britastro have split what used to be a larger page over several, it seems.

These are the earliest and latest archived versions of the last link:
The current site also has this:


but also have the option to switch them on/off. Would a dusk to dawn sensor be an option? How would I wire it up to the switch in my hallway to allow manual control of the lights, but also be able to work with the sensor?
If you have a dusk-dawn sensor, you're saying that you want to be able to turn the lights on when it isn't dark.... o_O
 
How would I wire it up to the switch in my hallway to allow manual control of the lights, but also be able to work with the sensor?
It will depend on what connections are available at the switch. Post a photo of the wiring.
Do you plan to add an extra switch for control of the soffit lights?
 
Still not sure what to do. Will be wiring it up to the switch thats already there for my existing porch light, but wasnt sure wether to use a dusk to dawn sensor so theyre on whenever its dark, bit still be able to turn them off when I want. Maybe best just ditching the idea of the sensor and switching them on/off manually
 
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If you want to turn them off when it's dark just have a switch in the supply to them...
 
Will be wiring it up to the switch thats already there for my existing porch light,
You need to do the following

1. Decide what it is that you want to do. We cannot decide for you.
2. Research how you want to control the results of item 1. Wiring it up to an existing switch may appear to be simple, but there are some reasons why it may not be as easy as you think.
 
Given that the intension is to repurpose the existing porch light supply and switch, having the lights on a dusk-dawn switch and be able to turn them off manually is almost certainly doable. Route the existing (switched) porch light supply through the dusk-dawn sensor on the way to the soffit lights - adding the lights will mean some wiring anyway.
If you want to be able to turn them on when it's light may or may not be harder to do - most likely harder. Ditto if you want to be able to select on-off-automatic.
 
If you want to be able to turn them on when it's light may or may not be harder to do - most likely harder.
It's quite common for PIR activated lights to be able to be manually turned on with a quick off-on of the supply - is it the same for light sensor ones?
 

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