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Ryland · 09-21-12, 05:42 PM

I have two motion sensors in my house, they are the common ones that every big box store sells.
I have one in my garage so when I open up the door and walk in with my bike the light turns on, I can also see my garage from inside the house so if I see the light come on at night I know someone is in my garage! I also never have to worry about someone leaving the light on out there for hours and hours and it never comes on in the day time.
my other motion sensor light switch is in my entry way because the light switch is not near the door, I also often come in that door with groceries in my hands, for that room it's really nice to not have to fumble for a switch or take my shoes off in the dark, if you stop moving it doesn't always realize you are still there and the light turns off after 60 seconds.
Neither of these motion sensors work with CFL or LED bulbs, the LED never turns off and the CFL flickers on and off because the switch it's self draws around 2 watts in standby mode.

One other place that I've seen a motion sensor work really well was in a bath room hooked to the vent fan, it had it's on time dial cranked up to 10 minutes or so and every time you went in the bath room the fan came on, that bath room had a lot of repairs done due to moisture problems and this was part of the fix after the rot was taken care of, it was also in a rental so you couldn't rely on a well trained home owner.

I would like to try some occupancy sensor switches and see how they compare, my entry way is getting a washing machine hooked up soon, so a better sensor in there would be nice.

09-21-12, 05:42 PM	#6
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	I have two motion sensors in my house, they are the common ones that every big box store sells. I have one in my garage so when I open up the door and walk in with my bike the light turns on, I can also see my garage from inside the house so if I see the light come on at night I know someone is in my garage! I also never have to worry about someone leaving the light on out there for hours and hours and it never comes on in the day time. my other motion sensor light switch is in my entry way because the light switch is not near the door, I also often come in that door with groceries in my hands, for that room it's really nice to not have to fumble for a switch or take my shoes off in the dark, if you stop moving it doesn't always realize you are still there and the light turns off after 60 seconds. Neither of these motion sensors work with CFL or LED bulbs, the LED never turns off and the CFL flickers on and off because the switch it's self draws around 2 watts in standby mode. One other place that I've seen a motion sensor work really well was in a bath room hooked to the vent fan, it had it's on time dial cranked up to 10 minutes or so and every time you went in the bath room the fan came on, that bath room had a lot of repairs done due to moisture problems and this was part of the fix after the rot was taken care of, it was also in a rental so you couldn't rely on a well trained home owner. I would like to try some occupancy sensor switches and see how they compare, my entry way is getting a washing machine hooked up soon, so a better sensor in there would be nice.