Motion Sensor

Motion Sensor Switches – Leviton ODS10-ID

Motion sensor light switches, or occupancy sensors, wire in just like a regular light switch, and are most often seen in public restrooms, but work just as well in your home, wherever your kids forget to turn the lights off when they leave, or for switching an outlet with other devices plugged in. This model turns the power on when it detects motion or the switch is pushed, and off after a predetermined duration  (30 seconds, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes), or pushing the switch again.

This ODS10-ID Leviton occupancy sensor in particular is made to work with a wide variety of loads, including  florescent ballasts. You could also use it to run something like a bathroom ventilation fan. I would avoid the cheaper models, because this is one of those sensors that can be really irritating if it isn’t functioning right. You can wire several of these occupancy switches up to the same load (if you have an L shaped room or hall to light for instance) and the switch won’t go off if any of them have recently detected motion.

This is a single pole indoor motion sensor, and is not weatherproofed. It has a 180° sensing zone, up to 40′. It has adjustments for sensitivity, duration, and can be adjusted to only turn on if the ambient light is below a certain brightness, which is another great energy saving feature. There is a red LED in the sensor that blinks when it detects motion, so you can fine tune the controls quickly.

This fixture comes in different colors and fits standard Decora wall plates, so make sure you have one on hand.

This sensor switch can be found on amazon:
Leviton ODS10-ID Decora Wall Switch Occupancy Sensor (120/277V rating), White

Motion Sensor

Outdoor Security Camera System

A couple well placed security cameras can be a great supplement to security lights. I try to keep the solutions on this site within the realm of what the average person can purchase and install, and this Logitech Alert 750e Outdoor Master Security System with Night Vision is no exception.

I’ve been anticipating the release of the 750e for a while, and now that it’s finally out, I’m not disappointed. This is a modern take on security. Instead of a ton of wiring and some kind of clunky VCR-like receiver, this will hook directly into your computer network via an ordinary electrical outlet (you still need one ethernet port for the receiver), or when there is no network access, it can store weeks’ worth of data on a MicroSD card (included). You can also view the live feed from the cameras from a remote computer or smartphone (this is free!).

The system comes with one camera, the HomePlug Network Adapter, and all you need to get the master system installed. You can add additional cameras (up to six), which come in indoor or weatherproofed outdoor variants. Be sure to get the Logitech Alert though, as they have a previous camera called the WiLife, which has much lesser specs and is not compatible with the Alert 750.

The Alert 750 has a high definition (960 x 720 at 15 fps) camera with night vision and wide angle 130° field of view. Each camera has 16 motion detection zones which you can select from in the software, so you can set each camera to ignore motion in selected areas of the picture (like roads and sidewalks). The audio is defaulted to off in the software for each camera, so don’t forget to turn it on if you want it. You’ll get some blur on fast moving subjects, but the picture is much nicer than most of the competition.

The remote features are remarkably robust as well. You can have the cameras send you alerts when they detect motion, and you can view the feed remotely, and zoom in on areas of interest if you have a small screen. The night vision is sufficient to capture video in complete darkness, but for a nice image at night, use the cameras in concert with motion lights. If you want an easy setup and value quality over quantity, this is your camera. It’s nice to see a modern alternative. Most of the other systems seem outdated right out of the box.

Amazon carries these, which is convenient.

Motion Sensor

Keeping Bugs Away From Your Lights

If you live in a place where there is a large population of June Bugs, moths, etc, they can be a real pain. Most outdoor lighting draws them in in noisy clouds. Motion lights are an improvement, but if the bugs are big enough, they can continuously trigger many of the less fancy models, but there are several things you can do to minimize this.

The first thing you can do is change the spectrum of your lights. Most insects see much farther into the ultra-violet spectrum than we do, but don’t see much in the spectrum from yellow on into infra-red. This means that the cooler the spectrum on your bulbs, the more bugs it will attract. They make bulbs specifically to solve this problem. I’d like to stress that whatever they may say on the packaging, these are not bug repellers. Putting one of these up won’t chase away mosquitoes, or keep the ants out of your kitchen. It is merely a spectrum that things like May Beetles, moths, etc. can’t see, and thus won’t chase. There are several styles of bulb available:

• Bug flood lights
• Fluorescent bug lights
• Bug light bulb (standard 60W incandescent)

Personally, that yellow color would drive me nuts.

A second option is to just kill them. I highly discourage the use of poisons. Most bug poisons are indiscriminate killers. When you look at our current honey bee die-offs, and the history of things like DDT, the poisons really don’t seem worth it. Increasingly, they are finding traces of them within us as well. There are a huge number of bug zapper products out there (amazon alone sells around a hundred different models) that are especially effective against this sort of insect. There are even solar bug zappers now, although  they have a lousy track record on the mosquitoes they are advertised for. Bug zappers have their own set of issues: They use up electricity (except the solar ones) They are loud, and if you live in an area where the bugs are thick, you really aren’t likely to be able to keep up. If you are putting up a zapper, keep in mind that it doesn’t need to be right next to your favorite rocking chair; put it out back where it won’t be so noticeable.

A third option is to change where you are lighting from. Switch to spotlights, and put them away from where the bugs are a nuisance, but where it can shine on the areas you frequent.

My fourth and final suggestion is a bit more involved, but will solve the problem nicely. The key is to put up outdoor motion lighting, but to keep the sensor away from the lights themselves. There is a very nice motion sensor kit designed for doing just that. It allows you to put up the kind of lighting you like, and then just switch out the light switch for one that communicates wirelessly with a battery powered motion sensor. Put the sensor where it can cover the area you want covered, and now if the bugs are flying around the light, they won’t trigger it to stay on.

Remember, you don’t have to make the system perfect, you just have to have a better setup than the neighbors. The bugs will congregate there.

Motion Sensor

Home Driveway Alarm

This DrivewayPatrol Driveway Alarm is one of those ‘As seen on TV!’ products, which means the quality is questionable, but the price is outstanding due to mass production, and they are thoroughly tested. The idea is simple: just hide the motion sensor along your driveway, put the speaker unit in your home (within 400 feet), and when someone walks or drives into your driveway, you hear a chime. It can be handy for security, alerting you to guests, or for quite a lot of other purposes.

This is a passive infrared sensor, so you don’t want to put it in a windy bush or at a level where the cat will set it off, unless you want your cat to set it off. Some people use this type of motion detector at ankle level by their door to let them know when their pet wants to come in. They can also be useful if you are making a racket in a workshop or are in the back yard and you want to be alerted to visitors. There is no wiring necessary, as the wireless driveway alarm takes three C batteries for the sensor, and a 9 volt for the chime (not included).

There aren’t many products out there that still use C batteries, and if you are like me, you don’t want to be buying odd battery sizes all the time. My solution was to get these Sanyo rechargeable batteries with charger. They come with 8xAA, 2xAAA, and four each of these plastic shells you can put a AA battery inside of in order to make them work as C or D batteries. They work great, and rechargeable batteries have gotten so much better in recent years. I use them for everything now. Everything from AAA to D batteries actually put out the same voltage, they just made all the bigger sizes to hold a charge longer, but the new AA batteries hold more than the old D batteries.

There is a similar driveway alarm system, the Bunker Hill Driveway Alert System, that you can find at Harbor Freight. They are similar enough that I’m guessing they are using pretty much the same guts. Harbor Freight is known for having really cheap stuff, but amazon has this Driveway Patrol unit for around half the price ($11 as of this writing).

If you are looking for a DIY driveway alarm solution, It would be easy to whip up something fun with this DIY Motion Detector Kit. By putting the sensor in your driveway and hooking it up to your indoor lights, you could have the interior lights come on whenever someone approaches, which would both leave a convincing impression that you are home even when you aren’t, and if you are home, alert you more directly than traditional outdoor motion lighting when someone is outside.