Light Motion Sensors in Entrance Hall, Landing, & Stairs - Advice?

[EViS]

We're mid-refurb of my mothers home at moment. I've still got some designs to finalise in CAD and make sure she approves of them however one she already can't wait to try out is light motion sensors in the downstairs entrance hall and upstairs landing, so here's the plan;

a ) Walking out of any ground-floor room into the downstairs entrance hall will turn the downstairs ceiling lights on (*one motion sensor in corner*);
b ) Stepping onto the stairs will fire up the LED lights at ankle level in the left wall (*motion sensor inside wall at knee height on both ends of staircase*);
c ) Reaching the first-floor landing will turn the lights on there (*one motion sensor in corner*).

Making a return journey (points c - a) will of course yield the same result. A timer of 2-3 minutes for all lights to then switch off should be sufficient. The sensors will also need to be programmed to only become active after a certain time during the year (when it gets dark).

Thus, I am looking for;

1 ) Recommendations as to a quality manufacturer for the two sensors in the entrance hall & landing.
2 ) Recommendations for the two sensors which need to be positioned at knee level in the wall by the stairs.
3 ) What to look for when choosing a sensor.

All the sensors I have come across online seem to vary in cost quite substantially (£15 - £80 /unit). No other home-automation technology interests my mother thus compatibilty with any other equipment (i.e. X10) is necessary.

[hornydragon]

DO you mean PIR or beam break sensors? if you mean PIR occupancy sensors then they are about £70-80 depending

[EViS]

I imagine I'll need PIR in the entrance hall & landing, with a beam break on both ends of the stairs?

Or can I used a PIR on the stairs which only has around a 30 degrees 'view' in order to only sense when someone starts walking up the stairs as opposed to simply walking by the stairs...

Could you recommend manufacturers for both these systems please? There are quite a few around this forum and I'm not sure how they differ...

[hornydragon]

I would use a PIR on landing covering top 1/3 of stairs and in hall covering bottom 1/3 it depends alot on the rooms layouts and the light locations without knowing those its not really possible to say

[EViS]

The stairs require a sperate sensor in order to switch the wall LED's on... I only want the LED's to switch on when someone begins walking up the stairs.

[hornydragon]

Why? Surely the point of using LED is that they can be on all the time and still use less power then single 60W bulb

[EViS]

I just think that having the lights (downstairs/stairs/upstairs) come on in three stages as you walk between these locations would look rather cool, no?

You would personally have the stairs switch on automatically once it starts to get dark?

[hornydragon]

I think that once you have used PIR triggered lights you may not think they are so cool imagine waking up early and nipping to the loo as older people often do and as soon as you open the bedroom door WHAM full light (try it at 3 am and see what you think) then think what the operation is actually like when loads of LEDs turn on. what you actually want is light level controlled automation that allows you to set the level of the light base don cetrain conditions these can be time, occupancy, ambient level etc this requires a full on control system and controllabel lights.

[EViS]

Your example of getting up to use the loo at early hours of the morning is a very good one to consider (which I didn't do prior to you mentioning it).
However, members of my mothers household do often get up and switch lights on, forgetting to switch them off later before crawling back into bed...

I feel a fully controlled light system as you mentioned will be an overkill for simple hall/stairs light automation. If we were wiring the entire house up in this way, then an entire system would be worth our while.

Could you recommend some PIR manufacturers (or specific units) with a good amount of settings (eg. photovoltaic, timer, etc)?

Also, how can I get the LED's to switch on when it starts to get dark? A photocell switch would seem like the best option, however as soon as the hall ceiling lights are turned on by the PIR sensors, the photocell will react to the light by turning the LED's off...

[hornydragon]

Originally Posted by EViS

However, members of my mothers household do often get up and switch lights on, forgetting to switch them off later before crawling back into bed...

Time delayed switches would sort that out i cant reconmend a PIR as i dont use them i dont like the operation or the limitations they bring.

[EViS]

How would a time delayed switch work in turning the LED's on at dusk?

[hornydragon]

I meant for operation of main lights ie once turned on after Xperiod they go off you copuld run the stairs from an exterior photocell so the come on when its dusk outside regradless of the light level in the hall

[EViS]

I was made aware today that I can keep the photocell in the hall as it does not react to artificial light (unless a light source points directly at it). Is this true/possible?

Also, I don't suppose you would know whether a dimmamble PIR would work with a chandelier with 5 candle bulbs. The chandelier obviously doesn't have a transformer attached to it, and THIS dimmable PIR outputs to 1-10 volts DC... Is it simply a case of attaching a transformer to the incomming chandelier electricity? Or would candle bulbs not run of this?

[hornydragon]

THat PIR is for 1-10V CFL units not sure if you can adapt it to run incandescent fittings

[EViS]

Originally Posted by hornydragon

THat PIR is for 1-10V CFL units not sure if you can adapt it to run incandescent fittings

Thanks for confirming that. I've found that out myself now too . Any other options available to me in order to achieve my desired result?