Motion Sensor Wall Switch - Design deficits?

  • Thread starter Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun
  • Start date
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Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun

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I bought a Heath/Zenith motion sensor wall swithc and installed it in
the walk-in closet. Yeah, it works okay, and does the job. But...
After flipping the switch for a few decades, I'm finding that it's
hard to break a habit that has been ingrained into my behavior for so
long.

I still reach for the switch lever like I used to, but it's not there.
Instead, there's a slide switch that slides sideways with off, auto
and on positions, so it can be used like a regular switch. Well, of
course my instinctive action doesn't move the switch, but the motion
causes the sensor to turn the light on.

So I thought that these motion control switches should be more like a
regular switch and have a swich lever, so that they can be used _like_
a regular switch. In other words, the maker should not depart from
the standard switch design because the switch functions somewhat
differently. I think the designer made his choice of a slide switch
at the sacrifice of the user's convenience.

Also, I've had to remove the switch cover plate a few times to adjust
the time and sensitivity. This is another inconvenience that could be
addressed in the design. And it looks to me like the light has lost a
bit of brightness, probably because the switch uses a TRIAC and it
doesn't feed a full sine wave to the light - another thing to
consider.

Does this sound like a Bitch List? Probably, but then it will be a
help to those that are considering buying a motion sensor switch. Now
they know what they should look for when they purchase one. But it's
likely they may never find one that has these deficits mitigated. :-(

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On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 05:33:02 -0700, Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun"
<alondra101@hotmail.com> wrote:

I bought a Heath/Zenith motion sensor wall swithc and installed it in
the walk-in closet. Yeah, it works okay, and does the job. But...
After flipping the switch for a few decades, I'm finding that it's
hard to break a habit that has been ingrained into my behavior for so
long.

I still reach for the switch lever like I used to, but it's not there.
Instead, there's a slide switch that slides sideways with off, auto
and on positions, so it can be used like a regular switch. Well, of
course my instinctive action doesn't move the switch, but the motion
causes the sensor to turn the light on.

So I thought that these motion control switches should be more like a
regular switch and have a swich lever, so that they can be used _like_
a regular switch. In other words, the maker should not depart from
the standard switch design because the switch functions somewhat
differently. I think the designer made his choice of a slide switch
at the sacrifice of the user's convenience.

Also, I've had to remove the switch cover plate a few times to adjust
the time and sensitivity. This is another inconvenience that could be
addressed in the design. And it looks to me like the light has lost a
bit of brightness, probably because the switch uses a TRIAC and it
doesn't feed a full sine wave to the light - another thing to
consider.

Does this sound like a Bitch List? Probably, but then it will be a
help to those that are considering buying a motion sensor switch. Now
they know what they should look for when they purchase one. But it's
likely they may never find one that has these deficits mitigated. :-(
I've had one in my garage for years, switching fluorescents.

I sometime reach for the "switch" out of habit, but everything lights
up before I even get close.

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

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