Occupancy Sensor for OPII

kwschumm

Active Member
Is there such a thing as a hard-wired, PIR+Ultrasonic ceiling mount occupancy sensor that is not line powered and could provide a simple Occupied/Vacant signal to an OPII?
 
I've been looking for a couple of days and found all sorts of occupancy switches that do switching of lights, and provide an HVAC relay output, but I want the switching to be done via UPB so the lights can be controlled in other ways too (on/off on demand or on a pre-programmed schedule when we are on vacation).
 
Ultrasonic detectors have gone away. Today you find more RF detectors, that work like ultrasonic, but go further and penetrate walls. You can get PIR + RF. 
 
I also have to warn you that "occupancy" is an inexact science, and you will likely always be disappointed with the results.  Plus, today with LED lights, there really isn't a big energy savings, if any.  Just leave the lights in the evening you might need on.  If they are in hallways or other occasional lights, turn them on dim.  Its so much nicer than the running for the switch you will do with "automated" lights.
 
I use SensorSwitch occupancy sensors with OP2. They are not just for lights, I use them in general occupancy detection for controlling TVs, HVAC, roomba vacuums, etc. and general house occupancy.
 
Currently utilize similar Rokonet ceiling mounted PIR sensors and wall mounted PIR dual technology sensors.
 
Currently been updating the old PIR wall mounted sensors to newer dual technology sensors.
 
I would like to switch over the Rokonet (old) to the dual technology sensors which are now called
Risco LuNAR DualTech 360 Degree Ceiling Motion Sensors.
 
Way back did utilize the follow me lighting automation in the house and it's been tweaked down to outside and garage mostly because of low WAF.
 
Garage occupancy (autos) used a combination of PIRs, door switches, IP camera and RFID tagged automobiles which works 100 % of the time. 
 
As Ano mentions above:
 
I also have to warn you that "occupancy" is an inexact science, and you will likely always be disappointed with the results.
 
I installed a Leviton occupancy sensor in my attached garage that I like very much. It senses a person entering the garage and also turns on the lights when the overhead door moves. It comes in a 120VAC and a 24VDC version and has an option to add a manual wall switch tp temporarily  override it.
 
I don't remember the model number but I believe that it is somewhere in the coocoon tech archives.
 
Take a look here:
 
http://www.leviton.com/en/products/lighting-controls/occupancy-and-vacancy-sensors/ceiling-mount-occupancy-sensors
 
 
Mike.
 
I searched the archives and found that my sensor is a model ODCxx-MDW. It is 120vac but is available in a dc powered version.
 
Mike
 
ano, curious to know why you say that ultrasonic sensors are going away. Leviton's line of occupancy sensors are full of ultrasonic capable units. Not that Leviton is at the bleeding edge or anything though.
 
Having been a cube farmer I'm well aware of the shortcomings of occupancy sensing. My plans for them are mission NON-critical, so if it fails now and then it's no big deal as long as there's a manual override. Strictly a convenience item.
 
Thanks, folks, for all the sensor suggestions. Lots to check out. I really appreciate it!
 
Maybe I'm showing my age, but when I was in college, I had an internship at a company called "Detection Systems" with the guy who invented and patented a low-cost PIR sensor based on ink. In those days ultrasonic sensors were popular, and PIR was just starting. 
 
I'm not exactly sure why ultrasonic isn't used as much anymore, but I can guess a few reasons. They can have false alarms on occasion, for good range, the transmitter and receiver have to be spaced apart a bit, and its possible some pets people keep were bothered by the high-frequency sound.  Also, I'm not sure this was ever proven, but for a time, with powerful transmitters, there were some concern for negative health effects, at least with long-term exposure.
 
I have that Leviton OSSMT-GDW ultrasonic/PIR motion switch in my garage, but my wife always yells at me because it leaves the light on for long time after we are no longer in the garage.
 
I don't mean to be really down on occupancy detectors.  I guess I'm reacting to the years when I started in home automation, and had the dream that many have of motion detectors controlling all the lights for you. Using them to turn on lights is problematic because of the delay usually when used with an OMNI, sensors and lighting, all which adds a few seconds.
 
Occupancy sensors can be used to turn light off, but you need to be very generous on the time. I do this with a two hour timeout in our family room, and still sometimes the lights go out when we are sitting there. Unfortunately, occupancy detectors have limitations in real life.
 
I have heard of people detecting Bluetooth from your phone, or an RFID tag to detect the presence of someone, but it can get expensive.
 
If you use a sensor, just learn what motion it detects.  RF and ultrasonic detect things moving toward or away from the sensor. PIR detects things moving across the sensor, but only across in one axis, so be careful how you mount it.  And test it a bit before you permanently drill holes to install it.  Try it before you fully commit. 
 
I use IR beam sensors in my laundry room and walk in closet to turn on the lights, and the sensor switch occupancy sensors set to 2.5 minutes to turn them off.

Works great.
The beam sensors won't false trip on from walking by the open door, but not entering the room, and they're 4 feet off the ground so the cats can't trip them.
 
Here redid the lighting in the garage to all LED over the last few months. 
 
Have an outdoor style PIR in the garage and switched over to just doing an XX minutes of daylight in the garage when opening the garage door or entrance to the house door.
 
Works great for me for the garage lighting.  For monitoring also utilize CCTV (camera in the garage).
 
The PIR is in the garage but really not needed any more.
 
For a home you could just tag every occupant and use RFID.  (similiar to watching smartphone appendages via wireless or bluetooth).  It is cheap to do these days.
 
provide an HVAC relay output
 
You can do this with a connected Omnistat / temperature sensors to your Omni Pro panel.
 
For environmental heating and cooling it would take a few minutes to heat or cool the home detecting a presence in the home and personally here that would be low on the WAF.    Thermostat automation almost killed my automation efforts a few years back.
 
Desert_AIP said:
I use IR beam sensors in my laundry room and walk in closet to turn on the lights, and the sensor switch occupancy sensors set to 2.5 minutes to turn them off.

Works great.
The beam sensors won't false trip on from walking by the open door, but not entering the room, and they're 4 feet off the ground so the cats can't trip them.
I once explored using beam sensors to determine occupancy. So the idea was to use two sensors side-by-side, and determine the direction they were walking. Going into a room would increase the room count, and a person leaving would decrease it. In theory you could know reliably if a room was occupied, but in the end, it just got too complicated and messy for the end result.
 
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