Help with Motion and Occupancy Sensor Selections

[sbex55]

I'm looking for some help selecting the best Bosch PIRs for inside my home (Elk install with an ISY). Questions are:

1 - When would I use a Blue Line Gen2 Quad PIR vs the Gen2 TriTech Detector?

2 - I have a 50' hallway which will cover 5 possible entries. I assume the Bosch DS778 Long Range Detector is best?

3 - I have a 20' x 35' living room which will cover 3 possible entries. Would the Quad PIR or the TriTech Detector be better?

4 - Even though we don't/won't have pets I assume using the Pet-Friendly versions would make sense for resale?

5 - Bonus Question: I am planning to add some occupancy sensors for home automation. Which brands/model work well?

I understand PIRs are susceptible to false alarms. I plan on triggering the alarm after 2 PIRs are triggered with a certain period of time.

Thanks for the help!


Scott.

 

[sbex55]

Any ideas here? Perhaps Bosch is not the brand I should use?

 

[kwilcox]

I have 2 Blue Line Gen 2s coming in on Monday. They are the 20' pet immune versions (ISCBDL2WP6G) and I got them from here: Surviellent Security. These will be for intruder detection purposes. For motion detection as an automatic lighting trigger, I use Ademco 997 ceiling mounts. These have mechanical reed switches though and some make a slight clicking sound when they activate. If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably replace them with sensors containing electronic switches.

 

[Del91574]

1. When enviromental dictates a different technology. Generally most quad PIR's aren't going to have multiple detection circuits/technologies, just straight PIR. Basically, a quad is a step up from a PIR, but still not as good as a dualtec.

2. Not necessarily. You need to pick a detector with enough range, yes, however when the distance is factored in, usually the movement needed to generate an alarm at the far end is significant. You need to put the detector in so motion is detected across the coverage pattern, not when walking towards it. A 50' hallway with a single detector aimed down it probably isn't going to see movement at the end of it unless the hallway is extra wide.

3. Depends on enviromental.

4. If you're worrying about resale and detectors, you'll also need to compromise location and possibly install more to avoid the common false alarm items, areas that animals can climb on within 6' of the detector and/or stairs.....you really can't foresee another person's furniture layout, so the best way is to think of how you plan on laying out the space. Another HO will have other design criteria that your install might not address.

5. It depends on the system you're planning on tying them into and if you're using line voltage or low voltage.

4.

 

[ddennerline]

I have two Visonic Duets installed and like them (http://www.visonic.com/Products/Wired-Detectors/Duet-am-dual). They are not obnoxious ugly, don't make any clicking sound, and provide numerous configuration options.

For first detector, I made the expensive mistake of not checking location with a simple tethered piece of wire. The detectors work best when they are installed at 45/90 degress. I had to rip open the drywall and wasn’t too happy. As Dell suggested, hallways may be tricky. I would get a 100ft of four-wire and with two people, connect wire back to panel, and find the best position before running any wires.

The second detector I installed using this technique, and it took well over an two hours of walk tests and small adjustments before finding the best location.

 

[Del91574]

Also, not to discount what D.D went through, but usually people put all their eggs in a single basket with a small handful of motions when installing and then don't understand why the system fails to perform well.....add some more motions (or perimeter detection) and coverage usually isn't as much of an issue.

Cross zoning is usually a band-aid to a faulty system design if that is the method needed to avoid a false alarm issue. Either improper application of a detector outside of it's design criteria or poor enviromental control.

 

[newalarm]

I would get a 100ft of four-wire and with two people, connect wire back to panel, and find the best position before running any wires.

I read in one manual (it may have been for glass breaks) to use a small battery to test the units. The bosch work on 9 volts. May be easier than running wire all the way back to panel.