Motion detector suggestion?

[beelzerob]

It's great when you get to the point where your wife makes suggestions for ways to improve how the house works. We have a fairly frequent issue of our little girls running (literally) to our room at night in the relative dark. We currently have about 5 nightlights lining the route, but it's still a bit hazardous for our taste. Fortunately I had thought to mount some 22/4 and cat5 wire up in the wall at the end of the hallway. So, that'd be a perfect place to put a motion detector, such that when it detects the little ones, it brings the lights up to about 20% or so.

We have one medium sized dog, a lab mix...dunno how much bigger she's going to get. she doesn't tend to move a lot at night, but I'd still rather not false off of her if possible.

Thankfully from what I've seen, motion detectors aren't very expensive, so I'm not taking a big risk here either way...but I thought I'd canvas the community to see if there is an all-out favorite when it comes to these things.

The "hallway" is really an open walkway, with railings on either side. kind of a catwalk. The kids will emerge from almost directly below the motion detector, and it's pretty important to notice them quickly or they'll have made the dangerous night sprint before the lights come on.

Any suggestions are helpful. I can include pics of the area if it helps determine the right kind to get.

Also, will I need some kind of power source to go with it? I know 12v is pretty populare, but other than a vast assortment of wall warts, I don't have a 12v power supply.

 

[ASIHome]

We have one medium sized dog, a lab mix...dunno how much bigger she's going to get. she doesn't tend to move a lot at night, but I'd still rather not false off of her if possible.

The problem here is that if you get a pet immune detector for that size animal, it will most likely miss the kiddies as well.

Also, will I need some kind of power source to go with it? I know 12v is pretty populare, but other than a vast assortment of wall warts, I don't have a 12v power supply.

You should have some kind of AUX power on the panel you are using, you can power the detector from it.

 

[signal15]

You could get a beam detector and recess it into the wall about 2.5 feet from the floor. Dog will walk under it, people won't.

 

[ano]

Yes the beam detectors are often overlooked. They shouldn't be. Also, pressure-pads can be helpful.

I will add this also because people often forget it. A motion sensor IS NOT an occupancy sensor, but you can buy combo devices. A motion sensor is designed to trigger your alarm should an intruder enter your house. It normally contains anti-falsing technology so it errs on the side of not triggering. A false alarm would be bad, but if it misses a burglar, the next sensor will get him and it only takes one.

An occupancy sensor errs on the side of triggering, since the only negative side effect is maybe a light will go on. If it fails to trigger, you end up in the dark.

There are devices with usually the combination of microwave and passive IR that can be both occupancy and motion sensors. Remember, microwave sensors trigger when you walk toward or away from the sensor, passive IR triggers across the sensor. In motion mode, you must trigger both, in occupancy mode, either will do.

Having said all that dogs and cats are a problem, but you'll have to figure out the plan for that one.

 

[beelzerob]

Ya, I kinda figured since they say they're "pet immune to 50 lbs", and I know our dog weighs more than our 3 year old, that would probably be a problem.

The beam sensor seems like an interesting idea. Do you have links to one you'd suggest? Unfortunately I know I didn't run the wire all the way down the wall, but I can deal with that if I have to.

I'd rather this thing false alarm on our dog than miss our kids. Only raising the light to 15% or so isn't going to wake us up. So I guess whatever sensor I get had better have a configurable sensitivity.

You should have some kind of AUX power on the panel you are using, you can power the detector from it.

Hehe...not quite. I have a panel-less setup. I had planned to put this motion detector input into my ocelot. I guess I can power this thing with a wall wart if I have to.

 

[Steve]

You could get a beam detector and recess it into the wall about 2.5 feet from the floor. Dog will walk under it, people won't.

I was going to ask how talk the kiddies were (hopefully taller than the dog). If so, along the lines of a beam detector I was going to suggest a curtain detector like this mounted to project a horizontal curtain. Same kind of concept as a beam detector (find right mounting height), but it will project a bigger curtain rather than a simple beam. Either one I think will give the coverage you want.

 

[Photon]

The "hallway" is really an open walkway, with railings on either side. kind of a catwalk. The kids will emerge from almost directly below the motion detector, and it's pretty important to notice them quickly or they'll have made the dangerous night sprint before the lights come on.

I find my Bosch PIRs, as per their instructions, are rather insensitive if I walk directly toward them. Instructions for other detectors I looked at seemed the same. I imagine the worst case for you would be if the detector is installed at the end of the hallway looking down its length. I suggest you test whatever you try with power from a 9v battery before you drill any holes in the wall or pull cable.

 

[signal15]

The "hallway" is really an open walkway, with railings on either side. kind of a catwalk. The kids will emerge from almost directly below the motion detector, and it's pretty important to notice them quickly or they'll have made the dangerous night sprint before the lights come on.

I find my Bosch PIRs, as per their instructions, are rather insensitive if I walk directly toward them. Instructions for other detectors I looked at seemed the same. I imagine the worst case for you would be if the detector is installed at the end of the hallway looking down its length. I suggest you test whatever you try with power from a 9v battery before you drill any holes in the wall or pull cable.

That's because there are multiple beams coming out of the thing and you have to trip more than one to get it to alarm. Walking straight at it won't trip multiple beams until you get close, or walk sideways. I have these things all over though, and they work great.

I did buy one wireless motion sensor as a test (It's a GE something or other, non-petsafe), and I'm really not that happy with it. It's overly sensitive for things that are far away from it, and not sensitive enough when you walk up to it. It has some jumpers inside that change the behavior of it, I'll probably mess with it later today. I may have to move it to get a better cross-view instead of straight on.

 

[ano]

microwave sensors trigger when you walk toward or away from the sensor, passive IR triggers across the sensor.

As I said previously.