I would just like to do a quick survey. Has anyone found any of the pet immune PIR's to work as advertised without having to resort to cross zone self verification? I have installed many different brands per the manuals and haven't found any of them that are truly pet immune. Thanks.
Pet Immune PIR's
- Thread starter rfdesq
- Start date
Marc Evans
Member
With dogs, it depends alot on the type/amount of hair it has. 70lb. standard poodle was ignored, but a 20lb. pit bull or similar almost bald type dogs set the units off. Don't point them at stairs, it can't see animals rising up or it will trip. Cats are more of a problem because they can jump everywhere. I use them but there NOT 100%. That's my experience.
Spanky
Senior Member
Pet immune PIR's have their sensitivity reduced to ignore small infrared changes. Large dogs can look like a human infrared signal.
As mentioned above, use two PIR's connected in a cross zone program configuration to mostly eliminate false alarms. If one sensor triggers, a second sensor must trigger within a time window to cause an alarm.
As mentioned above, use two PIR's connected in a cross zone program configuration to mostly eliminate false alarms. If one sensor triggers, a second sensor must trigger within a time window to cause an alarm.
Sorry, should have mentioned that I have tried PIR/Microwave pet immune combo units also. They failed also.
wuench
Senior Member
I can't trust them to be 100% pet immune without self verification (thanks ELK). My customers have experienced falses due to cats jumping off the top of chairs to dogs jumping from the couch to the love seat, etc. You can only aim them so high and then your bad guy has to be a 6'8" well fed crack head 
. So far I have one respondent who has never had a problem and one who has experienced the same as me. Roombas don't count.
. So far I have one respondent who has never had a problem and one who has experienced the same as me. Roombas don't count.I know I have dual techs that cats can get directly infront of without falsing.
The problems come with dogs roughly the size of a human, not much you can do about that. You can use the aim up trick but it is prone to all the other troubles you mentioned.
I checked they are actually Honeywell IntelliSence units.
IntelliSense DT-7450 DUAL Technology
The adjustment allows for cat detection up to basically letting cattle through (won't detect most people anymore).
The problems come with dogs roughly the size of a human, not much you can do about that. You can use the aim up trick but it is prone to all the other troubles you mentioned.
I checked they are actually Honeywell IntelliSence units.
IntelliSense DT-7450 DUAL Technology
The adjustment allows for cat detection up to basically letting cattle through (won't detect most people anymore).
That's interesting. I pulled the spec sheet on that unit and no where does it say "pet immune". The sheet doesn't even detail how to shape the unit to reject pets. Other than pulse count is there some sort of microwave pot for adjustment?
There is a lookdown cover on it default, if you want it to look straight down just pull it out. I think I only actually did that once. Since you have to trip the microwaves there itsn't as big a concern for trimming the PIR. If you adjust it so an object with a dogs mass cannot trip it, the PIR can't override that because it has a large heat signature. Thats why animals can get right infront of it, it has depth percieption, it knows that is a small object close to the sensor. Normal PIRs don't do this, the closer an object gets the larger it thinks it is.
While we're on the topic...
I wired my house for everything and then some when I built it. Specifically on the alarm side, door contacts on every entry point, PIRs and glass break detectors.
But after installing the contacts on all entry and basement doors, I never saw much point in installing the PIRs. If someone comes in, chances are they're going to jimmy a door or pick a lock.
What about a laser sensor? I think they do make those... At 4-5' high, in an area your dog or cat won't jump, I suspect it'd be fairly immune to false positives.
Tim
I wired my house for everything and then some when I built it. Specifically on the alarm side, door contacts on every entry point, PIRs and glass break detectors.
But after installing the contacts on all entry and basement doors, I never saw much point in installing the PIRs. If someone comes in, chances are they're going to jimmy a door or pick a lock.
What about a laser sensor? I think they do make those... At 4-5' high, in an area your dog or cat won't jump, I suspect it'd be fairly immune to false positives.
Tim
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