Motion sensor question, lights turn off when in the room

[edokid]

HI everyone,

I found a few different examples for motion sensors and found this seems to work below.  This is for my laundry room, the LED light is a pull chain so always on, and it can only be turned on by the motion sensor (ideally!).  This does work but the issue I'm having is if you are in the room.  The motion sensor has the default time out of 1 minute as I think that's as low as it can go.  There's a few issues/questions I was hoping to get some feedback on.  Here's the program first:

 

If

        Control 'LaundryRoom.Mo-Sensor-Sensor' is switched On

    And Control 'LaundryRoom.Mo-Sensor-Sensor' is not switched Off

 

Then

        Set 'LaundryRoom.LED.Light' On

Else

        Wait  10 seconds

        Set 'LaundryRoom.LED.Light' Fade Down

 

Questions:

 

1) When I had this set up with the Insteon Hub, I'd walk in the room and the moment I crossed the door the lights would come on.  With the above program it does work, but there's about a 1 second delay, so you're fully IN the room in the dark for a moment and then it comes on.  You forget for a moment and go to reach for the light and then it comes on.  Is this just because the ISY has more to run through than the Hub?

 

2) My main issue is that if I'm in the room say doing laundry, it does work in that the light stays on.  However the problem I have is that lets say I'm not moving, such as earlier I was on my laptop trying to fix my DSL modem which is in there as well.  After a minute, the lights start to fade out.  If I start moving, waving my hands etc, the lights kind of snap back up, almost like they are fading up for a moment, but then they fade down and turn right off.  The problem is that I can waive my hands, move around, the lights do NOT come back on.  I can leave the room, wait 10-20 secs go back in, same thing.  The status in the ISY shows the Motion Sensor as "ON", so I have to then wait a solid minute and then if I walk back in the lights go on.

 

I know the Wait 10 seconds isn't needed in the above as I think without that it's just the default 1 minute, where as with it it's 1 minute 10 seconds but it works so I just left it.

 

Is there something I have to change or can add to it so that if it goes off while I'm in there it doesn't then have to wait the full minute?  I was going to change it to maybe 5 minutes as that would help, but figure there's probably a correct way to do this.  Thanks everyone!

[Xathros]

With the Hub, you likely had the sensor as a controller for the Light scene.  With the ISY, you currently have the sensor tell the ISY that it switched on, then an ISY program tell the Light to turn on,  There is a delay in this configuration mostly due to the time it takes to receive and send the various insteon commands. 

 

I have had the same issue with the sensor timeouts in the past.  I resolved it by setting my sensors to only send on commands and setting them to occupancy mode which sends an on with every detection of motion rather than waiting for the timeout.  Then revise the program to watch for the on command from the sensor and build your timer into the program instead of using the sensor timeout.

If 
   Control 'Motion sensor' is switched On

Then
   Set "Light" On
   Wait 1 minute
   Set 'Light' Off

Else

In this configuration, the timer is restarted with every detection of motion and turn off after 1 minute of no motion detected.  Some will dim the light 30 seconds before turning off as a warning.  You can simple add that into the then section if desired.

 

Instead of using the Fade Down to turn off your lights, I suggest using a scene with a defined ramp rate to get the fade rate you want.  Set the scene "Fast On" for instant on and set the scene "Off" for it to fade off.  Fade Down should be followed by a fade stop.  It was not intended to be used as you have used it here.

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

-Xathros

[edokid]

Great thanks that seemed to help, now when the light goes off I don't have to wait a minute before it goes on again.  If I'm in the room and not moving and the light goes off, it still doesn't come back on unless I actually leave the room wait a second and walk back in.  Maybe it's a sensitivity setting or something.

 

You're right in that with the Hub the motion sensor controlled the scene.  Is that just how it is then with the ISY in that there will always be a slight delay?

[LeeG]

edokid

 

If Fade Down will be used a Fade Stop is needed to complete the command sequence.  Otherwise the device might not respond as expected.

 

Fade Down

Wait ? seconds

Fade Stop

 

If the delay is not acceptable link the motion sensor to the light so the On command from the On Only  turns the device On without the Program delay.   The Program will still turn Off the light.