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Insteon Motion Sensor setup for Garage Lights


JSP0511

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Posted

Hello all,

 

I have a dual band switchlinc controlling my garage lights.  I recently purchased an insteon motion sensor along with the 9-volt eliminator that I'd like to use in the mix.

 

My goal is to have the motion sensor turn the lights on instantly for 10 minutes, lets say between sundown and sunset and constantly reset the 10 minute wait every time is senses motion.  I play ping pong in the garage as well as work on various projects and obviously do not want the lights to go off in the middle of an activity.

 

I've tried setting the motion sensor as the controller and the switchlinc as a responder but it seems that the motion sensor only senses for motion once the lights have turned on.  I'm assuming the time the lights stay on is programmed internally to the motion sensor as I did not set up a program for this instance.

 

Second I tried using a program and deleted the scene.  I was using 10 seconds for testing purposes and again it seemed that when the program turned the lights on, the red led on the motion sensor no longer blinked indicating motion sensed, I assume because the lights were on.  Therefore, after 10 seconds the lights would go off then back on as I was walking around in the room and waving my arms around like an idiot.

 

I messed with some of the settings on the ISY but nothing seemed to get me closer to my goal.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you,

Jerry

Posted

If you set the MS to night only mode, then you may have it too close to the light. Have you tried setting the sensitivity? The MS should restart the timer whenever motion id detected.

 

BTW, the motion sensor senses a change in temperature across horizontal zones. Left to right motion is more easily detected than vertical motion B)

Posted

I had the MS in different places, never near the lights which are LED so minimal heat if any.

 

Night only was disabled. I have 16 5k 48" bulbs that look like day light lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Posted

LED lights can confuse some IR sensors.

Posted

Bummer. Could someone help me with what my settings for the MS and a program should be in this case assuming the MS was not being confused by the lights?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Posted (edited)

To have the maximum Motion Sensor activity use

 

Sensing mode: checked

On Only mode: unchecked

Night mode: checked

 

This will have the Motion Sensor send an On command as each motion is detected, not waiting for any Timeout to expire.  All night time gating, how long to keep the lights On, etc will be controlled by the Program(s).

 

If

   Control 'motionsensor-sensor' is switched On

   And From Sunset

      To Sunrise (next day)

Then

   Set 'switchlinc' On

   Wait 10 minutes

   Set 'switchlinc Off

Else
   Set 'switchlinc Off

The SwitchLinc turns On with every motion sensed.  

The Program Waits for fresh 10 minutes on each motion sensed. 

The SwitchLinc turns Off after no motion sensed for 10 minutes.

 

This is a starting point.   Once how this works is viewed in real time changes are often called for.

 

Remember the Motion Sensor has to be put into manual linking mode to set/change options.

 

You may find that project work does not generate enough physical motion.   The SwitchLinc may need to be operated manually and have that manual SwitchLinc On disable this Program.

Edited by LeeG
Posted

To have the maximum Motion Sensor activity use

 

Sensing mode: checked

On Only mode: unchecked

Night mode: checked

 

This will have the Motion Sensor send an On command as each motion is detected, not waiting for any Timeout to expire.  All night time gating, how long to keep the lights On, etc will be controlled by the Program(s).

 

If

   Control 'motionsensor-sensor' is switched On

   And From Sunset

      To Sunrise (next day)

Then

   Set 'switchlinc' On

   Wait 10 minutes

   Set 'switchlinc Off

Else

   Set 'switchlinc Off

 

The SwitchLinc turns On with every motion sensed.  

The Program Waits for fresh 10 minutes on each motion sensed. 

The SwitchLinc turns Off after no motion sensed for 10 minutes.

 

This is a starting point.   Once how this works is viewed in real time changes are often called for.

 

Remember the Motion Sensor has to be put into manual linking mode to set/change options.

 

You may find that project work does not generate enough physical motion.   The SwitchLinc may need to be operated manually and have that manual SwitchLinc On disable this Program.

LeeG, as usual you are a tremendous help.  This works and the motion seems to be pretty sensitive (which I prefer).  The next level of tweaking I'd like to add is if I locally turn off the switchlinc, I'd like the motion sensor to pause it's sensing for motion.  For example, when I'm exiting the garage into my basement and I click the switchlinc off and close the garage door, the motion picks up my motion of closing he door behind me and turns the lights back on.  Any thoughts or ideas on this?

 

I was also thinking of disabling the motion when the switchlinc is turned on locally and resorting to a programmed timer but because the MS seems to be so sensitive, I doubt the lights will ever turn off (with a 5min timer) while i'm in the middle of anything, especially a game of ping pong.

Posted (edited)

I'm experimenting with this... let me know if you have a better idea.

 

I created another program to disable the motion program for 10 seconds if the control switchlinc is set to off.  When the light turns off due to time expiring, my MS disable program does not seem to run which is preferred.  

 

Edit:  Now I'm getting a little crazy.  I created another program that will shut the lights in 30 seconds if the Garage Door sensor is switched to On (the sensor shows "On" when my door is closed).  If I am entering the home through the garage and I closed the main garage door but stay in the garage, I added a line to the Then of the Motion program that runs the Else path of the Door Sensor program which negates the 30 second timer and allows the 5 minute motion sensor timer to take precedent.

Edited by JSP0511
Posted

If

Control 'switchlinc' is switched Off

Then

   Disable Program 'xxxxx'  ---  this stops the Program below

   Wait some time to allow door to close and exit garage

   Enable Program 'xxxxx'

Else

 

Program xxxxx

If

   Control 'motionsensor-sensor' is switched On

   And From Sunset

      To Sunrise (next day)

Then

   Set 'switchlinc' On

   Wait 10 minutes

   Set 'switchlinc Off

Else
   Set 'switchlinc Off

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