Motion Flood Lights

[stillen_i30]

I have 3 outdoor motion sensing flood lights. I recently changed all 3 of them to models accepting a flood LED lamp (previous was halogen-only (proprietary).

 

Today I received my 3 in-line linc dimmers (non-sensing).

 

I wired 2 of the 3 lights with the inline lincs.

 

First light was wired such that only the black, white and red (load wire) along with ground were connected. This lets me set schedules where during certain nighttime hours the unit can flick on with motion.

 

I wired the 2nd of 3 lights differently. I separated the motion sensor so that only the motion sensor is conected to direct line power. All teh white wires of course are tied together. The red wire coming out of motion sensor is linked up wiht black wires coming from each flood lamp. This way, the motion sensor is always powered and I can flick lights on/off whenver I needed to.

 

Have to get on the ladder to do the 3rd light but wondering what everyone recommends as best way to do this?

[oberkc]

I wired the 2nd of 3 lights differently. I separated the motion sensor so that only the motion sensor is conected to direct line power. All teh white wires of course are tied together. The red wire coming out of motion sensor is linked up wiht black wires coming from each flood lamp. This way, the motion sensor is always powered and I can flick lights on/off whenver I needed to.

 

 

!!!???

 

So the second light you supplied unswitched (direct line) power to the motion sensor only, feeding the switched power directly to the light. Did you not install the inlinelinc?

 

I believe to incorporate insteon control of a fixture AND maintain motion control of that fixture, you will need in inlinelinc WITH sense.

 

Given your inlinelincs, black wire connected to unswitched power, red to load, white to neutral. I don't believe there are provisions for a motion sensor.

[Brian H]

So basically you have the motion sensor always powered and its motion switched output controls the AC Line input to the InLineLinc Dimmer.

 

If the motion sensors output uses a triac and not a relay. The InLincLinc may not play well but tests would have to be done and see if it worked.

 

The Insteon signals may also not pass through the motion sensor. Again tests would show problems.

 

If there is no motion {No AC to InlineLinc} and you want to turn the InLineLinc On or Off. It has no power and will not get the power line commands.

[stillen_i30]

By 3 lights I mean I have 3 separate motion sensing flood lights located around the perimeter of the home. Each unit has the typical 2 bulbs and one sensor.

 

What I did was house black to motion sensor black and in-line linc black, house white to motion sensor white, inline linc white and bulb whites.

 

Then I connected the motion red and insteon reds to the bulb black wires for signaling. This way, the motion sensor and in line linc are always powered.

 

I have done only some basic testing. When no motion had been sensed for 5 mins, the lights are off. If I send an insteon "on" command the unit turns on, off turns off lights as expected. They will stay on for as long as I need them to and are under manual control (and I will write a program to shut them off automatically after 5 mins). Howeever, if motion sensor turns on the lights the on/off status are not updated and insteon thinks the lights are off, but the lights turn off after 5 mins in that regard (as set on the motion sensor relay itself).

 

The other unit I wired conventionally...where house black and house white go through the inline linc and the red inlinelinc goes to the flood lights black wire. In this case, the unit is always "on" regardless of the actual lights being on or off. If I send an off command, the entire unit doest not turn on. If I send an on command, the unit stays on for a few mins thenlights shut off and goes into motion sense mode. Regret not getting the "sense" ones now (and not sure why I didn't in the first place), but I'm going to prob go with wiring the motion sensor separatey to get better manual control at night of the lights. I didn't want to have the units be a controller for any lights bec of the large number of falsely turning on.

[Brian H]

So you are back feeding the AC into the InLineLincs load connection when it is Off but the motion sensor see a motion and turns the lights On?

I am not saying it could be a problem. I was just curious if you where driving the lights with the motion sensor and InLineLink Dimmers load connections.

 

If the dimmer was not at 100% or Off when the motion sensor went On or the InLineLinc Dimmer was ramping On when the sensor was already On. Maybe that could be a problem

[oberkc]

house black to motion sensor black and in-line linc black

 

And you have confirmed that "house black" is unswitched power...not controlled by a switch somewhere or by another motion sensor?

 

So you are back feeding the AC into the InLineLincs load connection when it is Off but the motion sensor see a motion and turns the lights On?

 

That is what it sounds like to me. Sounds like it will work. May or may not cause damage to inlinelinc or motion sensor, or both. Regarding the inlinelinc, I don't believe this is consistent with the directions and you may be risking a warranty issue. But they are your devices....have at it.

 

If your question is still "what is the best way to do it" my answer is still "inlinelinc with sense".