MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Recommendations for an external PIR driven security floodlight please.
It's got to do all the normal things but one that doesn't get triggered by every cat and frog that wanders into our garden would be nice. The important thing however is that I want to be able to switch it on permanently by flicking the light switch that drives it.
So we'd have a switch in the kitchen that could turn it off permanently or could be used to make it turn on for as long as I want by flicking it off then on. I'm sure I've not imagined that some of these lights do this.
Lets say price is no object at the moment.
Trout will make you one 😆
Not got time to give you links etc but you can buy fairly sophisticted PIRs separately then hook them up to the switching arrangemnt and light of your choice.
Screwfix have them
Most security lights nowadays allow you to turn them on/off/PIR mode by just switching them on & off in a certain way. Can't help on the PIR sensor though
my basic wickes security light can be set into 'permanent on' mode using the light switch.
you just turn it off and straight back on again - presumably it has a capacitor to sense you doing this - it will now stay on until you turn it off at the switch, wait a while and turn back on.
Dave
Thanks. yes, it looks like if they say 'manual override' in the description then they do what I want. The seperate PIR sensors have that option too.
You can make them stay on by standing a child in front and getting them to wave their arms about when it gets dark.
HTH 😉
I just wired an extra switch into the light that bypasses the PIR if I want it to stay on indefinitely. Not sure about the cat / frog thing, I've just got the PIR angled straight down on our backdoor one so openning the door sets it off. The ones at the front are set about 8ft off the ground and are angled out pretty flat so they don't pick up ground level objects close in. Other thing I've done is turn the duration down so if they do go off accidentally they don't stay on for very long.
I like Mike's suggestion best actually. 😉
Just make sure it's angled down and not pointing at other houses - ****ing horrible nightmare of light pollution and stupid people lighting their drives all night thinking it's safer drives me mad. At my old place there were 3 houses with them, all pointing right to the back of their garden (and up our bedroom windows) - every time one let their dog out a light would come on, the dogs would bark, the other let their dog out, they'd all bark - it was like a freakin' doggy disco at 4am. Incosiderate wastes of space.
Low energy dusk-to dawn lighting might be better. Less irritating to people like coffeeking and I am told more of a deterrent to burglars.
Clever External security lights
Depends on your definitions of...
...Clever... and...
Security 😉
Clever = Low light / IR camera linked to biometric / facial recognition software
Security = The above, linked to one of these...
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We had a break in and had the polis round. They suggested using dusk to dawn censors wired to low energy bulbs.
Yeah, the general consensus on the internet appears to be dusk till dawn low energy, looks like that might be the way to go.
edit: although this is for my benefit you understand, we have some of the most selfish people I've ever met as our neighbours, any discomfort I can generate for them will only make me happier.