Light for front porch - suggestions wanted

[Anthony James]

Our house has the front door recessed into a porch which means at night it's a struggle to find the keyhole to unlock the door. A light is called for but I cant decide the best way to control it - i find that a switch inside the front door (the most conventional answer) usually results in the light being off when you need it and left on unnecessarily for long periods.

My thought was to wire a light to a fused spur tucked put out of the way (ie not where a light switch would go) and have the light controlled by a PIR with a couple of minutes "on time" and a 'low light' sensor to stop it coming on during the day. I was going to mount the PIR up inside the porch overhang pointing straight down so that it wasnt set off by people walking past on the pavement, only by visitors reaching the porch.

Will a PIR work successfully like this (i've never fitted one)and where do i buy one at a reasonable price.

Also, does anyone have a smarter solution?(other than a torch on my keyring)?

[Terry D]

I have a photo cell controlled light under my front porch (available at most sheds for about £20), wired from the upstairs lighting circuit with a pull cord isolation switch in the hall, so no damage to the decoration. It is on all night but is only about 10-15W so the cost is negligable and it's also a small deterrent to intruders.

Terry D.

[N. Thornton]

sounds good. I'd add a switch to control it inside as well though. Youll need it.

Regards, NT

[Owain]

"Anthony James" wrote | ... I was going to mount the PIR up inside the porch overhang pointing | straight down so that it wasnt set off by people walking past on | the pavement, only by visitors reaching the porch. | Will a PIR work successfully like this (i've never fitted one)and | where do i buy one at a reasonable price.

A PIR should do exactly what you want. You can mask off parts of the detector face with tape if you find its area of operation is too large.

The DIY sheds sell standalone PIRs for next to nothing these days, or you can get a light with a PIR built in. Most of the light-with-PIR have an over-ride facility where you can flick the inside switch in a sequence and it puts the light on all the time, which might be useful if you're expecting several visitors. I don't know if the standalone PIRs have that facility.

Owain

[Dave Liquorice]

light pollution but at least it's not half a kilo watt with 75% going upwards... B-)

[Dave Liquorice]

Yes they are not orientation sensitive. You can also use bits of tape to screen of detection from unwanted areas. The sensitivity should be fine any dawn to dusk inhibition might struggle if the porch is fairly dark during the day. Adjust on test...

All the sheds have them for around a tenner. Look for one that allows you to control the light from an interior switch. Some are just on/off in the precense of a warm body, no means to latch the light on. Others allow you to latch the light on by simply turning it off and on again within a few seconds. Hum, that might be as clear as mud.

[logized]

Anthony, I have used a standalone PIR successfully in the porch. It works best when you have it set pointing downwards and across the porch so that the approaching visitor cuts into it's field of detection from the side. If it picks-up any unwanted movements, you can just stick some black pvc tape over part of the lens to reduce the sensitivity. They cost about £11 from places like B&Q.

Dave

[Andrew Gabriel]

I have exactly same situation. I use a cheap 12V burglar alarm type PIR sensor on the porch ceiling, which gets triggered as you approach the porch, but is shielded by the porch archway from the road so it doesn't trigger from passers by. The circuitry is homebrew and uses a daylight sensor elsewhere to prevent operation during daylight. The porch light timer is one minute, which seems fine. The porch light has no other switch, it's simply not needed -- the PIR is also triggered when you open the front door when you're going out.

I use a 25W filament lamp. Actually, it's a white lamp from a coloured lamp set (which means it's got a warm tint to it). Someone else down the road bought exactly the same fitting as me, but fitted it with what looks to be a 60W lamp, and it's far too bright for night time. A compact fluorescent wouldn't work well for the short ON period.

[Cicero]

================== You might consider a battery operated light which will save you the trouble of wiring. I believe you can get them as a 'touch' version so you don't need to fumble too much in the dark.

Cic.

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On 06 Jun 2004, Anthony James wrote

Like the others have said, a PIR is what you need: the two I've got never fail to please me when they come on. (OK; so I'm easily pleased

-- so sue me....!) Even the cheap ones allow you to adjust things like the ambient level of light before it operates, the length of time it stays on, etc.

My front door is like yours -- recessed into a porch -- and I've got the sensor pointing down and across the door: it activates when people are within 3 or 4 feet. (The only things that occasionally fire it off unexpectedly are cats and, I assume, spiders.)

An internal switch is probably a good idea, but I didn't bother with one on the front door PIR, and haven't felt a need for it.

(I've got another PIR in our large garden shed; that one's on a switch so that I can turn it off for the summer.)