Is it normal for falling snow to make a motion sensor turn the light on, or do I just have a crappy sensor? It stayed on almost all night from the falling snow until I finally shut it off completely. I just bought and installed this unit a few weeks ago, so it's going back to the store if it's just this particular brand or model. I bought this thing to save electricity, not waste more.
Does it have a sensitivity adjustment? If so, adjust it. If not, you could get one that does.
They work by sensing motion and thermal changes, so during storms they can act erratic
Let's look at the facts here. You have a MOTION detector. The snow was moving. The conclusion is . . . . . .
Next summer, we'll discuss high winds and tree branches with lots of leaves on them.
they are also much more sensitive in severe cold, like normally cars driving down street no problem, at 20 degrees its lights on///////////
I finally removed my sensors put my lights on a photocell with timer.
at loeast its reliable and racoons dont set it off
My motion activated lights are reliable. They have a sensitiviy adjustment and yours should also. I turn them off when I don't want them on especially in the summer when they attract too many bugs.
Mine will trip when wind gusts blow a nearby arborvitae shrub. Do you have something that may be blowing in the wind and tripping the light?
-Felder
imho:
My motion detectors get very sensitive in the cold whether. So I turn down all the sensitivity settings. Also, I use outdoor fluorescent light bulbs, so the electricity doen't cause me fret about them popping on now and then.
tom @
You might try reading your directions. All sorts of useful information in there regarding setting the sensitivity controls, false triggering, reasons for false triggering, etc. If you notice, they come in all price ranges and features. But each one should function reasonably and not come on when a moth or snowflake flies past.
HTH.
Steve
WHAT?! Read the manual that came with a device??
Could be ants. There is even a song about it . . . .
"The ants are my friend are blowing in the wind . . . . "
And the remedy is to stop the snow from moving.
Oh, goody.
it kinda depends on the area being monitored, I concluded that after lots of expermintation and finally trashing my detector lights
Any idea where I can buy a remote snow stopper?
There are 2 adjustments. Distance and Time. I know the time only affects how long it stays on.
I dont believe the distance one would be considered sensitivity, but I will try changing it. The manual is not very useful or detailed.
Distance = sensitivity.
The snow may not be causing the light to come on. Motion detectors work by detecting a change in heat, and since snow is the same temperature as the air, or very nearly so, something else is causing the light to go on. Maybe gusts of wind are picking up warm(er) air from near a window or door, or the sensor can "see" across the street and it is picking up cars. As someone else stated, motion sensors are much more sensitive in the winter than the summer. In the summer it may appear that it is not working at all, if you want to detect a person. (the body temperature being close to that of the ambient air)
Keep in mind too, that motion sensors are most sensitive when the motion they're looking for is -across- their field of view. If the motion is towards or away from the detector, it isn't nearly as sensitive.
I'm only familiar with the kind that have three controls, one of which is sensitivity.
X-10?
When I received and read my previous post, both sentences sounded sarcastic towards Edwin. Neither were meant to be.
Nah, I got a chuckle out of them.
I've never seen one with three. What's the 3rd one called?
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