Initial settings for Lidl PIR spotlight

jim presented the following explanation :

The PIR 'beam' tend to be a flat fan shape, which work best with a person walking into or across the 'beam'. rather than briefly through it. So the work best when mounted a little above head height pointing slightly down to pick up a subject.

The lights work best mounted high, so sometimes it is better to have the PIR mounted remote from the light.

If placed high up angle them almost vertically down or you will be illuminating the clouds and annoying the neighbours

You may find that what you are attempting to illuminate works better if the lights are mounted lower.

...Also when up the ladder cover the PIR (to block the light) with a black bag to test it, save you climbing up and down.

You could be right about the height. One current PIR is below the gutter which would be about 5 metres. The idea was just to swap out the old unit for a new one but maybe it should be lowered a metre of two.

Hmmm. Good idea. I can see you've done this before. :-)

Whatever they choose to call it, it's not a spotlight, it's a floodlight.

The beam is wide, and bright.

Most people aim them incorrectly, with the top of the beam pointing at the sky, and when they do point them downwards they don't lower it nearly enough, so potential witnesses to evil goings on at your property are themselves blinded by the incident light, and the full beam shines through your neighbors downstairs windows, if not the upstairs ones as well.

Unlike halogen flood lamps, the reflector plays no part in beam forming. The edges of the beam are defined only by the housing (think of the "barn doors" on theatrical lighting).

In daylight, even with the lamp off, if you stand at a distance and you can see the LED die, the "bulb", then you are in the beam.

Unfortunately, lamps like these suffer from a design "feature" that prevents you from aiming it correctly, because the PIR is mounted on the lamp itself, so it has to dip with the lamp, and you find that the PIR now has insufficient detection range.

Yes, I'm hoping it is a floodlight and "spotlight" is just a misused phrase. I don't want a true spotlight at all.

I'm not sure I understand that. In this case, in the middle of the reflector there is a thing (about an inch square) which I take to be the LED assembly and it seems to be pointing *backwards* into the reflector.

The angles of the reflector are very shallow when compared to a halogen lamp but surely it is still acting like a true reflector.

I think you will find, when you switch it on, that the LED die is pointing the light outwards, and the "reflector" serves no optical purpose, it's a heat sink to keep the die cool, and makes the product look like a traditional security lamp.

En el artículo , pamela escribió:

Just set them both to half-way. You'll almost certainly find that suits.

En el artículo , ss escribió:

Most of them (I won't say all as someone'll only prove me wrong) come on in 'stay on' mode if you briefly switch them off and back on.

Spot on! How many electricians and homeowners fail to appreciate this - and aim the centre of the beam to the extreme of their property leaving 50% of the light to be wasted or causing an annoyance. About 80% are wrongly installed. It makes me angry!

Some sensors take a while to respond.to prevent to light from the floodlight from turning them back off.

I hope so but I have had some PIR lights where the range of settings were so hopeless that the dials had to be turned to one extreme and, even then, weren't right.

I'm hoping these Lidl lights aren't like that but it's too late to find out once they're fixed high up.

DerbyBorn presented the following explanation :

Most of the floodlights with PIRs that I've fitted also immediately illuminate when power is first applied and stay on for the timer period so it's impossible to set the light sensitivity during this short period.

Put some flex and a plug on one so that you can find suitable settings yourself.

The 2 PIRs from TS and the 1 from Aldi have the light to Min. and still operate when it's about light enough to read outside. I'd prefer the level to be lower, as the flood can cause shadows where there would otherwise be enough light. I use R63 lamps, 120 deg., pointing straight down. Although there is visible light from 30m away, it's not at all dazzling.

In message , pamela writes

I had one of these. It lasted 6 months. The PIR sensor filled up with rain water. No obvious ingress point.

The only one I adjusted to any great extent was the "on" time.

Brian

Brian Howie explained on 02/10/2016 :

When fitting any lights outside, or similar, I make a point of ensuring moisture cannot get in, but also make sure they have a drain hole at the base.