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Thread: Stairs

  1. #1
    Automated Home Legend chris_j_hunter's Avatar
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    Default Stairs

    looks like we need to install some extra sensors for the stairs ...

    we have PIRs top & bottom, but the landings have people passing between rooms as well as using the stairs ...

    how to distinguish ... so the relevant lights etc are switched-on, only when needed ...

    pressure pad or beam break or ...

    and where to get something reliable from ...

    to connect to digital-inputs of nearby modules ...

    ???
    Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 19th March 2013 at 11:11 PM.

  2. #2
    Automated Home Guru JonS's Avatar
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    It is hard to visualise the set-up you have but in our house I have an Idratek ceiling mounted PIR on the landing and a 3rd party security PIR in th hall facing the stairs. Both are positioned so someone on the stairs is seen once about half way up, which triggers the landing/hall light appropriately. The landing ceiling PIR also covers the landing and the entrances to the rooms upstairs. I've just fitted an LED bulb on the landing that draws 1.5W and gives an excellent immediatelt bright light. Given the minimal power draw of an LED or the cost of CFL vs the cost and disruption of new PIRs etc if you want the landing lights activated when people are on the stairs I've link via connections of the landing light to the stair PIR and fit some low power bulbs. If you need PIR coverage on the landing you could swap a DRN to a device with buttons and PIR (BRS) to help.
    2p
    JonS

  3. #3
    Automated Home Legend chris_j_hunter's Avatar
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    thanks - yep, sorry, my post wasn’t clear ...

    our stairs are straight runs with lobbies / landings top & bottom, each with wall-mounted PIRs facing the stairs (PLH top, PTH bottom) ...

    and both PIRs see the landings at the other end of the stairs well enough to trigger Presence in both even when people are just passing-by the stairs as they go between rooms ...

    sounds like your ceiling-mounted arrangement works better, but it’s really too late for us to change ...

    we’ve tried making (temporary) shields with duct-tape, and they can help a little, but ...

    so we were thinking of adding pressure mats to top & bottom steps, under the carpet, to help delineate - ‘though where to get them from & how then to arrange the logic is not yet clear ...

    we’ve similar but different problems with a couple of alcoves, where we want the lights to come on only when people are working in the alcove, not just walking-by - pressure-mats are not really an option in either of them, ‘though, because the floors are tiled, so we might have to resort to button-presses - which don’t really want to do, because we’ve got quite used to fully automated lighting & get quiet irritated when we encounter old-fashioned light switches (hands full & across the room) !
    Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 23rd March 2013 at 08:53 PM.

  4. #4
    Automated Home Legend Karam's Avatar
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    Chris,

    So is the duct tape experiment not entirely effective because it still occasionally allows motion at one level to be seen by both sensors or is it that it is too aggressive and then doesn't see someone validly coming up/down the stairs in good time?

  5. #5
    Automated Home Legend chris_j_hunter's Avatar
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    Karam -

    both - breath on it (figuratively speaking) & move from one situation to the other !

    NB: duct tape being used to make a small wall, rather than being applied to the sensor window in any way (would need paint, perhaps, to do that) ...
    Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 24th March 2013 at 01:33 PM.

  6. #6
    Automated Home Legend chris_j_hunter's Avatar
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    still need to solve our alcove problem ...

    anyway, thinking about it today, thought we might try connecting alcove Room behaviour to a virtual motion sensor, fed by a General Logic object drawing from all likely motion sensors - eg: alcove sensor + NOT main room sensor => relevant motion ...

    in some cases, more than two sensors could be involved - perhaps up to six ...

    might need some smoothing, too, via Monostable or Filter objects ...

    anyone been here / there before ?
    Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 15th January 2014 at 10:38 PM.

  7. #7
    Automated Home Legend chris_j_hunter's Avatar
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    just to note, tried it in a couple of places ...

    ie: with a virtual PRS, fed by a GL object with just two gates (NOT main room motion sensor AND alcove motion sensor), replacing the alcove motion sensor in the alcove's Room connections box ...

    and it seems to work v.well ...

    might have to add more logic, but will see how it goes for a week or so ...
    Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 16th January 2014 at 08:13 PM.

  8. #8
    Automated Home Legend chris_j_hunter's Avatar
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    just to add, have now tried it in a few more areas, so far using up to four gates, and the technique seems to be a good one in helping to deal with the absence of doors in an open-plan house - ie: logical combinations of sensor responses can be indicative of where people are & where they're going ...

    our house is very open plan, and we put at least one set of sensors in each zone - at the time without being sure how we were going to make it work, but with the view that whatever the way, having such data would be a prerequisite ...

    it was v.annoying when lights came on just because we walked-by - now, they don't do that !

    no doubt, there'll be further evolution but, so far, very encouraging ...
    Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 16th January 2014 at 08:52 PM.

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