Types of Automated Lighting
Lighting can be a large contributor to the monthly electric bill. In this article I’ll quickly cover how to automate lighting by reviewing the three primary types of lighting controls I use in my house. These strategies help automate lighting, reduce energy usage day after day, and add a layer of simplicity to every day activities.
First: This article is focused on automating lights. If you have not upgraded to LEDs yet, DO IT NOW. Converting to LED lights is the easiest ways to conserve energy, lower your bill, and upgrade the home. Check your local electric utility, many times they will offer a rebate on LEDs (Marketplace List). For reference if you’re wondering “How many LEDs equal a 60 watt bulb”. The answer is 6-8! This means that you can power 6-8 new bulbs with the same electricity it would have taken to power a single 60 watt bulb. *assumes an average LED rating of 8 watts.
Now that we’ve got the LEDs installed lets check out a few options to automate those new energy savers. I’ve broken it down into a few categories, the room location and use of area will determine the best automated lights.
3 Types of Automated Lighting
Motion Sensor Switch
Occupancy Sensor
Networked Lighting
Motion Sensor Switch -
Adding a tried and true basic motion sensor switch is still the easiest way to automate a light or room. We personally have these in the laundry room, closets, and even a bathroom. The motion switch has some “smarts” and will recognize motion in the room and turn on the light. The Leviton unit we’ve used can be configured to turn off 1, 5, or 10 minutes after no motion has been recognized by the switch.
Setting up the timer is done by using a button behind the front face plate. We’ve got the bathroom and laundry room set to the 10 minute timer. We moved this from 5-10 after my wife was standing folding laundry a few times and it goes off, her back was turned so the sensor didn’t pickup any motion of the folding. The closet shown below is our front coat closet and set to 1 minute. Works great for quickly grabbing something and never having to think about the switch.
Front coat closet motion switch, set higher to be above coats and turn on when door moves open - set to 1 minute timeout.
Occupancy Sensor -
An occupancy sensor in home automation and energy efficiency refers to a motion sensor that is linked to more than one networked device (see next section for networked lighting). The sensor can trigger lighting to turn off after no motion has been seen for XX Hours as well as mimic the Motion Sensor Switch shown above to turn lights on.
This is by far my favorite lighting control and home automation add we did. The occupancy sensor its the most automated and covers a larger area. I have a post on the sensors that we use here: [EcoLink Z-Wave Motion Sensor]. We have one installed upstairs and one downstairs. With the downstairs one, its great to cover the basement with a single sensor to control 4 different z-wave switches and 21 recessed lights. This saves a ton when I have it programmed to turn off 45 minutes after we leave the basement. The upstairs unit is just above our entry door and covers all the entry, living, and kitchen areas.
SmartThings EcoLink Occupancy/Motion sensor on bookshelf in basement. Easily covers full living and basement entry areas. Turn lights off after 45 minutes without motion.
Networked Lighting -
Network lighting (or switches) includes switches or lighting that allow you to control from anywhere, typically using a phone app or computer. This allows for automation of routines and schedules based when you use rooms in the house. We’ve a total of eleven (11) Leviton Z-Wave Dimmer switches throughout our house. These network light switchers help with the occupancy sensors described above, but also allow for some advanced functions.
Schedules:
The simple schedule we’ve configured is for our front exterior lights. They are programmed to come on 15 minutes before sunset and then turn off around 11-12 at night. This is nice when we’re coming home after a longer day and the lights are already on for us without having to leave them on all day. I remember when I was young my parents would leave our exterior lights on when we left in the morning for holidays because we knew we’d be home so late. Energy was cheap back then though!
Routines:
We have also configured a few routines for going to bed, leaving the house, or returning home. When we leave the one routine (Goodbye) can make sure all the lights (other than front entry) go off and when we return the routine (Hello) turns on a few interior lights as we’re hauling in all the kids and stuff in.
All of these automated and automatic lighting solutions provide a high level of home and personal security along with the money/energy savings that we could all use. There is a lot ways to implement the above and can be done slowly over time.