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Occupant Sensors: Bathroom Timers

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If the occupant sensors you are using are not good at sensing occupants, then treat them as a timer. Behind the faceplate, the occupant sensor I am using has a dial that adjusts the shut-off time. Basically, the light will shut off a certain number of minutes after it last senses someone moving around. After I adjusted the shut-off time from 8 minutes to 15 minutes, no one gets left in the dark anymore.

Sure, this basically fixes my occupant sensor problem, but I still hate them. Before, I will tell people to turn off the light when they leave a room and there would be no problem. Now, I am told that I shouldn’t worry because the light turns itself off. There you have it. Title 24 training people not to turn off the lights.

Occupant Sensors: Good in Theory

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occupant sensor light switchTitle 24 is absolutely the bane of homeowners. I’ve griped about Title 24 before. After a year of using occupant sensors in bathrooms, I’m ready to proclaim them a complete failure. When guests come over and stay the night, I have to train them on how to use the bathroom lights, as in if you only turn on the light controlled by the occupant sensor, it may turn off on you and leave you completely in the dark. So, everyone now turns on all the lights just in case. Not sure how this saves energy.

I’ve had the lights turn off on me when I was hidden from the sensor, to the side of the sensor, and directly in front of the sensor. Fortunately, in each instance, I had all the lights on. Install an occupant sensor in the bathroom and it will train you to turn on all the lights and use more energy than you would have otherwise used. The occupant sensor simply cannot detect someone taking a shower. It is completely useless in the bathroom.