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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This switch will allow your lights to turn on when a person's movement is sensed, or alternatively, turn it off when there's daylight. Its settings allow you to have the light stay on for 1,5,15, or 30 minutes after it no longer senses movement. It also has two levels of sensitivity and a test mode.
Unlike many earlier sensor switches on the market, this one works with fluorescent, incandescent and LED lights. Although it requires a ground wire, which typical standard switches may not have, it doesn't need a neutral (white) wire, unlike many sensor switches.
I placed this switch in a bathroom, where I needed one for two reasons. The light was frequently left on by mistake, and the room has fluorescent bulbs. Bulbs with CFLs inside do not favor well with short cycles, and are better off left on for a number of minutes than being switched off after a minute of being on.
One concern with a bathroom switch is the level of sensitivity. I put the switch in test mode (15 seconds) and went behind a shower curtain. The light stayed on. Likewise, it stayed on while sitting on the room's seat. I haven't had any false responses, even when turning the ceiling fan on, although it's possible for air currents to trigger the sensor.
UPDATE: I bought a second one for another room that gets light through windows during the day. The switch senses when a person is in the room and if it's dark enough, the light goes on. This is a much bigger room and I was concerned it might be a problem if the light went off with a person in it, but it seems to be working well. Another feature is that within five seconds of entering the room, you can turn it on or off, and it will learn from that. If you turn it on because it's already dark enough, it will learn to turn on earlier in the future. And if you turned it off, it would have recognized that there was enough ambient light that it should not have needed to still be on. Over time, it adjusts.
Setting the time interval is simply a matter of holding in the button until it blinks the appropriate number of times indicated in the instructions. Other (less common) settings involve a small button that's normally hidden by the switch plate. That makes setting a simple task, and the defaults (5 minutes and movement sensor mode) might be sufficient.
This uses a standard Decora switch plate, so depending on your current plate, you may or may not have to buy one. They are under a dollar at many hardware stores. I had a twin Decora plate from a previous sensor switch, but in one location I changed from a standard toggle switch and used a Leviton 2-Gang 1-Toggle 1-Decora Combination Wallplate.
Overall, this works better and is more versatile than a number of sensor switches I've used in the past. It also has a lower sensitivity setting that I haven't tested, but if this causes lights to go on too easily, that's an available option.
UPDATE: After using this switch for several months, I continue to be impressed by it, and it's the hands down winner compared to other brands I have tried. I have already bought an additional one and may buy more.
UPDATE 9/2012: This switch allows you to set the amount of time after sensing no activity before the lights turn off. My wife decided that five minutes was too long for the bathroom and had me set it to a minute. I found that if I sit perfectly still, the light will go out. A simple turn of the head or wave of a hand will switch it back on. With a five minute setting, any movement within the past five minutes will have been enough to keep things on. So if you use one in a room where you sit very still such as while working at a desk with your back to the switch and a high chair back, a short setting could leave you in the dark until you wave your arm around. Ultimately it means that it senses small movements well, but in situations where small movements might not happen for a while you will do better with a longer period before it times out. So it's not just a matter of how long you want it to stay on after you leave the room, but a matter of how much you move around in short periods of time.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I ordered this to use in a hallway, but due to the design I ended up using it in our laundry area. I find it to be simple to install, provided you have a newer house, and excellent in operation.Design wise, it has a small sensor below a large push button switch. This switch is used to program it if desired, or to manually turn it on and off. In general I doubt the switch will be used much except for programming the device. The instructions say NOT to use this device to control a wall outlet. So it is for lights only.
Pro:
Works great once installed. When you (or a pet, etc) gets anywhere within 180 degrees, if snaps on, and stays on for 5 minutes (with adjustable off time). There are warnings that heat and moving air will activate the switch, so I expect it to be on while the dryer is running, but that is no problem for me.
It can be programmed to change the motion sensitivity, for vacancy mode (no auto on), and for how long the light stays on once it is activated (1, 5, 15, or 30 minutes).
The switch turns it on or off, so one is not dependent on the time-out.
It works fine with florescent lights.
Con:
In order to program vacation mode and the sensitivity, one has to remove the faceplate over the light switch because there is a small second switch that has to be depressed. Since I had problems installing a face plate (see below), I'm not likely to be using this feature. Programming the off delay can be easily done with the main switch.
It comes without a faceplate, so I bought one (it is a dual switch area). It was extremely hard to screw in. I think there is a problem with the thread size. But maybe I'm just clumsy! I did not deduct a star for this.
Summary: Highly recommended.
UPDATE: 30 Apr 12. A reader has updated me on the meaning of "grounding" vs. having a neutral line. This box does not require a neutral wire which is a good thing because my house has only the white, black, and green wires. I updated the review to 5 stars (it really is that good), and removed the paragraph that expressed my puzzlement with the instructions.
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First the Pros-A great motion activated wall switch that certainly works with energy efficient CFLs, and incandescent/filament bulbs all mixed together or not.
Motion PIR is very accurate in detection and maintains good detection at a distance. i.e. Other PIRs always turn off when standing at the sink washing or when my hands were dripping water that I would not be able to wave effectively to reactivate the light.
I haven't had any problem with the Lutron.
It has many useful features too, and I find the vacancy sensor probably more useful than the occupancy mode.
Cons-
Kind of a buzz kill but where are houses built with a ground going to a wall switch plate box. I checked both my houses, Turns out it's not required or that important. Don't get confused with electrical outlets, which will always have a ground wire.
It won't work without a ground, so plan ahead. How far are you going to go to get a ground wire to that junction switch box?
And the second issue is related to why it needs a ground.
It activates a relay to turn the lights on.
No wonder it handles a variety of mixed bulbs.
I much prefer the electronic way of handling Florescent and CFLs. I realize its less rugged and can burn out easier, but at least it's silent.
So before you buy, consider that you will with hear a relay click every time you enter a room.
If you're curious about dimming ability, since the switch looks like a dimmer rocker, the above should answer your question.,
Other than that a great switch for $15.00
Honest reviews on Lutron MS-OPS2-WH Maestro 250 Watt Single Pole Occupancy Sensor
Bought this item as Lowe's for $19.99, quick and easy to install as there are two black wires, one green and a ground. The green and ground are wired to your ground wire in your wall box, so you do not need a neutral wire to install. Place in hallway that get's a lot of traffic and after noticing how easy it is to install I think I will be picking up a few more. Does not work with a three way switch though and can only handle 250 watts, so make sure you do not have too many lights going to the switch.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lutron MS-OPS2-WH Maestro 250 Watt Single Pole Occupancy Sensor
Features:* Operates in one of three modes: occupancy (turns on and off automatically via motion sensor), vacancy (turns off automatically via motion sensor), and auto-on and off (via light sensor).
* Works with CFL, LED, incandescent, and halogen lights.
* Time-outs can be set be set to 1, 5, 15, or 30 minutes (as well as a "test" mode that is about 15 seconds).
* Inexpensive
* Easy to install
* Light can always be turned on and off via the front switch
* Comes with wire nuts and screws to attach to break-out box (but no faceplate).
A few (small) cons:
* Distinctly audible click when the sensor detects motion and the light turns on.
* If you connect the two black wires in the wrong order, the switch will not work (but, simply switch the connections and everything will work)
* With the face-plate attached you can change the time-out setting but you cannot change the operational mode (occupancy vs. vacancy vs. light-sensor) or the motion sensitivity.
I got tired of yelling at my kids to turn out the bathroom lights, so I bought a couple of these switches. Note that I have installed two of these but have operated them only in occupancy mode. To my ear, the turn-on click is not very loud, but someone not used to it might be (slightly) startled.
In summary, I am quite pleased with these switches and will probably buy more.
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