Customer Reviews

Leviton PR150-1LW 500W, Single Pole, 150 Degrees, 350 sq. ft. Passive Infrared Wall Switch Occupancy Sensor, Residential Grade, White

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I have installed a couple of these switches, and they are not just plug-in and forget. The mini-manual the comes with them gives details, but in chinese-english that is hard to understand.

(1) Setup - There are two small thumb-wheel controls beside the motion-sensor. The one is for setting the length of time the switch is ON, and is obvious. The other one is quite delicate and compensates for ambient lighting and the lighting of the moving object. This is especially tricky when the motion sensor has a window in its view, and the ambient light it sees changes from day to night. If you have a window facing the switch, it would be best to put a blind in it to filter out some of the ambient light changes. With patience, I was able to get the switch to work well even though it faced a window. But it takes trial-and-error to compensate for motion during both day and dusk (it doesn't work at night).

(2) Flickering fluorescents - With the widespread conversion to fluorescent lighting, there is a new problem. The small screw-in spiral bulbs that replace incandescent lights have electronic "ballasts", which are totally different from those on the long fluorescent tubes. This motion-sensing light switch does not go completely OFF when there is no motion. A sensitive VOM will measure about 30+ volts on the hot line. However, there is little current available. The 30+ volts is enough to trigger the ballast on the spiral fluorescents, and it tries to light the lamp, however there is not enough current available and the light tries to go on, drains the minimal charge on the line, and then goes out. This repeats and you get a flicker. ---- You can solve this by replacing one of your lights with an incandescent lamp. This will constantly drain the charge trickle through the switch and prevent the voltage building up to trigger the ballast. I have used 45W and 60W bulbs, and both work. They just go in parallel with your spiral fluorescents. And you should no longer have any flicker.

**** With careful installation, these switches work quite well. My wife expecially appreciates the one in our laundry room which goes on automatically when she comes in with piles of laundry (we have a traditional marriage).

There are not too many readily available Occupancy Sensors.

So this is about the only product I could find for a reasonable price at the local hardware store or online.

My main gripe is that like advertised here, it says it works with fluorescent and Incandescent. But thats certainly misleading as it only works with magnetic ballast fluorescent lights.

Not the newer, fast on, electronic balast lights.

(Magnetics are usually the long ones that flicker before turning on.)

So if your like me and looking to add to the savings by using with a typical screw in flurecent bulb, you will be out of luck.

As it will either flicker when turned off, or not turn on at all.

Leviton apparently has a sensor which will work with electronic ballast lights, but its way way way more expensive, and nearly impossible to find to say the least.

im just disapointed.

I'm not saying all the reviews are incorrect, but this switch is not all that bad.

Typically, whether you are working with z-wave, motion sensors and such flourescent is just a bad idea in general. I read all these bad reviews on all these devices and whether the manufacturer tells you it's o.k. or not you just need to accept the good ol' incadescent.

Also, with some of the reviews I don't think some realized that there are dials behind the decorative plate that can control the time and sensitivity to existing light levels.

They will not work in pitch black unless you are right in front of it. If you need that spend much more on an infrared one.

They do only sense motion at or above the location of the sensor. It's not good if you have children shorter than the switch, but it is good if you have pets.

Those aren't negative points, they are just things to take into consideration.

I've found they work great for walk-in closets, laundry rooms, bathrooms, stairways and garages. When used in the right environment I've found them much more reliable than the competion. Their timers react the same length everytime and don't get hung up. There is a green light on the front that flashes whenever it senses activity and I've had no problem with distance in any normal sized room.

If you use flourescent lighting, be sure you only use a magnetic ballast, not electronic. This switch causes the lights to flicker continuously when it is OFF, and causes the lights to buzz when it is ON. Yes, so the package does say it supports up to 400W MAGNETIC flourescents, but it does not explicitly say you can't use ELECTRONIC flourescents on the outside; only in the manual (after you have ripped open the plastic packaging.

I have the PR180, which is the expanded 180 degree sensor. The only thing that seems to work consistently on this is the manual switch at the bottom. It does indeed turn it permanently off or permanently on. The problems begin when you set it to the middle Auto setting.

After playing with the Time setting, I found that turning it all the way up to ALMOST the maximum kept it on for 30 seconds. One more click adjustment and it immediately went up to 15 minutes, as it advertises. I couldn't find any setting between 30 seconds and 15 minutes after repeated trials. I left it at 30 seconds and tested it about five times, then gave up. I left the room. Ten minutes later, the light was still on. It can't seem to make up its mind.

The other downside is, about 3 out of 4 times, the light will go off while you're still in the room (in this case, it's a bathroom). When the light goes off, you can sit there and flail your arms and body and the sensor will not detect motion and turn the light back on. I've sat there for upwards of two minutes trying to get it to go back on and it never does, until I reset it with the manual switch at the bottom. All of this is with the Light Level Adjustment setting turned all the way to the maximum setting. If I turn it down at all, the sensor never detects anything, ever.

Everyone in our family has gotten so frustrated with it, we all just use the manual switch on the bottom to turn the light on and off. I do NOT recommend this switch at all. It was the cheapest motion detection light switch in the store, and it's clear why. It's a poor product.

I've had three of these switches in my garage. They all worked very well --- for about one year. After a year, the sensor fails and I am left with a manual on/off switch. If I wanted a manaul on/off switch this would not be my choice.

I'm looking at motion sensor switches again because it is time to replace the third switch. Call me old fashioned, but I would expect a switch to last for at least five years. If you consider the cost of ownership to include annual replacement, this is not a bad product.

I thought... all switches like this were the same. Not so.

This switch does not allow for energy saving fluorescant bulbs to be used, nor does it stay on very long when in use. As an example: I go into the room looking for something and shortly thereafter, the light goes off even if I am moving around. Just what does motion detection mean?

If you go to Leviton's website you will find that this Occupancy sensor is for use only with magnetic ballasts NOT electronic ballasts!

It's great idea to have the light go on as you enter the room, however we replaced that switch 3 times because it keeps breaking down after about 3 month and we could never get an explanation of why it stops working or any money back.

We've used these switches in a mudroom and in a garage for years and have never had problems. A little bit of fiddling with the time and sensitivity controls, and you're set. However, the switches do not work well with compact fluorescent lights. And yes, the light may go off if you're in the room for a while and not moving, which is why there is a time-set control!