There were some car burglaries in our neighborhood and DH can’t park his truck in the garage so we decided to put a security light on the garage. He was a bit concerned because his experiences with motion-sensing lights had not been good. So we bought a fairly pricy one. It worked well for about two weeks.
Then it became very intermittent. We tried repositioning things and cleaning things and all the usual and it would work and then not work. Lately it’s been turning on instantly when I open the garage door, which seems odd as the motion sensor is pointed away from the garage door, and does not come on when one walks out the front door and around the corner, which is exactly where the motion sensor IS pointed. Since the lights we have seen never allow replacement of the motion sensor, it pretty much means the whole thing is no good.
Anyone have ideas about the way to get a motion sensing light that will actually work?
Your experience is not unique. I’ve always found it to be a trial and error situation. You might want to look at industrial ones since they presumable are brighter and have better sensors.
I’ve switched to cameras mounted on my house instead of motion sensor lights. Burglars seem much more afraid of cameras than they are of lights going on and off, even if you only have fake cameras.
We have a motion sensor light on our barn. It was there when I moved in with my gf (17 years ago?) and it has worked flawlessly since then, same bulb even!
Walking toward the barn at night, I leave the glow of the house outside lights and wave my hands over my head and the barn light comes on.
I recently bought some solar powered motion sensor lights that actually work really well, I was expecting disappointment, I was pleasantly surprised.
I’ve only had them the last few months, in the summer and fairly clear days, so I’m not sure how they will fare come winter, with longer nights, and shorter, dimmer days. But they currently are still very bright pre-dawn when I let my dogs out before work.
Nice thing about them is not having to run wires. After my dog got skunked in my own backyard, I decided I needed more light back there, especially in the corners, but I really didn’t want to run wires all over.
If you are interested, I can PM you a link when I get home as to what exactly I got, but it was almost a random pick among the many choices that are available on Amazon.
I’ve got four of these that have been in service with no problems for years. They are very bright, the sensitivity and “on” time are completely adjustable, and they use standard rechargeable batteries if the batteries need to be replaced. I’ve only replaced batteries in one unit in the years I have used them.
The solar panel has plenty of wire for installation flexibility.
That would be great, thanks. Ours is also solar. I know it’s random sort of, which ones are good and which not, but just knowing that someone else made them come on when they’re supposed to would be encouraging.
Years ago I ran a 24/7 business in an OK-but-fading area near downtown Las Vegas.
One evening about 11pm I came out and my truck parked behind our shop in the small lot off the alley had been burgled. Passenger side widow smashed, console & glove box rifled producing nothing of value, and numerous scratch marks & bent metal where they tried to pry the factory AM/FM/cassette stereo out of the all-steel dash. Einstein had apparently taken the night off and sent two stooges in his place.
Anyhow, we called the cops and as this was a business, not a residence, they actually sent somebody out. I mentioned to the investigating officer that we had full-time security lighting illuminating our small parking lot to deter thieves. Her withering comment: “Oh, you mean work lights for criminals. They love 'em.”
I’m not expert enough to know whether she was speaking the truth, but it sure made an impression on me. Haven’t spent a penny on “security” lights since. Haven’t been burgled either. And it’s been 30 years since that fateful evening.
I have these [Utilitech: #0803994] all around my house. They can be adjusted for range and time-on. There’s a test function to experiment with your settings (and aiming the sensor) in the daytime.
I put them up over 5 years ago, and they’ve worked without fail since. All are under eaves or rooflines, so no rain on them at all. They have the added bonus of ensuring the yard is free of 4 legged intruders before I let my small dogs out in the dark (coyotes in the area).
I suspect (don’t know) that when the OP opens the garage door there is just enough vibration to ‘jiggle’ the sensor a little bit. To the sensor, that would look like other things are moving.