# Forum Home Renovation Lighting  240V Motion Senor LED Security Light with 'Dusk-to-Dawn' Dim/Moonlight mode

## SteveAndBelle

Hi all. 
I threw a few high-quality solar lights up on our house when we first bought it a few years ago as a quick & hassle-free lighting solution and they've been excellent!  Wall mount with a nice big panel on top that doesn't even need direct sunlight to charge, a decent Lithium battery pack inside, super-bright 6000K LED floodlight on motion detect but hands down the best feature they offer is an 'always-on' dim warm-white LED that switches on at Dusk and off at Dawn and provided just enough light in a dark space to light the way ahead of you.  Absolutely brilliant feature and something I really want to keep but it seems as though it's only available on Solar lights!  I've looked & looked but can't find *any* 240V hardwired motion detecting lights with the same 'always-on' dim light which is kinda odd as it just makes so much sense for so many applications.  I've bought far cheaper Solar path lights from China with the same feature too (glow dim from Dusk to Dawn but crank right up when movement is detected) so how can there be nothing in the hardwired market? 
The main reason I'm looking is that I'm now at the stage where most of the major restoration work is done so I'd like to start refining things here & there.  The Solar Lights still work really well but they're just a bit bulky & ugly and don't suit the age of the house at all so would prefer sleeker hardwired lights instead. 
So, anyone know of any?  If not then maybe I should start manufacturing them! 
UPDATE:  I just found the receipt so here's the excellent Solar Lights I mentioned above: https://www.solargalore.com.au/solar...-sensor-light/

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## Uncle Bob

Put one of these in the lighting circuit then you can use any lamp fixture you like  :2thumbsup:  https://hpm.com.au/product/weatherpr...sitive-switch/

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## SteveAndBelle

> Put one of these in the lighting circuit then you can use any lamp fixture you like  https://hpm.com.au/product/weatherpr...sitive-switch/

  Not quite.  That will switch lights on at Dusk and off at Dawn which is half the task.  The other half is the motion detection triggering a flood light! 
I was considering using a Dusk-to-Dawn sensor like the one above on a separate circuit to run a few very dim lights placed here & there then also install PIR Motion Detecting lights... but that's a pretty extreme solution when the solar lights can do it all in one clean, convenient & simple fitting!  I still can't find a reason there isn't a hardwire range that does the same thing.  Hmmm.

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## Uncle Bob

I see what you mean now. I don't know of anything like that offhand. It could be done with some microcontrollers quite easily so I don't know why they haven't been done already, if they haven't.

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## SteveAndBelle

Yeah, I've seen others DIY solutions with Arduinos etc. and I'm fine to do that but was hoping & assuming there was a commercial product already available.  Hmm, might have to start nutting something out.

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## SteveAndBelle

FOUND ONE... but alas they're 10 years old and have been discontinued so I can't actually buy them anywhere: http://www.noushouse.com.au/brochure...s-A0000202.pdf 
"_Courtesy Light / Dimmer Facility  Selected units feature a Courtesy Light function. Dimmingtechnology incorporated within the unit allows lighting to beactivated at dusk, to a dim level set by the user, welcomingvisitors and guests. When the unit detects movement, lightingwill increase to full brightness, then return to the set dimminglevel when the timer expires._" 
Would've been perfect too.  Ah well, the search continues...

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## FrodoOne

You may be overthinking the "problem" in trying to get everything that you want in one device. 
You could use two devices in conjunction.
1. A "Sunset Switch", such as https://hpm.com.au/product/weatherpr...sitive-switch/ or the HSC110SS 16A Weatherproof Sunset Switch (https://www.cabac.com.au/shop/media/...0/hsc110ss.pdf) which has more facilities and may be cheaper.
This could be used to turn on dim "background lighting" or "garden lighting". 
2. A "Motion Sensor", to turn on flood lighting when an "intruder" is detected.  
This *is* the type of set-up that we have - with "garden lighting", which turns off at midnight, plus "security lighting", which turns on when motion (heat variation) is detected.

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## Spottiswoode

I’ve seen this style light in a commercial car park so they must be out there somewhere. It’s a bit wierd walking through a car park and having all the different lights get brighter as you move towards them.  
Good luck with your search.

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## SteveAndBelle

> You may be overthinking the "problem" in trying to get everything that you want in one device.

  Guilty as charged... but it's still annoying that you can easily get these features in a solar light and I now know there used to be 240V versions too.

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## SteveAndBelle

> I’ve seen this style light in a commercial car park so they must be out there somewhere. It’s a bit wierd walking through a car park and having all the different lights get brighter as you move towards them

  Yeah, I love this!  They're still not super dim when they're dimmed either... more like 60-70% brightness but apparently it saves an absolute fortune over time.  Obviously only for large commercial fitouts like multi-storey carparks and purely an energy saving thing. 
Yeah, I think I'm going to look at smooshing a dusk-to-dawn sensor, a motion sensor and simple dimming circuit into a small weatherproof box myself and get it to control a standard dimming-capable LED light fitting.  All I need is the time to play around with it.

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## davegol

The stairwell in our office (it's the fire exit) has LED battens which are on all the time, but very dim, and then suddenly brighten up when you enter the stairwell. 
Pretty certain it's motion detection, but can't see if there's a separate detector or not. 
Don't know the brand, but it certainly exists. 
Keep searching!

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## SteveAndBelle

Oh yeah!  I finally found the *perfect* light... even though they're just over $200 shipped form the UK: https://www.steinel.de/en/domestic-u...nthracite.html because of course we only get the standard junk here in Australia  :Frown:  
They do everything I want ie. act like a standard motion detect light but also shine dimly (10%) all night long but that can be programmed on or off or with a timer.  That's all I really wanted however they also have Bluetooth connectivity for programming & control but also as an interconnect so you can group lights together and have the whole group turn on whenever motion is detected by whichever light.  Friggin' brilliant (pardon the pun) and I've seen pretty dull & boring outdoor lights not much cheaper than this in local large retail stores with none of the 'smarts' so I suppose the cost isn't too much of a hike afterall. 
Whoop!

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## Arron

Not questioning your judgement - just asking because we need new lighting too and I’m concerned there may be something useful I’m omitting. So I’m curious why you want the 10% light on all night long ? Surely, if this is outside, then should you want to walk down the pathway concerned the pir will switch the light on at 100% anyway? So what’s behind the 10%? 
Cheers
Arron

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## SteveAndBelle

> So whats behind the 10%?

  Nope, fair question!  Most people don't seem too concerned however we've been living with very cheap yet excellent solar path lights with this function for the last few years and now that we've lived with them it's difficult to consider replacing them with the normal on/off type lights.  Two reasons for me/us... the first is purely a 'nice-to-have' in that the very dim lighting ahead helps map out a path to guide guests or visitors so they can see what's ahead, similarly the way street lights work I suppose to show the road ahead instead of it being in complete darkness.  Secondly though, I've had cameras up on our house for the last few years... not due to any major security concerns but more just to keep an eye on things both for us and all our neighbours.  We're in the inner-city and have learnt to live with opportunists rummaging through unlocked cars both parked on the street and in driveways or homeless/drunk people deciding to pop over the front boundary and have a nap in the bushes or just needing a place to hide & rest etc.  All very harmless and no-one ever damages anything in the process but since moving in and installing the solar lights 3+ years ago none of that as happened to us even though I've got footage of it happening to most of our neighbours once or twice a year.  Our place is one of the only properties with a nice open driveway down one side too which in pure darkness would be very inviting for people to wander down and _potentially_ begin mischievous activity but I'm pretty sure the dim lighting has acted as a great deterrent. 
So yeah, not a critical feature and definitely not up top of most peoples lists but something I thought was an excellent feature on the $2 Chinese solar lights we bought so was a bit baffled as to why it wasn't offered on even fancy $200+ mains powered lights.

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## Arron

Ok, thanks for the reply

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