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Electrical Wiring Lighting entry

Outdoor motion sensor light on same switch as non-motion-sensor light

4 years ago

Hi Houzz community! I'm upgrading outdoor lighting to incorporate motion-sensor technology. On a single switch, I currently have 3 identical hanging wall lights that use standard (incandescent) bulbs and do not have motion-sensors. One light is at the front door, and the other two are on either side of the front-facing garage. I'd like to swap-out the front door light for a motion-sensor hanging light, such as the Heath Zenith 150 Degree Antique Bronze Hanging Carriage Wall Lantern Sconce with Clear Beveled Glass Model #HZ-4168-AZ. My question is: could an electrician wire this set-up such that I can have the switch turned "on" at all times - which would be required to make sure the motion-sensor light will turn on when it detects motion - while also being able to control the other non-motion-sensor lights manually to keep them turned off except when we want for them to be on? Thanks for your insights! -Eva

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Comments (4)

greg_2015
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Sure ... an electrician can do it. But probably not without punching holes in the wall and running new cable.

Below is how your wiring is PROBABLY set up (but there are multiple ways it could be set up). Power from the switch goes to the front door light and then travels on to the other two lights.

What you'd need is on the right in the diagram below.

EITHER the blue line which is a new cable from the switch to the front door light (so that both the constant power and the switched power is available at the door light box).

OR the pink line that carries the switched power to the 2nd and third light.

Which line is easier to run depends on your specific situation.

As I said, there are other ways that this could currently be wired and it is possible that you already have something equivalent to the pink line setup already and no new cables need to be run, but I doubt it. Opening up the switch box (with the power off) and investigating what wires are there could confirm the situation.
emgzmail thanked greg_2015
emgzmail
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks Greg for this helpful info! I'm going to have an electrician assess the current wiring situation (pun intended). If it'd be a costly job, I'd consider the alternative of replacing all 3 lights with motion sensor lights. I don't necessarily need the garage lights to be motion sensitive too, but if they were, that'd be fine.
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We also looked a long time for a contemporary motion-sensing outdoor light. Very difficult. An incredible proportion of the motion-sensing light fixtures are kitchy colonial designs that I didn't think many people used anymore. Then we found this light for our cabin in the Sierra, and ended up installing them all around our house in the Bay Area as well. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-180-Degree-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Motion-Sensing-Outdoor-Wall-Lantern-HB48017MP-237/100549693 It's not "contemporary" per se, but it works surprisingly well with a contemporary house that has transitional or industrial touches. It is designed to illuminate what's below, rather than shining the light source directly at your eyes, like 80% of the outdoor fixtures on the market (WTH?!?). It's also dark sky rated, which was important to us at our cabin out of consideration for neighbors, but is nice in the burbs as well.
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greg_2015
4 years ago
I'd also suggest having the motion detector light on a switch as well (but it could be separate from the others). Don't hardwire it to always be on.

There's bound to be a time when you don't want the light on for some reason and it's also safer when replacing the light bulb to have the power off.
emgzmail thanked greg_2015
emgzmail
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks, that scenario would also be a workable solution. Would lose manual control of the 2 garage lights, but I'd rarely want to keep them steady-on anyway. And I'd get that extra light over the driveway from the garage lights going on when the door light triggers. And come to think of it, if I were to choose the alternative option I'd mentioned earlier of replacing all 3 of the lights with motion sensor lights, there would possibly be some extra wiring labor involved anyway, to set up a "Master-Master" sort of wiring. Will run these ideas by the electrician.

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