I'm dealing with a light control issue in my rented office. The hallway light is on a motion sensor (Watt Stopper CL-200), and it turns off after about 20 minutes, even though I've adjusted it to the longest setting. It bothers me since it makes the office look closed when the light goes off. I'm looking for creative ways to bypass the sensor without actually installing a switch. Any ideas?
3 Answers
You might want to consider using an infrared emitter to trick the sensor. By flashing the emitter toward it more frequently than the timeout period, you can keep it thinking there's motion. If the sensor detects changes only in certain areas, you could even use two emitters to create a more convincing motion effect. It could be pretty compact and run off a single AA battery! Just find a spot to place it discreetly, like on the door jamb.
I found in the datasheet for the sensor that if you flip DIP switch #6 to OFF, it overrides the sensor and keeps the light on. However, I'm not exactly sure if 'on' means the light stays on or just something else. Seems worth checking out the instructions to see if that could be your solution!
There’s this cool device called a mouse jiggler that keeps a PC awake by physically moving the mouse. You could adapt that idea—how about using it to wave a flag or something similar to keep the sensor active? It could even be run by an ATTiny84 for some extra fun!
I can adjust the sensor settings, but since it's high up in the ceiling tiles, accessing it regularly isn't practical. I think having it on all the time isn't ideal either.