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Motion Detector with Dusk to Dawn Barn Light

I have a neighbor with one of those large 500W+ barn lights. I do a fair amount of astronomy from my property and it can loom quite large at night. He seems interested in helping but yet has not taken any steps about reducing the light. I would happily pay for a motion detector. I looked in the local h/w store and about the only thing I could find is one of those three socket ones that takes two flood lamps. One socket has a motion detector and the other is used for the sensor. It seems like it might be adequate but is it? Are there better choices? I think all we need do is put in the line that goes up his tree some 20'.

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                          Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

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W. Watson
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500W might be a problem. You could buy a solid-state relay rated at 1kW and use the motion detector to control the relay which would control the lighting ... but that is probably too much hassle.

I'd search for a motion controlled lighting system which handles that power level.

Reply to
Charles Schuler

I think @10 cents/ KWH it costs him about $15.00/ month to run 500 Watts of lighting !

I don't think most motion sensors can handle even 250 watts ! You might find it cheaper to run 2 Sensor/lamps rather than one sensor and a switched relay via the motion Sensor to increase the Power handling capability.

You might be able to rig a small (10/20) watt light next to the light sensor to over-ride the NIGHT sensor during observation times.

I think however telling him its costing him a couple hundred dollars a year to run the lights without the motion sensor will probably get his attention more than anything else !!!

Yukio YANO

Reply to
Yukio YANO

Around here, 150W floodlights with built in motion sensors are very cheap. A bunch of them would quite likely be cheaper than a similar setup with single 500W light, plus you could get better area coverage by spreading them around the property.

Good point. ;^)

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   W  "Some people are alive only because it is illegal to kill them."
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Reply to
Lionel

Your $ estimate is about right, and there are many people in our rural area that do have barn lights and run them all night. In fact, a local church has about 20 in their lot and they are on all year, and often well before dusk in the summer. Many people really don't care. Exactly how this light is helping my neighbor is questionable. The sad story is that when he moved in

3 years ago, he tore down the skycap I had placed > W. Wats>> I have a neighbor with one of those large 500W+ barn lights. I do a 
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                          Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

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W. Watson 

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                          Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

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W. Watson

fly

fair

Surely you can ge the equivalent of this on your side of the pond?

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A bit of searching has found this at Home Depot - search for Store SKU #919160.

Bob

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Bob Minchin 

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                          Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

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W. Watson

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