Motion Sensor Wall Switch - Design deficits?

I bought a Heath/Zenith motion sensor wall swithc and installed it in the walk-in closet. Yeah, it works okay, and does the job. But... After flipping the switch for a few decades, I'm finding that it's hard to break a habit that has been ingrained into my behavior for so long.

I still reach for the switch lever like I used to, but it's not there. Instead, there's a slide switch that slides sideways with off, auto and on positions, so it can be used like a regular switch. Well, of course my instinctive action doesn't move the switch, but the motion causes the sensor to turn the light on.

So I thought that these motion control switches should be more like a regular switch and have a swich lever, so that they can be used _like_ a regular switch. In other words, the maker should not depart from the standard switch design because the switch functions somewhat differently. I think the designer made his choice of a slide switch at the sacrifice of the user's convenience.

Also, I've had to remove the switch cover plate a few times to adjust the time and sensitivity. This is another inconvenience that could be addressed in the design. And it looks to me like the light has lost a bit of brightness, probably because the switch uses a TRIAC and it doesn't feed a full sine wave to the light - another thing to consider.

Does this sound like a Bitch List? Probably, but then it will be a help to those that are considering buying a motion sensor switch. Now they know what they should look for when they purchase one. But it's likely they may never find one that has these deficits mitigated. :-(

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I've had one in my garage for years, switching fluorescents.

I sometime reach for the "switch" out of habit, but everything lights up before I even get close.

...Jim Thompson

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|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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