A light sensor is a kind of circuit breaker. If an object appears in the coverage area, the sensor is triggered, contacts are transferred. Quite often, such sensors are used to control street lighting or in residential premises, in particular to control lighting in the toilet room. Often they can be found on the landing and at the exit of the entrance.
In addition to convenience, a motion sensor for light can save energy, and as we understand it, it is quite important in our time - the time of constant disputes with housing and communal services. The device is based on sensory perception. If movement appears in the field of action, the sensor senses low illumination and, on the basis of its magnitude and the set response setting, decides to transfer contacts. If the magnitude of the light flux is very low, then the lamp turns on, if it is permissible and does not exceed the setting, then everything remains as before. The light sensor will not work during the day, and this is not necessary: why is the light in the afternoon?
How to mount the device? The speed and accuracy of the manipulation depend on whether the sensor is installed correctly. It is not recommended to connect the light sensor with your own hands, since warranty service is terminated if it turns out that the cause of the breakdown was unauthorized interference in the work.
Mostly the sensor is placed on the ceiling at a distance of no more than six meters from the floor. Predict cases where frequent false alarms are possible, and place the sensor so that the device’s resource is not wasted on useless switching. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to direct the impact beam to the places where the fans are located, traffic is carried out, there is air conditioning, heating pipes are located, trees and bushes grow, and electrical interference occurs.
Having a light sensor, you need to remember about the viewing angle. If the ceiling is selected as the attachment point, then this angle will be 360 degrees; if it is installed on the wall, then it will be no more than 180 degrees.
As a rule, the functionality of the sensor is based on the operation of the photo relay and its light detector.
The light level control is set to the desired value.
The photo relay turns on only if the reflected light becomes small. This is due to the overlap of the light flux by the appearing shadow cast by a moving object.
The light sensor has several thresholds, which allows you to configure the device in a wide range. To select one of them, you must put a jumper between the special terminals, according to the instructions for the sensor.
Connecting a sensor is simple, harder to configure. The maximum load power is up to 2.2 kW. Modern sensors are equipped with a special circuit that prevents false alarms.
Install the sensor so that it does not get additional light. If there are other lamps in the room, then they will certainly interfere with the correct operation of the sensor, because then it will be located under direct lighting. Most often, the sensor is installed behind existing fixtures (in full shadow).