Looking for a light switch with presence sensor?

[tommydog]

I run a B&B and am looking for a way to turn the lights off whenever a room is unoccupied for X amount of time. The guest should still be able to turn the lights on and off manually, but should not be able to disable the auto turn off feature if the room is unoccupied.



I guess I am looking for a light switch with a built in presence sensor? I guess a presence sensor would be better as if it is a motion sensor, the lights may go off unwanted if the guest fails to make sufficient movement e.g. if the guest is lying down watching a film.



Are there any products on the market that would work for my application?

 

[big-all]

normal domestic house here
i use pir lightbulbs work great providing you move a bit
perhaps table lamp/s with perhaps 3w bulbs for basic background light and pir at0.4w off and perhaps 9-12w on for pendants not what you ask but work well but may be unfreindly in your situation as would any bulb /switch that turns off lights may make people feel unwelcome as even one or two lights out situations are going out feels very big brother if not what you expect

just to add i dont use pir in rooms i dwell as the money saved is far less than the annoyance off the odd light going out
as an asside a 8w light bulb on for 8 hours a day will cost you about 2p a day soon dropping by around 22% to 1.6p[with a 16-18% unit cost reduction with a further 6-8% later]

from martin lewis money saving expert web site

1 Apr 2024 to 30 Jun 2024 Strong prediction (2)	DOWN 16% £1,620 a year
1 Jul 2024 to 30 Sep 2024 Weak prediction (2)	DOWN 8% £1,497 a year

further comments as a commercial situation you need to check the required level off luminosity [light levels] required by law in any area to comply

 

[ericmark]

I use TP-Link (Tapo) smart switches, the living room one I find handy when I drop off to sleep, watching TV which has a time out, and it has gone dark, so I need to get to the switch without stepping on the cat, so hey google turn on living room lights works well.

However as to saving money, the move to LED means that is hardly going to work. If I consider a table light or up lighter left on with a 6 watt bulb, that's around £1 for three weeks. And at the cost of smart devices unlikely it will ever pay for its self by saving power.

I do set a timer at 1 am to turn off lights, two reasons, means turned off if we forget, and two alerts us to the time, and since hey google turn on living room main is so easy, not really a problem. However if the smart switch was not already fitted, I would not fit one to turn off lights.

 

[tommydog]

I use TP-Link (Tapo) smart switches, the living room one I find handy when I drop off to sleep, watching TV which has a time out, and it has gone dark, so I need to get to the switch without stepping on the cat, so hey google turn on living room lights works well.

I looked at those switches but they don't work for my current application.

 

[Laurieo]

What about the key card switches you get in hotels .
From £15 on flea Bay

 

[Rodders53]

You'll find guests are mighty off if the lights randomly go off due to presence / movement sensor failing to work as you hope/intend. Worse still if electric heating is on/off outwith guest control (bathroom in particular).

Low wattage LED lighting left on 24/7 by an uncaring guest will be peanuts in the grand energy costs of a B&B I would have expected - even on Commercial energy tariffs?

If high wattage incandescent lamps: replace them!

I'd be asking in the Industry (B&B/Hotel) forums as others will have tried such devices, probably. Also trawl Tripadvisor for guest experiences of such systems in use.

PS we do like low-intensity lighting with pir sensors in bathrooms at night.

Something attached to the room key that enables the room electrics might be OK?

 

[foxhole]

Used to have a light switch with built in sensor , straight replacement for switch but would not work with LEDs . You should be using LEDs so leaving the odd light on is not a great cost .

 

[tommydog]

What about the key card switches you get in hotels .
From £15 on flea Bay

Thats no good as it depends on someone being around to give cards. At present they have a pin code to open the front door and a pincode for the rooms. It means someone does not have to be physically around when they check in. I did think about keycards before, but found that guests often leave their doors unlocked if they are using the place with friends. Plus on the day they leave they can just leave the light on. Thats why I think a presence sensor may be the only thing that works, although I am receptive to other ideas.

 

[tommydog]

Something attached to the room key that enables the room electrics might be OK?

Thats no good as it depends on someone being around to give keys. At present they have a pin code to open the front door and a pin code for the rooms. It means someone does not have to be physically around when they check in. I did think about keys and keycards before, but found that guests often leave their doors unlocked if they are using the place with friends. Plus on the day they leave they can just leave the lights on. Thats why I think a presence sensor may be the only thing that works, although I am receptive to other ideas.