Motion Sensor + 2-way

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Santa_Claus

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I wish to install a light circuit that is two way controlled and that can also be controlled be a motion sensor that can be turned on or off from two locations.

The sensor would be mounted on a garage and control a set of entrance lights leading to the front door of the house. The lighting circuit should be set up so that it can be operated manually (independent of the sensor) as a two way lighting circuit (one switch inside the garage and the other inside the house) but we also wish to be able to choose to have the circuit controlled automatically by the sensor. It would be adequate to turn the sensor on or off from inside the house only but would be preferable to have 2-way control of the sensor (so that it can be turned on or off from either the garage or from inside the house).

Can this be achieved and if so, how?

Regards
 
it can be done, you would have to have a two gang two way switch at both locatons (one for the light one for the sensor)

The trouble is that you are probably not allowed to do it unless the feed for the garage is fed from the house and the cables for the light swithes all come from the garage, this way they would all be at the same earth potential.

but that means that you would have to bring over 2 x 3core and earth cables to do it which will be a lot of grief (since they should either be buried in the ground (in which case you cant use ordainairy cable but wire armoured cable or over head on a cateniary wire in which case you should still use armoure cable as it is designed for outside use

All this would be the case if you are in the UK but as i have no idea what you can and can not do in New Zealand i can will not say specificaly how it should be wired.

But i do have an alternative better idea.

Why not put the sensor in a corner looking down and towards the house, any one coming out of either the garage or house will be picked up by the sensor and it will turn the lights on.

a second alternative would be as you are santa_claus you could get an elf to stand in the garage and turn the light on or off as required :lol:
 
Thanks for your reply.

I'm sorry to say that the elves are on strike...

I have all the necessary cables in place in conduit under ground between the garage and house.

Let's assume that NZ and UK electrical regulations are the same....

I understand that what you are recommending is 2 2-way circuits but I do not understand how this can work. A 2 way to control the lights with no sensor is straight forward. How does the other circuit work? Is it a 2 way feeding the sensor which in turn feeds the lighting circuit? What happens when the sensor circuit is live and we wish to turn the lights on manually using a switch at one end of the 2 way light circuit? This will liven the cable from the light circuit to the sensor, is this ok?
 
I have thought of a better / safer way are you familiar ith a relay?
why not have 2.
this way you can use a multi core cable from the garage to the house and as it will be switching low voltage it will be safe and comply with all regulations

one relay swithes the light on directly, one relay switches on or off your sensor (the output from the sensor goes directly to the light)
 
Is a relay a 2-way circuit?

Are you sugesting one two way circuit controls the lights directly (switched at both ends) and another controls the sensor (again switched at both ends). The sensor is then connected to the lighting circuit. Would this cause a problem in the event that the sensor was left on and the lighting circuit turned on also?

Thanks
 
sorry i assumed (wrongly) that you knew what a relay does.

looks like you will have to go to plan "A" with 2, 2way ccts but i can not go into wiring as you are in NZ and it may be against your local wiring codes
 
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