No matter the home or the owner, there are certain priorities that everyone will want to focus on, a big one being security. While more recent factors such as energy efficiency have also become highly focused on. Today we’re looking at a product that offers plenty of both – motion sensor lights.

These specialised lights have been around for a few decades now, primarily used in driveways and porches. But nowadays, with the technology more efficient and products cheaper, they have grown in popularity, seeing plenty of use both inside and out.

If you’re looking at purchasing motion sensor lights, there are some factors you should be aware of before you make the move to order them – the pros and cons. Whilst common consensus agrees that they are value for money in your garden or driveway, the jury is still out on other areas of the home. We go into more detail below, including whether or not there are better means of security out there.

Motion sensor lights are specially produced lights that activate when they detect movement. When they were first introduced, it was primarily to boost home security. If anyone were to approach your property, the lights would activate, discouraging unexpected visitors from approaching closer as they were now highlighted for neighbours to see. This was intended to dissuade everything from foxes to burglars.

However, as the technology developed, new potential uses were thought up. One of the most prevalent of these was the use of motion sensors to conserve energy, only activating when movement within the room was detected. These newer motion sensor lights have proven popular in community buildings, as well as offices.

Motion sensor lights offer plenty of benefits, particularly in the areas mentioned above. They are handy to have outside, especially in roadside areas such as driveways and porches. Unlike many security alternatives, such as alarms, these lights are relatively harmless – guests, delivery drivers, and household pets will find the lights unintimidating and far more affordable than CCTV.

Simple to Install & Maintain

Though it wasn’t always so simple, the installation and maintenance of motion sensor lighting is very straightforward. Naturally, these lights still carry a reputation for being difficult to mend, however, larger brands now offer replacement sensors in most DIY and electrical stores. Wider compatibility also means bulbs are easier to find than a few decades ago.

Energy Saving

There are also significant energy-saving benefits. Lights being left on when not in use has become a popular pet peeve of many homeowners, and with electricity having risen 66% just last year this has become a bigger issue than ever.

Motion Sensor lights are the ideal solution for the problem – when someone walks into a room, the lights activate, when they leave, they will automatically deactivate, ensuring that the lights switch off even if the user of the room forgets to do it themselves. Many of these lights can still be operated via a switch, giving you the best of both worlds.

While motion sensor lights have plenty of benefits, there are some issues (the majority of which are situational) that need to be kept in mind when considering their use in certain areas of your home. While most of the older issues, such as increased running costs and fragility, have been fixed by years of industry development, some problems do persist.

Complexity

One problem that is part and parcel of motion sensor lights is their complexity. With more working parts, there is much more that can go wrong and if the motion sensor is broken or damaged (and there is no other way to activate the light) then it becomes completely unusable until it is fixed. While they are more easily mended nowadays, this doesn’t take much away from the frustration. This is in addition to the fact that – like any light – motion sensor light can suffer from the usual bulb problems, making it difficult to tell at first what is at fault.

Automatically Switching Off

An issue experienced by many who use them inside home offices and even bathrooms, lights turning off automatically when you are simply keeping still is nothing but a nuisance. Want to read, relax, watch television or simply have a rest? If you keep to still, the lights will eventually switch off leaving you in the dark until you wave your arms around to turn them on again. Tedious to say the least.

Bear in mind, however, some more modern lights can detect smaller amounts of movement. But they are generally more expensive and tend to be considered too sensitive, sometimes picking up as much as a bird outside the window or even dust and cobwebs in the air.

So, with these pros and cons in mind, where is the best place to use motion sensor lights? The answer is ultimately down to you, but we cannot be denied that one of the favourites remains on your driveway and porch. Here, the lights will provide you with that extra security. Saxby’s Motion Sensor Security Bulkhead is one example of an outdoor motion sensor light. A wall light protected from water and designed for use with 60W bulbs.

This is not to say they can’t be used in the house, even if it might not be ideal to use them everywhere. They are perfect for community buildings and offices where it is more difficult to keep track of who is more or less likely to operate manual switches when entering or leaving a room. These sorts of buildings are also more lively spaces, meaning a lack of movement triggering light shutdown is less likely.

Back in your home, corridors and utility rooms are good examples of where these lights may come in handy as ceiling lights as these rooms are often only visited for brief periods of time. Not only does this mean that anyone using these rooms may be more likely to forget to switch off the light but also that it is almost impossible for you to stay still long enough for the light to deactivate.

Going back outside, it may also be a good idea to use motion sensor lights in your garden. Popular areas include just outside the back door or on a patio as it will give humans and animals alike some light in the middle of the night. Perfect for returning cats or when popping out to the bins or the garden shed.

As always, this will depend on you. Motion sensor lights are a developing technology and could one day see more common use throughout the home. In some smart homes, they are already fully utilised, though these often more advanced models use far more than simple sensors, drawing everything from heat signals to Wi-Fi data to ensure they operate at the right time.

As far as standard motion sensor lights go, it’s clear from what we’ve covered above that there is a time and place to use them. Driveways and porches on busy streets – the first places in the country to receive these lights on a large scale – are ideal candidates for the installation of these products.

If you do feel that you want to innovate the lighting inside your home with motion sensors, just remember to look for lights made for interior use. Also, try to keep in mind the drawbacks we looked at. Take care not to install them in bedrooms, living rooms and other spaces where you rest. Kitchens and hallways make the best choices, being rooms that (more often than not) we move in and travel through.