occupancy sensor Archives - The Silicon Underground

Vacancy switch vs occupancy switch

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 04 Aug 2017 11:00:05 +0000

If you’re wondering about a vacancy switch vs occupancy switch, both types of switches have their uses. The basic difference comes down to whether you want the light to turn on when it senses motion and turn itself off after the

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Enerlites HOSS: an occupancy sensor switch without ground

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:00:19 +0000

The Enerlites Top Greener HOSS is an occupancy sensor switch without ground wire requirements, and it’s pretty cheap too, at $12. A Lutron switch costs almost twice as much. But the HOSS does come with some compromises. The HOSS does require a neutral (white)

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My favorite LED bulbs for 2014

Dave Farquhar — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 11:00:50 +0000

After talking about LEDs last week, a friend asked what my favorite LED bulbs today are. I’m not sure I would say I dislike any of the bulbs that are widely available today, but I do have two favorites. Cree.

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My household’s energy usage dropped 19% in 2011

Dave Farquhar — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:48:51 +0000

I got a letter from my utility company Saturday morning. Inside was a chart, comparing our household’s energy usage from 2010 and 2011. It dropped 19 percent. Considering our total bill for 2011 was over $900, that’s hardly chump change.

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How computer and energy technology don’t relate

Dave Farquhar — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:11:27 +0000

Bill Gates says the rapid advance of computers created unreasonable expectations for the advancement of energy technology. The argument makes sense. And while desktop computers did advance very quickly, I think people have a misconception of even how quickly computers

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Review: The Lutron MS-OPS2 occupancy sensor switch

Dave Farquhar — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:53:20 +0000

I installed a Lutron occupancy sensor switch this weekend. It detects you entering the room, turns the lights on, then turns them off five minutes after it detects nobody is in the room. The timeout period is adjustable. It comes

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LED lighting gets cheaper

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:56:12 +0000

I saw this week on Cnet that Pharox is selling basic, bare-bones LEDs direct from its web site, hoping to get consumers to try out LED bulbs. The Pharox 300 is a 6 watt, 360 lumen bulb priced at $6.95.

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