Lights do not turn off / False triggers

By Former user (Deleted)
4 min

When a luminaire doesn’t turn off even though there is no occupancy underneath it, this could be due to one of the following reasons:

1. In a scene

A temporary mode that typically forces the light to a pre-set level and ignores occupancy. Such that the scene timeout is independent of occupancy i.e. a pre-set time period that it requires to exit from the scene.

Solution:

Check if the green LED of the sensor node is blinking consistently (@2Hz). If so, then most probably a scene is activated.
To exit scene:
Using Response IR App or Response App, go to menu → Light Output → Revert to Auto Mode.

In order to avoid this in the future, it is recommended to check what the scene exit times are and if they need to be changed.

2. Min Light set incorrectly

If min light level are set to non-zero values, it can be verified by query the min-light level on the sensor nodes that won’t turn the lights off.

Using Response Applications, go to menu → Light Output → Set dimming
levels to 0% → Set Min. (Save settings and/or relay if required). Select Revert to Auto Mode to return to normal function.

3. False Triggering

Interference sources such as Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) in close proximity to the Sensor Node can cause the Sensor Node’s motion sensor (PIR) to falsely detect occupancy, thus causing luminaires to stay on. It is also commonly the case when sensor node is installed very close to HVAC outlets that can cause frequent temperature changes.

One luminaire that false triggers can cause its neighbours to turn on depending upon its personality. There are a couple of ways to identify a false triggering luminaire:

  1. Use Motion only:

    • Configure all luminaires to “motion only” personality with relatively smaller dwell and low light times.

    • You can either wait for dwell & low light time to expire after you left the space or you can use the option “Go to min“ to skip dwell and low light time.

    • Step away from the luminaires so as not to be detected by the Sensor Node and observe.

    • Luminaires that don’t turn off or might turn back on without motion may be false triggering.

  2. Zoning:

    • Configure suspected area of luminaires to a different zone with relatively smaller dwell and low light times.

    • You can either wait for dwell & low light time to expire after you left the space or you can use the option “Go to min“ to skip dwell and low light time.

    • Step away from the luminaires so as not to be detected by the Sensor Node.

    • Luminaires that don’t turn off may be false triggering.

  3. To temporarily relieve the problem:

    • Try changing the motion sensitivity to low.

    • Using Response IR App or ResponseApp, go to menu → Other Parameters → Motion → Sensitivity, Low

    • You can also set the problem luminaire into a separate zone so that it does not trigger its neighbors. In addition, to set motion sensitivity to low, it is also recommended to have a little longer dwell time on sensor node that has low sensitivity to ensure that they can still illuminate the space until the next major motion.

    • In FW 191.27 you can also ask OR to configure the motion suppression mode to enabled to avoid this node from generating occupancy messages for neighboring nodes.

  4. After identifying the false triggering luminaire it is recommended that the next steps are taken by authorized personnel to work on luminaires and carry out the following checks:

    • Check for non-grounded metal surrounding the Sensor Node. Carry out a continuity test for the whole luminaire and any surrounding metal enclosure to ensure that it passes the earthing test.

    • Check that there is no mains power cabling within 100mm of the Sensor Node or bundled with the Sensor Node’s cable.

    • HVAC systems near Sensor Node could cause false readings if the location can’t be changed try to lower the motion sensitivity.

    • Check that the Sensor Node is mounted to a grounded plane or that there is a sufficient amount of
      the grounded metal around the Sensor Node.

 

4 Lone Motion Sensor Activation (LMSA)

LMSA is a troubleshooting tool that can help you in finding out if there is an interference that can cause false triggers.

You can perform this simple test to do a visual check for interference:

Using Response IR App or ResponseApp, go to menu → Other Parameters → LMSA → Interrogate (you can also use the relay button if you would like to query LMSA for the whole zone)

Response from the node(s):

If there is interference at the time of the query the sensor nodes with high LMSA frequency will flash rapidly (or almost solid red). Please note that the other sensors will also flash red but only those that are flashing so rapidly that they are almost solid red are the ones that are falsely triggering or continually detecting motion.

Related content