A month ago I shared a post with you guys all about Lutron and their motion sensor light switches. I installed one in my garage and one in my master bedroom, and I wanted to update you now that I have had a chance to live with them for a while.
I am very happy to report that Court has not once come home and been upset that the garage light is on. It makes me feel like singing this:
To be honest it wasnt something that I thought about anyway (that was the problem) so the sensor has made things better with minimal effort on my part, which is always a good thing.
My master bedroom on the other hand, totally noticably awesomer.
When I installed the Lutron switch, I had it set to the default factory settings. Which is ideal for something like a garage, but a horrible idea for something like a bedroom. Every time Wallie jumped off the bed the light would turn on. By the next morning I.was.over.it. I knew that I had a setting wrong because no one would sell something that made people this stabby. I reached out to Lutron and found out that I needed to change the setting to Occupancy (which means that you manually turn the light on with the light switch and then it will auto turn off on its own).
The thing that I love the most is that you can set the amount of time that will pass before it turns off. I have mine set to 15 minutes. It is the PERFECT amount of time for me to get settled into bed to work or, if we are being honest and looking closely at the last week, getting caught up on Breaking Bad (which by the way WHAT!?!) It is always at the 15 minute mark that I wish the light would go off, and now it does. It is like Lutron is a marriage counselor, magic genie, environmental activist, and mind reader in one little package.
Lutron is running a discount code through the end of October if you want to get in on the magic. You get 25% off Maestro occupancy/vacancy sensor dimmers and switches on LutronStore.com PLUS one free Claro single-gang wallplate ($4.90 suggested list price) with each qualifying item. Enter the coupon code wholeftthelightson.
Have any questions? I would love to answer them!
This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Lutron. All opinions are my own.
I have been wanting one of these in my garage too. For slightly different reasons; I tend to be going in or out of the garage with my arms full so having the light take care of itself would be really handy!
The vacancy sensor would be pretty handy when I leave for the weekend too. If the kitty is triggering lights, it would look like someone was home!
Thank you so much for this follow-up. Earlier this year (or was it last year), I had my hubby replace the standard light switch in our master bedroom walk-in closet with a sensor switch. It made perfect sense because of the awkward place where it is located. I was very happy with it, however it was just 2-3 months before the sensor part stopped working and now we are back to using it as a manual switch. Womp. womp… Apparently you get what you pay for as it was under $15. I would like to try again so me thinks I will take advantage of the 25% coupon. Yay!
Why don’t you try them in a room where they’ll be more successful? Laundry, bathrooms, basement steps, outside,closets, etc. I’ve got 15 of them, and 3 more that are light sensors that come on at sunset, but dim if there’s no motion. I walk up and WOW let there be light. Heck. I even have a motion sensing extra faucet in my MBR for my cats. Anything that could be left on by accident, I want to make automatic! Anyway, put them in a room where you’re not going to be sitting still for extended times. A kitchen, Dining room, den or family room watching TV or studying isn’t as sensible.