Having a motion sensor light installed in your home not only saves you from huge electricity bills but may also warn you of trespassers or intruders. You can install this type of light switch both indoors and outdoors as an added safety measure at home.
Installing your own motion sensor light switch is relatively easy and as a matter of fact, you can replace your old regular light switches all around the house with this type of light switch without trouble.
Installing a Motion Sensor Light Switch
1. First, you need to turn off the power from your circuit box. Make sure that you are turning off the right power source for the specific light whose switch you will be replacing.
Also make sure that everyone at home is informed about what you are going to install so no one accidentally opens the power source as you are working on the switch.
2. Remove the plate from your current switch and double-check first if there really is no current flowing from the power source to your specific light switch. Once you are certain that the power is turned off, cut off the wires that are currently attached to your old switch.
It is best to use a wire cutter to do this.
3. Now cut off the ends of the wires of your new switch. The wires are typically colored black and white or black and red. Attach the wires according to color: black on black, white on white or red on red.
Sometimes, the color of the wires doesn’t matter which means that you can attach the black wire of your switch to the red wire from the power supply and it will still work properly.
Check the instructions included in the packaging of your new switch to make sure that you are attaching the right wires together.
4. Secure the entwined wires. You may want to secure the attached wires with an electrical tape to make sure that they will not come loose at any given time.
5. Place the wires inside the switch box and then secure you’re your new light switch to the switch box by screwing it firmly to the box.
6. Choose your settings. Select the settings that you want for new light switch. You can determine how long the light will stay on after people have vacated the room and also when the lights will open once anyone goes into the room.
7. Put back your wall plate. Once you have configured the switch according to your preferred settings, you can place the wall plate back on.
8. Turn on your power source. After you have installed and configured your light switch, turn your power source back on and test your newly-installed motion sensor light switch.
