A Motion Sensing Light For Your Entrance Hallway

Arriving home to a dark house with an armful of anything is usually an exercise in fumbling confusion until someone manages to turn on a light. [Pavel Gesyuk] has circumvented this problem entirely by building and installing a motion detecting entrance light!

[Gesyuk] is using an Arduino clone by the name of  Funduino Mini Pro, a 2-channel, 2-way relay, — he only needed one, but you use what you have on hand — a recycled power supply to convert 220V AC to 5V DC, and an infrared sensor.

The project’s goal — in excess of a lighting solution for an entrance hallway — was the learn the ins and outs of the Arduino and motion sensors. After some initial hurdles familiarizing himself with the Arduino, [Gesyuk] wired everything together on a protoboard and stuck it in a plastic case — loose wires in a high traffic area doesn’t a safe home make.

Although the light is set to time out and turn off after a while, the configuration of [Gesyuk]’s home meant that he had to deliberately position the infrared sensor so that only movement in the entrance would trigger it — although that would be great fodder for messing with house guests! Still, it’s nice to not have to worry about flicking on the light whenever you get home.

We’ve previously featured [Gesyuk]’s Raspberry Pi-powered weather station, and can’t wait to see how else he’s turned his home into a maker’s wonderland.

Filed under: home hacks