Sure Action Home Automation Control Products Sure Action Sensors - home control solutions for professional installers of occupancy, lighting, and outdoor home automation systems.  Sure Action home automation products provide solutions for a wide variety of applications.  Our products can help determine whether or not a person is in a room.  They can trigger gates and outside lighting.  Our home automation products have helped automate water usage in bathrooms and can trigger fans automatically.  They can activate the environmental systems in a home or trigger low-level lighting in bedrooms and hallways at night.  We encourage installers to see how our products will enhance their home automation solutions.   We gladly answer any questions about our products and the varied ways they successfully solve home automation design problems.   Room and Spot Lighting Outdoor Lighting Water Controls Gate Controls Fan Activation Environmental System Activation   Sure Action Occupancy Sensors - Not Your Typical Person Detector Home automation clients often request automated lighting solutions as part of their overall home control design.  By having lights turn on and off automatically, clients' lives are simplified and they can save on electric expenses.  Home automation installers frequently use occupancy sensors to provide the solution.  As Sure Action expands in the home controls industry, its occupancy sensors (high-performance stress sensors) rival even the best ultrasonic and PIR automation products available.    What are Occupancy Sensors? Occupancy sensors are switching mechanisms that react to the presence or absense of people within a covered area.  These sensors trigger lighting based on whether or not a person is in the room.    Occupancy products traditionally include a motion sensor, a controller, a power supply and a relay.  While home automation installers have traditionally chosen ultrasonic and PIR sensors for their home controls lighting systems, Sure Action now offers a viable, high-quality occupancy sensor as an alternative solution.  What are Ultrasonic and PIR Occupancy Sensors?  How Do They Work? PIR stands for passive infrared.  These occupancy sensors detect movement by reacting to infrared heat generated by people.  PIRs are line-of-sight devices.  They can only respond to movement that falls within range.  They cannot see around corners or through partitions.   As long as there is a direct line between a person and the sensor, movement can be detected. The device covers an area by sending out multiple IR beams from a central lens.  The coverage area is fan-shaped.  The straight beams are close together at the lens and diverge as the beam moves further away from the sensor.     As a person's body moves from beam to beam, the sensor detects the movement and signals the relays to switch on the lights.  This system, as well as the ultrasonic occupancy sensor, use programmable timers to turn off the lights after movement is no longer detected for a period of time. PIRs effectively recognize movment close to the sensor.  The coverage lessens with distance.  Because the space between the IR beams enlarges as the distance from the sensor increases, gaps develop in the coverage.  Subsequently, PIR devices can detect hand movements approximately 10 feet away, arm and torso movement approximately 20 feet away and full-body motion to about 40 feet away from the sensor.  Ultrasonic sensors contain a quartz crystal that emits ultrasonic waves throughout a room.   The unit measures the frequency of the reflected waves in the area.  When people move, the reflected wave frequency changes.  The device detects the change and responds accordingly.  Since sound waves can fill an entire room, ultrasonic occupancy products provide continuous coverage.   There are no gaps or blind spots.  Because there are no gaps, these sensors are more sensitive.  Approximate range of occupancy system:  25 feet for hand movement; 30 feet for arms and torso; and over 40 feet for full-body movement. While ultrasonic occupancy sensors provide more continuous coverage than PIRs, they are also more expensive.  The equipment is also more sensitive making it more susceptible to false triggers such as breeze coming through an open window or air circulating from an airconditioning system.  Also, to a certain degree ultrasonic systems are line-of-sight.  While there are not gaps in coverage like the PIR products, ultrasonic sensors cannot guarantee coverage through materials such as partitions. What are Sure Action Occupancy Sensors?  How Do They Function? Unlike ultrasonic and PIR occupancy sensors that mount on walls, Sure Action's sensors mount underneath the floor and respond to an individual's weight.  The sensors respond to  the slighest flexing of an truss or beam and send a signal to the controls.  The processor triggers a relay which then turns the lighting on or off as needed.    Sure Action sensors can even detect a person shifting weight while sitting in a chair. Sure Action sensors provide home automation installers with tremendous flexibility.  These sensors are not line-of-sight products.  Instead, each occupancy sensor provides an oval of coverage whose size can be adjusted by the installer.  As a result, lighting control systems can be designed for optimal coverage.  A processor can control multiple occupancy devices at once, and the product can be used in cavernous rooms or small bathrooms.   No matter where a person is in a room, the sensors can detect him. A home automation system, using Sure Action occupancy sensors as lighting controls, gives clients freedom.  Owners can move furniture and tall plants wherever they want in their home.  They can leave windows wide open and let pets run free.   Home automation customers do not have to give any thought to the lighting contols.  They can just enjoy life.  And they can experience utility cost savings and convenience.