Realized I was mounting motion sensors way too low for 3 years

I used to put them at about 5 feet off the ground to make wiring easier. Then last month I went on a service call in Arlington where a customer complained about false alarms every night. Turns out their cat was walking on a table right in front of the sensor. My old mentor happened to be there and just said 'you know these are supposed to be at 7 feet minimum right?' Felt like an idiot lol. Anyone else catch themselves doing something basic wrong for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_linda8d ago

these are supposed to be at 7 feet minimum" - oh my god, that hit me right in the gut. I had mine at like 4 feet because I thought "higher means more blind spots" but I guess I was totally backwards on that. My neighbor's sensor went off every time their golden retriever walked past and I just assumed it was a cheap model. Now I'm wondering how many "ghosts" I've been blaming on bad wiring when it was really just a tall kid or a big dog.

scott.drew8d ago

That's assuming you buy into the whole standard installation thing. Most of these sensors have adjustable range anyway, so height matters less than people think if you tweak the sensitivity. I got mine at five feet and it works fine for cars without catching every leaf or stray cat. The real issue is people use cheap motion sensors that can't differentiate between a person and a dog, not the height.