Leviton has been in business since 1906, so they’re no stranger to the world of electricity. One of their first designs was actually a lamp holder for Thomas Edison’s electric lamp in 1910. So they’ve seen how much and how rapidly the world of electricity, electrical appliances, and smart technology has grown in more than a century. That’s one of the reasons why you’ll find a Leviton product in nearly every home in the U.S.
To highlight one of these key and essential products, we can look at Leviton sensors. These are crucial for automated lighting and creating an environment of ease and sustainability. They offer a wide variety of sensors, including:
Passive Infrared: these look for body heat to cross a laser threshold in order to activate.
Ultrasonic: uses sound waves via the Doppler radar, and waits for a break in the sound wave to be activated.
Multi-Technology: uses both passive infrared and ultrasonic, creating an efficient system that is multi-use
Perhaps the most interesting of these are, in my opinion, the passive infrared sensors. That is because of how much depth they really have to them. A subset of these are occupancy/vacancy sensors. These turn the lights on and off automatically based on motion. Vacancy sensors require you to turn on the switch manually, but it will automatically turn the lights off itself when it cannot detect any motion.
Fun fact! In California, wall switches in houses have to be sensors, meaning that vacancy is required.
The key to choosing a sensor is knowing what’s best for your use case. You want to take into account that you do not want any ‘false offs’ to happen. I.e. you are using a passive infrared sensor but are sitting on the toilet when the lights go out. In this case, your ability to move and cross that laser threshold is very limited. Using a multi-technology sensor would be a good solution for this example. A general rule of thumb is that preventing ‘false offs’ is better than having the lights on for too long.
Bonus material! Here’s a quick flash of knowledge to wrap up this post. For dimmers, there is a TRIAC inside that creates resistance to alter the light level. This is rated as universal (which controls all types of light bulbs), mechanical, and digital. The dimmers also include a face that pops off for easy swapping, so that you can change the look depending on your preferred color scheme to match your decor.
Be sure to check out sensors, dimmers, and more from Leviton on SupplyHouse.com!
