Custom motion sensor wall mount
A motion sensor with pushbutton behind it.
Motion sensors; the simplest kind of automation, and the most useful. Especially during night, when you're finding your way to the smallest room in the house. I could not find a sensor I liked, however, and did not want to spend a lot of money on something ugly.
A friend of mine built just this, with the exception of using glue to stick it together. I designed and 3D printed a slightly more complicated contraption, which can be pushed to bring the room light up from night setting to full brightness.
Table of Contents
Components
The motion sensor
HC-SR501 'Arduino/hobby' Motion sensor
This simple sensor can be bought for about 4.2€ and accepts voltages up to 24V. Double check the input capacitor rating though, mine was only rated for ~15V, so I replaced mine with a brand-name capacitor rated a lot higher than 24V.
Its output is a 3v3 logic signal. This can be used to drive a (power) transistor which in turn can drive a 24V relay or PLC digital input.
The wall plate
Wall plate (blindplaat)
Our switches and sockets are made by Niko. They also manufacture a 'blank' plate that can be used as a placeholder to fit an extra switch or power socket at a later time.
The blankplate has mounting holes on the back and costs also about 4.2€. That makes it ideal for creating DIY controls.
I designed and printed a drill guide to easily mark the center and used a step drill to create the big hole to fit the motion sensor through.
A fixed sensor mount
I created this PIR mounting plate initially, and it worked perfectly.
Motion sensor mount
Sensor mount with integrated button
When adding a night mode to the lighting system, I needed an override button to turn on the full brightness in case it is ever needed.
I designed this new mount plate that adds small switches.
Button guide and PIR mount parts
I added a bit of lubricant where both parts make contact and slide.
Seen from the side, with screw touching blindplate
Switches visible from the side
Design files
You can find the STL and OpenSCAD design files at https://www.printables.com/model/911623-motion-sensor-blindplaat-mount
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