DerbyDad03 wrote:
My dad asked me to replace the light next to his front door with a
motion sensing unit. He bought a stock fixture from HD with the sensor
built into the fixture. There is no way to aim the sensor, it just
points straight out from the front of the fixture.

The instructions say that the sensor will work better if the "heat
source" moves across the coverage area as opposed to straight towards
it. They sure got that right!

The approach to their front door is straight up a ~40' walkway from
the sidewalk. Even set at the highest sensitivity, which should allow
for a ~30' range, the light doesn't come on until the person is right
at the stoop, ready to lift their leg onto the first step.

However, if you walk across the yard the light will come on anywhere
in the 5' to 30'+ range. In fact, 1 out 3 cars going down the street
activate the light.

Unfortunately, "across the coverage area" is not how they (or anyone
else) would approach their front door.

What kind of fixture/sensor does he need so that it will pick up
people walking straight towards it?

BTW, it's an old brick house with a shallow box for the fixture cut
into the brick. A one-for-one swap is easy, but mounting a separate
sensor someplace else and running wires back to the fixture would be a
pain. I'd really prefer something built into the fixture if possible.

Thanks!

Throw it out and buy a good one.

--
LSMFT

I look outside this morning and everything was in 3D!