Ambient power draw of motion sensor light switch?

[J Smith]

I have a "Leviton Decora 180 degree manual on occupancy sensor w/locator light" wall switch for use in a closet. The model number is IPP15-1LW.

The point is to automatically switch the power off when the closet light is left on accidentally, so as not to waste power.

However the unit itself draws some power. Does anyone know the actual wattage of this device, or ones like it?

[Bilbo]

The gains from not leaving the closet light on will far outweigh any stand-by consumption, which is minimal. This kind of control is more appropriate for passageways and the like where people are passing through and forget to switch off. What might suit you better would be a door switch (like a fridge) so that when you open the closet, hey bingo, on comes the light.

[MVB]

No, but I can give you an educated guess: somewhere between 100 and 500 milliwatts -- certainly under 1W.

Even if it did pull a whole watt, you'd use only about 720 watt-hours a month, which is about 3/4 of a kWH, which would cost about $0.07, so I wouldn't worry about it.

If you care to find out from Leviton what it draws on standby, I'm sure several of us on this forum would like to know. If you find out and tell us, we'll calculate the cost/mo for it.

[chattterus]

I've checked the spec sheets, other than to say they comply with california's standards on that topic, they don't say much. California has some strict standards on phantom power draw.

The only way you will find out for certain is to wire it up to a plug and plug it in to a kill-a-watt meter to see what it's power draw is. You could probably borrow or rent one cheaply, and wiring it to plug into an outlet is inexpensive to do.

Have fun.

[camerabanger]

http://assets.twacomm.com/assets/pdf/33483.pdf

this is the spec sheet for this unit. it clearly states that the unit is to allow for "long term" energy savings so I am sure there is a differential between the use of a typical switch and one that uses 'infrared sensing technology' such as this one. ie- keeps the light from accidentally being left on.

unless the closet is huge and the light of significant wattage I would think this would be a little bit of over-kill. do you actually forget this light often?? Maybe a rocker switch in the closet and use the IR switch in the bedroom might be a better idea.