Lighting & Automation
Occupancy Sensor
Also called: vacancy sensor, motion sensor
A sensor that switches or dims lighting based on presence. Occupancy mode turns lights on automatically and off when empty; vacancy mode requires manual on and only handles automatic off.
Beyond convenience, these are code items — energy codes require automatic shutoff in many commercial space types, and sensors are the usual means of compliance. They also feed room-usage analytics when tied into a building or booking system.
The classic failure is a sensor whose coverage or timeout does not match how the room is used: lights out on someone working quietly at a desk, or a corridor sensor triggered by an adjacent doorway. Sensor type, placement, and timeout are per-room decisions, adjusted after real occupancy is observed.
Related terms
- Lighting Scene
- A saved combination of light levels, colour temperatures, and shade positions across a space, recalled by one button, schedule, or sensor event.
- DALI
- A digital lighting protocol where every fixture has an address on a two-wire bus, allowing individual control, grouping in software, and status reporting back to the controller.
- Commissioning
- Systematically configuring, testing, tuning, and documenting an installed system so it verifiably performs as designed — the step between installed and working.
More Lighting & Automation terms
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