Can a motion sensor security light be used with a night vision security camera?

[1voyager2]

I began Installing a home video security surveillance system a while back.
Then, I was distracted by other projects.
I now would like to complete the installation.

I want to mount a surveillance camera and a motion sensor operated security light to work together to monitor the outer end, the entry area, of our driveway.

The idea being that the camera's nighttime infrared vision is not very detailed, a license number cannot be read, a face is not identifiable, and similar failings.
I would like to install a motion sensing security light with the camera to illuminate the driveway and any intruder whether it be human or animal so the camera can record the incident under daylight equivalent rather than night time conditions.

The camera's infrared lighting drops off very quickly after 20 to 25 feet.
The light's motion sensor is supposedly active and tunable out to about 60 feet.
The motion sensor uses a PIM [Passive Infrared Motion] Sensor.
Will the motion sensor work properly under night conditions while the camera is in infrared mode?

I'm in Hawaii and, for all intent and purposes, live on a clearing in the jungle.
The driveway is relatively narrow and closely lined by thick, heavy vegetation.
My concern is for winds blowing the vegetation and triggering the motion sensor.
I can mask the width of the sensor's view to eliminate the vegetation.
There are a few problems with that approach.
But, I wonder if it is necessary with a PIM sensor?

 

[Six]

Will the motion sensor work properly under night conditions while the camera is in infrared mode?
But, I wonder if it is necessary with a PIM sensor?

Yes, it will work. And yes you can mask it. But that's too complicated a system. Just get a better camera, one that doesn't need a whole lot of infrared or regular light to see clearly at night OR get a sepeerate license plate reading camera. I think your nighttime camera won't read the license plate even with regular light?

A PIR sensor won't work well when the ambient temperature is similar to body temperature. And it doesn't work well at detecting cars, because the panels of a car can reflect the surrounding temperature into the sensor.

 

[1voyager2]

Thank you Six.
You seem to have given me the answer I was hoping to get.
To be sure, I'll restate what I understand you to have said and its implications as I understand them.

The motion sensor security light and night vision video camera can operate together effectively.
The motion sensor can detect motion within or out beyond the camera's effective IR range and trigger the light to come on.
The camera will then switch to daylight mode and record what has triggered the motion sensor, in living color.

That is the type of operation I was hoping to get.
Your answer seems to have said that it can be done.

My understanding of how a PIM or PIR [I have no idea which is correct] works, is that it reacts to the movement of an area of different IR intensity from the background.
If so, the vegetation may not have much effect on the sensor as its temperature shouldn't be much different than the surrounding vegetation or ambient air temp, making it not very noticeable to the sensor.
But, if that is not so, masking the width of the sensor's field of view can eliminate the foliage from its reaction area.
I'm not too hot on masking because it will form a cone shaped field of view cutting out more of the driveway's shoulders the closer you get to the sensor.

Or, am I off in La La Land?

 

[Six]

Your setup will work, but it is probably not going to work well enough to read a license plate at night. But since it sounds like you have all the equipment already, test them out before permanently mounting them. The PIR range is typically less than 30 feet. You will need a very bright light that's high up so that it doesn't shine directly on the license plate. You may need a motion sensor that remotely activate a light source. You may want to look into radar motion sensors.

The real solution is to buy a camera that's much more sensitive to low light and can read license plates.

Good luck.

 

[Raizinman]

I have IR Cameras on my house. After about a year of them, I disabled the IR part and put up LED lighting that shines in the area all night. Why did I do it? Not for any of the reasons you stated. I was cleaning off the spider webs every week or two. The IR light attracts bugs and the spiders build their nest on the camera to catch the bugs. You won't see the spider webs during the day, but at night it will cut down your visibility easily by 50%. Just purchase the 8 or 10 watt LED bulbs and set them to a timer to run all night. Place them far enough away from the camera to keep the spider webs away.

 

[Red Squirrel]

One issue I could see happen is when the motion light initially goes on it will "blind" the camera until it readjusts itself. I would test how long that delay is and decide if it's acceptable. Ex: if someone runs in your yard, grabs something, and runs out, you might just see a flash on the camera.

 

[Scarpozzi]

One issue I could see happen is when the motion light initially goes on it will "blind" the camera until it readjusts itself. I would test how long that delay is and decide if it's acceptable. Ex: if someone runs in your yard, grabs something, and runs out, you might just see a flash on the camera.

I bought a system really cheap a few years ago. I put cameras up and had a similar problem...but the cameras adjusted very quickly. I figure most of them run at 30-45 fps, so it doesn't take too many cycles to straighten their lighting out.

I may need to look into upgrading my cameras now...I just hope the wiring connections are the same. It's a pain running cable.