With kids one of the things that drives me crazy is them leaving the lights on. It seems no matter what I do I can not get them to turn the lights off when they leave certain rooms. They leave their rooms, they remember to turn them off, they leave the playroom they remember to turn them off, they leave the bathroom it is like the light switch doesn’t even exists!
I feel like 20 times a day I am walking past the downstairs bathroom turning the light off after one of them using the bathroom and to be honest it drives me totally insane. I have tried everything I can think of to get them to stop leaving that light on and nothing seems to work. I think there is some magical forcefield around the light switch that makes them not see it.
Recently I was introduced to a solution that has saved my sanity and having to turn off the bathroom light! The new Maestro occupancy/vacancy sensors by Lutron Electronics! These new sensors turn lights on when you walk into a room and then when you leave the room it turns the light off! Score for this mommy! This sensor makes it a convient way to not lose your mind when the kids leave the bathroom light on like they do in my house or if you are looking for a way to save energy and in turn save money these are a great option.
Even better it is a DIY light, that means you can put it in yourself with ease (or if you are like me you enlist the husband and put him to work lol). These sensors are ideal for rooms where lights are often left on by people who have forgotten to turn them off, or in rooms where you enter and have your hands full and it can be a pain in the butt to try and turn the lights on.
Installation is a snap and you can do it yourself, simply flip your breaker and replace your existing switch. Works with dimmable CFL and LED bulbs, as well as incandescent and halogen bulbs. You can have the luxury of automation and the benefits of energy savings for less than $30.
How to install your Maestro occupancy/vacancy sensor:
Step 1: Turn off electric to the room you are changing the switch on
Step 2: Remove the faceplate and old switch
Step 3: Follow instructions in the manual. Connect your ground wires and then connect your other 2 wires into the brass and black screw.
Step 4. Secure unit to the wall with the screws
Step 5: Put on the new faceplate
Step 6: Turn power back on
Step 7: Enjoy your new light sensor!
Features of Maestro occupancy/vacancy sensors by Lutron Electronics:
- Works with incandescents, halogens, dimmable compact fluorescents (CFLs) and dimmable LEDs, no special wiring required
- Patented Ambient Light Detect senses daylight—only turns lights on when there is not enough natural light present
- Proprietary Advanced XCT™ sensing technology detects fine motions to ensure lights stay on when rooms are occupied and allows for sensitivity level to be adjusted
- Reliable on/off sensing performance up to 30 feet
Can function in two modes:
- Occupancy mode: automatically turns lights on when entering a room, keeps them on while someone is present, and turns them off after they leave
- Vacancy mode: manually turn lights on when entering a room and the sensor automatically turns lights after someone leaves.
With the Maestro occupancy/vacancy sensors by Lutron Electronics you are not stuck with colors that don’t match your room either! They have a plentiful selection of colors you can get so you never have to worry about your light switches never matching your decor!
Colors – To pick from:
- Gloss – White, Ivory, Almond, Light Almond, Gray, Brown and Black
- Satin – Hot, Merlot, Plum, Turquoise, Sea Glass, Taupe, Eggshell, Biscuit, Snow, Palladium, Midnight, Sienna, Terracotta, Greenbriar, Bluestone, Mocha Stone, Goldstone, Desert Stone, Stone, Limestone
Where to Purchase:
- Home improvement centers – Find online at Lowe’s here and HomeDepot here
- lighting showrooms
- electrical distributors
- Lutron.com
Price :
Two models available – one version for small rooms and one for large rooms, priced at $29 and $41.50
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they have these all around my office and i always wanted one. When i read step three about wires and ground i was like better call my brother!
This is SO what I need—–we have the same problem with the bathroom light–I think I am the only one who even KNOWS how to turn it off!LOL
This would be perfect for my family because my girls know how to turn on the lights but seem to forget how to turn them off.
Keep me informed if you find one that turns off televisions! Oh, and empties jetted bathtubs, lol. My wonderful hubby leaves everything on!
lol it’s not just little kids leaving the lights on, big kids do it too! I really love the fact that this could save me money in the long run because our bathroom light is one area I know that needs this. Also our laundry room is another. Thanks for the great review.
This would be perfect for dd’s room! She is forever leaving the light on in there! I love that they come in colors too!
This would be great for my 9 year who never turns her bedroom light off!!
That is so cool…
this is such a great idea! I def need to get some for our house!
This looks cool.
Wow, this would be great at our house!
What a cool idea I need these
amazing idea!!!! I could definately use that
Can you imagine not having to send the kids back to every room all the time to turn the lights off? Miracle!
This would be perfect for our home..Thanks for the info and pictures..
That is fantastic! Now I can stop fussing at the kids to turn off the darn lights!
Well now this is the solution to my problem. My kids are always leaving the lights on when they walk out of a room.
I could definitely use one of these at my house. No one ever wants to turn off the hall light. I hate it that no one has learned in my household how to turn off a light.
This looks like it’s a great idea!! Luckily, it’s just me at my house but I can see where this would come in handy if you have kids!!
Oh my gosh, I so need this. My kids never learn to turn off the lights before leaving the room.
This looks like the perfect solution for us! My kids never turn off lights so this would make a huge difference in our home.
Well how awesome is that! I would love to have sensor lights. I believe they would save us a good amount on our electricity bill. My boys are constantly leaving the lights on.
This would give me some peace of mind when I’m out of town. I really like the occupancy mode feature.
What a great product that I will have to check into more soon! Imagine the amount of money that would be saved in simply getting the lights to turn off when they are left on my the family!
I like that you can purchase for a small room or for a large one. That makes a big difference sometimes with things like this here.
This is a pretty awesome product! We have these in the hospital where I work and I bet it helps a lot to save on energy bills! I need this in my house! Thanks for sharing!
This is brilliant! I hope it comes to South Africa too. I need a few for my house.
I would love to install a few of these in my house. I love that these switches turn on and off the lights. It would be perfect in the bathroom, our master closet, and the kids rooms. I might have to look into these.
I used to have something like this in a previous house. I need to get these for our next. They’d be great!
I can relate, lol. I love sensor lights because they help you save some money.
This is an amazing idea. My kids are always leaving lights on. I will have to pick a few of these up for sure.
The Maestro occupancy/vacancy sensor is exactly what my friend needs. He Daughter is five and Autistic. She has a fascination with turning the lights on in every room. I will have to share this with her.
This is so cool! I like that you can set them to turn on and off as you walk through the house 🙂
This is such a great idea and I really need to get this in my home. My kids NEVER shut off the lights.
This would come in handy at our house. I’ll just have to talk hubby into doing it for me.
This would be such an awesome thing for my home to upgrade. I love that there are colors.
Where has this been all my life! I would feel so high class and special with this lol I’m sure my kids would complain about how they never get to flip the switch. Although this mom will be happy to not have to scream “TURN THE LIGHT OFF” After every bathroom trip they make lol.
This is really interesting, and such an energy saver. I would love to see how something like this would work in my own home.
This would be great to have