Can Rain Trigger Motion Lights? Is It True?

Yes, rain can affect motion light in some cases. Motion lights are great for use as a light source indoors or outdoors. These lights allow you to save electricity to a great extent. In addition, its simple installation, reasonable price point, and easy maintenance convinced most households to use these motion lights.

But one of the most common issues people face with motion lights is false triggers when it rains. 

In this article, we will find out whether a motion light can trigger while raining, why it happens, and what you can do to fix it. So keep reading till the last words, so you don’t need to watch all those boring videos.

What Are Motion Lights? How Does A Motion Light Work?

Before we describe the effects of rain on your motion sensor, let’s just discuss the basics. You might have motion lights in your home or yard for a long time, but do you know how they work?

A motion light goes on when it detects an object’s movement in front of it. Then, the sensor sends the signal to turn the light on. The detection of things depends on the motion detection technology used in the sensor. For example, some sensors are enabled to detect heat or signal blockage, while others are just for detecting moving objects. A heat sensor detects the object’s heat and turns the light on for a predetermined time. A signal blockage sensor responds when any object blocks the signal the sensor emits.

Can Rain Trigger Motion Lights? – Rain Affect Motion Lights

Yes, rain does affect motion light in some cases. Motion lights are designed to detect movement to set the lights off. And rain sometimes disturbs the detection and allows false triggers. And this basically happens when you settle for the cheapest quality motion lights. These motion lights use substandard sensors that respond to anything like rain, snow, and wind blow.

But there are high-quality motion lights with adjustable sensors which you can customize for different situations. Rain will not affect those motion lights due to its powerful sensor detection. 

If rain damages the internal functionality of the sensor, that’s a different scenario that asks for a professional technician to fix it. But in case of false detection, troubleshooting or adjusting the sensibility may help fix the trigger caused by the rain.

What Sets A Motion Light Off?

The simple answer to this question will be: anything that moves in front of the sensor can set motion lights off. Basically, that’s the purpose for which anyone will use a motion light.

If you are using motion lights indoors, they can set off when your family members move in front of them. Sometimes the flickering curtains can trigger your motion lights. If you are using a heat-detecting motion sensor, your air conditioner or any heating element like a gas stove can set your lights off.

Any outdoor motion lights can be set off due to a passing car or a visitor at your gate. Sometimes the dog’s movement in your neighborhood or the rustling leaves of a tree can trigger the sensor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What To Do If My Motion Sensor Gets Triggered Every Second?

This is a widespread problem with motion lights. Nobody expects their motion lights to turn on even when the wind blows. That would be very disturbing. In that case, you will have to lower the sensitivity of your motion sensor. Adjusting the motion sensor sensitivity allows you to turn on the lights as you desire.

What Can Trigger A Motion Sensor Light?

Any moving objects like pets, insects, blowing curtains, ceiling fans, or even low batteries can trigger a motion sensor. Motion lights with high-quality sensors can avoid triggers from unnecessary movements.

Why Do My Motion Lights Go On and Off?

When motion lights go on and off more frequently, people think it’s because of the faulty sensor. But there are other reasons too. Sometimes the defective wire, tripped-off bulb, or unstable power supply may cause the problem.

Why Is My Sensor Light Not Turning Off?

There are three reasons for your outdoor light sensor not turning off.

• If the sensitivity of the sensor has been set too high.
• If the pre-determined duration of lights is set too long.
• Check if the lights are in auto setting.

Can Temperature Affect Motion Sensors?

Yes. Hot and cold temperatures can both affect the detection mechanism of a sensor. When an object such as a human or a pet sleeps they radiate heat more than usual. This can trigger the heat sensor of your motion light. Heat sensors are calibrated to detect unusual heat surrounding the sensor whether it’s extremely hot or cold.

Conclusion

The main purpose of a motion light is to turn itself on when it detects any movement within the coverage of the sensor. The sensor detects every movement under its coverage. And that sometimes causes false alarms. The sensor gives a false alarm for an unnecessary movement like the rustling leaves of a tree.

In the same way, when raindrops fall on the sensor glass, the sensor detects the movement of the rain and triggers the motion lights unless you are using motion

lights with powerful sensors. Nothing to worry about when such happens. You can put the light under a shed if you have substandard-quality motion lights.