dimmer-switchswitch
I am replacing the old switches with occupancy/vacancy sensor light switches. However Lutron only has 2amp and 5amp while the ones I have are the standard 15 amp.
I don't know about the significant of amp value of a light switch. Could someone explain?
Will it be OK if I use 2amp switches here? Why doesn't Lutron have 15 amp motion sensor switches if it is the standard?
Occupancy sensors, timers, dimmers, and other "smart" switches often are required to be independently powered. If you look at this diagram from the devices documentation (PDF), you'll see that there are three ways this requirement is achieved.
The first method, is to simply require a neural wire. In this configuration, the device draws power using the ungrounded (hot) conductor and grounded (neutral) conductor. It also has a separate switched conductor, that it uses to control the load.
This setup would be wired like this...
This method draws power using the ungrounded (hot) conductor, and the switched conductor. So the device is actually in line with the load.
This setup is wired like this...
This method draws power using the ungrounded (hot) conductor, and the grounding conductor. It's wired similar to the Neutral Required devices, however, it uses the grounding conductor instead of the grounded conductor. This means that there will be a small amount of current on the grounding conductor, and that the grounding conductor is required for the device to operate.
This setup would be wired like this...
Notice there's a bare, and green wire connected to ground in this diagram.
The device you're using (MS-OPS5M-XX) requires a ground to operate, according to the documentation.
One solution, would be to install a grounding conductor with this circuit. This will likely require quite a bit of work, and might be quite costly.
It may be possible to extend a grounded (neutral) conductor from the light to the switch box, which could then be used to power the device. In this case you'd have to purchase a different device (one that requires a neutral rather than a ground).
No, such an arrangement will either flat out not work, or have very poor reliability.
The motion detector logic requires full uninterrupted voltage and a dimmer switch is going to inject noise into the power which will disrupt the motion logic or its sensor.
Additionally, even if the motion sensor continued to work, the cycling of the light on and off would disrupt the load of the dimmer and make the voltage wildly vary.
You might get lucky with some quality components and dimmer settings, but it would be better to simply replace the bulbs with those of a lower wattage.
Best Answer
2 amp is really small for a 120V switch type replacement. The ones I use for a single fixture are rated at 6.Amps. you might want one that is larger switch this is 800W a little bigger. With that said the total draw needs to be less than the rated value to use them. I usually like to use 50-75% of the rated value so they will last longer. Power in watts / Volts = Amps, add up the wattage total you will be switching and that will give the minimum size of the switch to use.