Customer ServiceMake Your Choice: Best PowerG Motion Sensor Review
Hey, guys. Hayden here again from Alarm System Store. And today we're going to be going over the different power G wireless motion detectors that you can choose from. So if you're unfamiliar with it, power G is the wireless technology that the DSC power series neo and the Qolsys IQ panels use. So if you're looking at getting into either one of those systems, you're going to want to look at these motion detectors if you want wireless sensors. So basically today we're just going to break down each one of them. We get a lot of questions asking, you know, which one should I use for this application. So on and so forth. So I'm just going to give you all the info about them. And you guys can make the most informed decision possible.
I will say there is one that stands out above the rest, and that is the PG9984. And that is because it is a dual tech sensor. And I'll break down what that means here a little bit when we get to that one. But essentially that is the most popular one that we see purchased. However, all of them have their use cases. So like I said, I'm just going to break them all down. And that way you guys can do what you will with the information. So let's get started.
So the first one we're going to go over is what I would consider the baseline motion detector for the power G lineup. And that is the PG9914. So let me get this out of here. And this is just a standard passive infrared motion detector. It's got a pretty large range. It's got pet immunity. It's got a lot of standard features that you'll find on pretty much any motion sensor nowadays. However, it is just the baseline model. It's not fancy. It's not big. It's, you know, pretty compact. It doesn't look like much. However, it is probably, if I had to guess the second most likely to have potential false alarms.
And the reason that is, is because it is a passive infrared only sensor. And if you're unfamiliar with infrared, that is basically heat detection. So what this motion looks for is it looks for a large enough heat source to be similar to the shape and size of a human. And whenever it sees a large enough heat source for that, it will trigger the sensor. So with this detector, you don't have much in the way of preventing false alarms, because if you happen to locate this in an area where it happens to be near an area or near a window that gets a lot of sun every day, those potential heat sources could possibly be big enough to actually set it off. Now we don't run into very many situations where we see false alarms on this one. However, it is just something to keep in mind. The price difference between this and the 9984 that I mentioned earlier isn't much. So if you just want the best, I would go with the 9984 where you're going to plan on using this.
However, if you just want to save a little bit of money and maybe you like the look of it and it's kind of nondescript for a motion sensor. But if you like, this one is a perfectly viable model. Just keep in mind that you don't want to have it looking at potential heat sources while the system is armed and the sensor is active. Now the PG9914 does have pet immunity up to 85 pounds. So essentially it will try to determine when it sees a heat signature. If it is, you know, low to the ground and it'll trying to determine if that's an animal if it's a human. However because it is PIR only, it's not the best at doing that. So just keep that in mind though if you need pet immunity, this one has you covered. But like I said, this is the PG 9914, and this is this is pretty much just your baseline model. So let's move on to the next one.
So the second sensor that we're going to be going over is the PG9924. And this is a very unique motion compared to the others that you're going to see here. This is what is called a curtain motion detector. So essentially this is a passive infrared only model just like the 9914 that we just covered. But this one is designed to have a very small field of view.
And the reason that is, is because a lot of times if you have like a warehouse or you have a garage or large areas where a lot of things might be located, if any of those falls over, it could potentially trigger a regular motion sensor. These motions, these curtain motions have a very narrow field of view, and these are designed to work in pairs or trios to cover an area. So motion detectors, if you're unfamiliar, work best whenever they are detecting motion across their field of view rather than like front to back. So the way these work is, you place them in multiple areas around a room. So that the motion areas basically overlap. But these because they have such a very small narrow field of view, they don't pick up all that ambient stuff that might be off to the side of the motion or in an area that you didn't think of whenever you placed it.
When you have multiple of them placed like that around a room, any time somebody moves horizontally across the small field of view these offer, it's going to trigger one. So essentially it is kind of a specialty motion I guess you would say. It can be used in a lot of different applications. But essentially you want to keep in mind if you're looking at something like this to get them in, like I said, pairs or trios. You want this to be backed up by another of its type. So it's not a super popular model as you imagine. It does have its very specific use cases, but outside of that it's not the best overall motion obviously.
One thing to keep in mind with the PG 9924 is that it does not have pet immunity. So, like I said, because it has such a small field of view, it doesn't cover a large enough area to be able to detect the difference between an animal and a human. Basically, these are sensitive trigger motions, so it's going to trigger anytime it sees that heat signature across that small field of view. So don't use the 9924. If you do have pets that you need to worry about.
So the next one we're going to be going over is the PG... oh my tight box. The next one we're going to be going over is the PG9862. And this is the ceiling mount motion. So this one is exactly like I said it's just a ceiling mount motion. It essentially sits on a ceiling that is in between 8 and 12ft high. If you go over 12ft with your ceiling and you place this up there, you're basically picking up the motion capture area off the floor. So you don't want to use these in areas where you have tall ceilings. You don't want to use it in places where, there's a lot of things that could potentially fall over or move laterally.
Now, these are passive infrared only sensors, so you definitely want to take that into consideration whenever you're thinking about using them. Like I said, you don't want to use it in areas where you have tall ceilings, but you also don't want to use them in places where you have, like, anything on a shelf that could potentially fall over. You don't want to use these with pets. These are best for like office areas, or clear bedrooms where everything's kind of settled. Not a whole lot goes on. I haven't noticed them being terrible for, picking up ambient heat from, like, ducts or sun coming in through any windows. Except for in one scenario, they had, I think it was a car lot that was using these and they had, you know, giant showroom windows, basically.
And the sun was heating up the floor enough that it was picking up on these motions. So, where we see these fail the most, however, is warehouse situations, because they do have such a wide field of view, they're very appealing, especially when you have a large area to cover, like a warehouse or, you know, things like that. But essentially you don't want to use these in that situation. You want to go with a dual tech. You want something that actually has the potential to, keep the passive infrared only feature from triggering this accidentally.
Otherwise, these have worked a great for a lot of our customers, especially, residential applications, office areas, like I said. What is really great about these motions is they do provide such a large coverage area, and that is one of the main appeals of a ceiling motion. And this is because, I mean, instead of having, you know, like a normal wall motion where you have a certain field of view like this, this motion has a 360 degree downward area that it views. So everything within a whole room is usually covered by one of these sensors. So they can be handy in those situations. Just keep in mind they do happen to have the highest potential for false alarms. So just be careful where you place them.
The PG9862 also does not have pet immunity. So because these are ceiling motions, it can't see the difference, like the height difference in a heat signature. So there is no pet immunity that is viable for ceiling motions for the most part. Period. Some of them, I think, claim that they have it. I don't know how well that works. I've never tested them, but essentially, this model does not have pet immunity. So if you have pets that you need to worry about, this would not be the motion for you. You're going to want to go with a wall mount that has pet immunity, so that it can tell the height difference in the heat signature, so that they will not trigger false alarms.
So the fourth motion that we're going to be going over today is the PG9974P. Now this is what is called a mirror optic motion. And this one is specifically designed for, anti masking, technology. This is just a passive infrared sensor. However, it is backed up by that mirror optic technology, which is specifically designed to prevent masking attempts. So, one of the ways it does that is basically, it has a built in feature that nullifies bright white light. What this does is it uses black mirror technology to reflect that white light around and nullify it, essentially. But if you have high crime in your area and you've heard of people potentially trying to mask up motion detectors and get by them. This would be a good option because this has multiple preventative features that keep that from happening.
It also has pet immunity up to 88 pounds. So along with the dual tec motion. We'll go over in a minute. Those two offer the highest pet immunity Pound ratings, of any motion I've ever seen, actually. So, 88 pounds is quite a large dog. If you have something bigger than that, you're going to want to avoid motions, period, because they will pretty much trigger them any time they go in front of it. But essentially, if, like I said, you're in a high crime area and you've heard of masking attempts, this is a great option.
You can check it out a little bit more in depth. There's, 3 or 4 different ways that it actually prevents intentional masking attempts. So, most people won't have to worry about this. A lot of that stuff, like I said, is dying off nowadays. So, I would probably still recommend the PG9984, which is what we're going to cover in a second, just because that is the more robust model and the price difference is very minimal so.. but that is the 9974P.
So the last motion we're going to be going over is the PG9984 P. Like I mentioned. And this is the dual tech model. So this is basically the cream of the crop. This is the best you can get. As far as a wall mounted motion goes. And what I mean by dual tech is that this has a passive infrared sensor in it, just like all of the others, but it also has a microwave sensor inside of it. And basically the way that microwave sensor works, this is kind of dumbing it down a little bit, but it basically just sends out a pulse, kind of like sonar, and it detects physical motion within the room or the area that it's viewing.
So whenever the passive infrared is triggered, whenever a heat signature crosses into view, this sensor sends out a pulse of a quick microwave pulse. It's not enough to do you know, any lasting damage or anything like that, but it's just a quick microwave pulse and it checks for any physical movement that is happening. So it is designed to prevent false alarms in almost all situations. I very rarely heard of any false alarms whenever something like this is used.
I think the only time that ever happened actually was in a warehouse where they had some stuff fall off of a shelf. So after the initial thing fell over, that triggered the passive infrared. And as things continued to fall that microwave picked up a couple other boxes that were moving, so they ended up with a couple false alarms in those scenarios. But this is the motion that you're going to want to go with for most applications, especially if there is any potential whatsoever of heat triggering the motion. So if you're going to have this somewhere, like if you have ceiling ducts and you have your heat on, and if that is anywhere near the viewing area of the motion, you want these in place so that whenever it senses that heat, if it is a big enough heat signature to trigger it, it'll use that microwave pulse. That microwave pulse will basically tell the passive infrared, you're crazy. We're not triggering right now. And then it will continue to monitor. So these are going to be, like I said, the most popular model that we carry. So the price difference between these and all of the others is not that much more so.
It is don't get me wrong, none of these are particularly cheap. You can't go pick one up at Lowe's for 20 bucks. But these do have a lot of technology built into them to make them the best of the best, which is why powered G stands at the top of wireless technology right now. So, if you're looking for motion detectors, like I said, we carry all five of these models on alarmsystemstore.com. We have the DSC neo as well as the Qolsys IQ panels, which are the systems that it works with. So if you need any power sensors whatsoever, if you need batteries for them, if you're looking at upgrading or just replacing old sensors, check us out. Alarmsystemstore.com. We got you covered.
But that's going to do it for me. And if you guys have any questions, by all means leave a comment down below. If you think I did something wrong, let me know as well. I do like constructive feedback, but otherwise, if you're on YouTube, give us a like and subscribe and I will catch you guys on the next one.
I will say there is one that stands out above the rest, and that is the PG9984. And that is because it is a dual tech sensor. And I'll break down what that means here a little bit when we get to that one. But essentially that is the most popular one that we see purchased. However, all of them have their use cases. So like I said, I'm just going to break them all down. And that way you guys can do what you will with the information. So let's get started.
So the first one we're going to go over is what I would consider the baseline motion detector for the power G lineup. And that is the PG9914. So let me get this out of here. And this is just a standard passive infrared motion detector. It's got a pretty large range. It's got pet immunity. It's got a lot of standard features that you'll find on pretty much any motion sensor nowadays. However, it is just the baseline model. It's not fancy. It's not big. It's, you know, pretty compact. It doesn't look like much. However, it is probably, if I had to guess the second most likely to have potential false alarms.
And the reason that is, is because it is a passive infrared only sensor. And if you're unfamiliar with infrared, that is basically heat detection. So what this motion looks for is it looks for a large enough heat source to be similar to the shape and size of a human. And whenever it sees a large enough heat source for that, it will trigger the sensor. So with this detector, you don't have much in the way of preventing false alarms, because if you happen to locate this in an area where it happens to be near an area or near a window that gets a lot of sun every day, those potential heat sources could possibly be big enough to actually set it off. Now we don't run into very many situations where we see false alarms on this one. However, it is just something to keep in mind. The price difference between this and the 9984 that I mentioned earlier isn't much. So if you just want the best, I would go with the 9984 where you're going to plan on using this.
However, if you just want to save a little bit of money and maybe you like the look of it and it's kind of nondescript for a motion sensor. But if you like, this one is a perfectly viable model. Just keep in mind that you don't want to have it looking at potential heat sources while the system is armed and the sensor is active. Now the PG9914 does have pet immunity up to 85 pounds. So essentially it will try to determine when it sees a heat signature. If it is, you know, low to the ground and it'll trying to determine if that's an animal if it's a human. However because it is PIR only, it's not the best at doing that. So just keep that in mind though if you need pet immunity, this one has you covered. But like I said, this is the PG 9914, and this is this is pretty much just your baseline model. So let's move on to the next one.
So the second sensor that we're going to be going over is the PG9924. And this is a very unique motion compared to the others that you're going to see here. This is what is called a curtain motion detector. So essentially this is a passive infrared only model just like the 9914 that we just covered. But this one is designed to have a very small field of view.
And the reason that is, is because a lot of times if you have like a warehouse or you have a garage or large areas where a lot of things might be located, if any of those falls over, it could potentially trigger a regular motion sensor. These motions, these curtain motions have a very narrow field of view, and these are designed to work in pairs or trios to cover an area. So motion detectors, if you're unfamiliar, work best whenever they are detecting motion across their field of view rather than like front to back. So the way these work is, you place them in multiple areas around a room. So that the motion areas basically overlap. But these because they have such a very small narrow field of view, they don't pick up all that ambient stuff that might be off to the side of the motion or in an area that you didn't think of whenever you placed it.
When you have multiple of them placed like that around a room, any time somebody moves horizontally across the small field of view these offer, it's going to trigger one. So essentially it is kind of a specialty motion I guess you would say. It can be used in a lot of different applications. But essentially you want to keep in mind if you're looking at something like this to get them in, like I said, pairs or trios. You want this to be backed up by another of its type. So it's not a super popular model as you imagine. It does have its very specific use cases, but outside of that it's not the best overall motion obviously.
One thing to keep in mind with the PG 9924 is that it does not have pet immunity. So, like I said, because it has such a small field of view, it doesn't cover a large enough area to be able to detect the difference between an animal and a human. Basically, these are sensitive trigger motions, so it's going to trigger anytime it sees that heat signature across that small field of view. So don't use the 9924. If you do have pets that you need to worry about.
So the next one we're going to be going over is the PG... oh my tight box. The next one we're going to be going over is the PG9862. And this is the ceiling mount motion. So this one is exactly like I said it's just a ceiling mount motion. It essentially sits on a ceiling that is in between 8 and 12ft high. If you go over 12ft with your ceiling and you place this up there, you're basically picking up the motion capture area off the floor. So you don't want to use these in areas where you have tall ceilings. You don't want to use it in places where, there's a lot of things that could potentially fall over or move laterally.
Now, these are passive infrared only sensors, so you definitely want to take that into consideration whenever you're thinking about using them. Like I said, you don't want to use it in areas where you have tall ceilings, but you also don't want to use them in places where you have, like, anything on a shelf that could potentially fall over. You don't want to use these with pets. These are best for like office areas, or clear bedrooms where everything's kind of settled. Not a whole lot goes on. I haven't noticed them being terrible for, picking up ambient heat from, like, ducts or sun coming in through any windows. Except for in one scenario, they had, I think it was a car lot that was using these and they had, you know, giant showroom windows, basically.
And the sun was heating up the floor enough that it was picking up on these motions. So, where we see these fail the most, however, is warehouse situations, because they do have such a wide field of view, they're very appealing, especially when you have a large area to cover, like a warehouse or, you know, things like that. But essentially you don't want to use these in that situation. You want to go with a dual tech. You want something that actually has the potential to, keep the passive infrared only feature from triggering this accidentally.
Otherwise, these have worked a great for a lot of our customers, especially, residential applications, office areas, like I said. What is really great about these motions is they do provide such a large coverage area, and that is one of the main appeals of a ceiling motion. And this is because, I mean, instead of having, you know, like a normal wall motion where you have a certain field of view like this, this motion has a 360 degree downward area that it views. So everything within a whole room is usually covered by one of these sensors. So they can be handy in those situations. Just keep in mind they do happen to have the highest potential for false alarms. So just be careful where you place them.
The PG9862 also does not have pet immunity. So because these are ceiling motions, it can't see the difference, like the height difference in a heat signature. So there is no pet immunity that is viable for ceiling motions for the most part. Period. Some of them, I think, claim that they have it. I don't know how well that works. I've never tested them, but essentially, this model does not have pet immunity. So if you have pets that you need to worry about, this would not be the motion for you. You're going to want to go with a wall mount that has pet immunity, so that it can tell the height difference in the heat signature, so that they will not trigger false alarms.
So the fourth motion that we're going to be going over today is the PG9974P. Now this is what is called a mirror optic motion. And this one is specifically designed for, anti masking, technology. This is just a passive infrared sensor. However, it is backed up by that mirror optic technology, which is specifically designed to prevent masking attempts. So, one of the ways it does that is basically, it has a built in feature that nullifies bright white light. What this does is it uses black mirror technology to reflect that white light around and nullify it, essentially. But if you have high crime in your area and you've heard of people potentially trying to mask up motion detectors and get by them. This would be a good option because this has multiple preventative features that keep that from happening.
It also has pet immunity up to 88 pounds. So along with the dual tec motion. We'll go over in a minute. Those two offer the highest pet immunity Pound ratings, of any motion I've ever seen, actually. So, 88 pounds is quite a large dog. If you have something bigger than that, you're going to want to avoid motions, period, because they will pretty much trigger them any time they go in front of it. But essentially, if, like I said, you're in a high crime area and you've heard of masking attempts, this is a great option.
You can check it out a little bit more in depth. There's, 3 or 4 different ways that it actually prevents intentional masking attempts. So, most people won't have to worry about this. A lot of that stuff, like I said, is dying off nowadays. So, I would probably still recommend the PG9984, which is what we're going to cover in a second, just because that is the more robust model and the price difference is very minimal so.. but that is the 9974P.
So the last motion we're going to be going over is the PG9984 P. Like I mentioned. And this is the dual tech model. So this is basically the cream of the crop. This is the best you can get. As far as a wall mounted motion goes. And what I mean by dual tech is that this has a passive infrared sensor in it, just like all of the others, but it also has a microwave sensor inside of it. And basically the way that microwave sensor works, this is kind of dumbing it down a little bit, but it basically just sends out a pulse, kind of like sonar, and it detects physical motion within the room or the area that it's viewing.
So whenever the passive infrared is triggered, whenever a heat signature crosses into view, this sensor sends out a pulse of a quick microwave pulse. It's not enough to do you know, any lasting damage or anything like that, but it's just a quick microwave pulse and it checks for any physical movement that is happening. So it is designed to prevent false alarms in almost all situations. I very rarely heard of any false alarms whenever something like this is used.
I think the only time that ever happened actually was in a warehouse where they had some stuff fall off of a shelf. So after the initial thing fell over, that triggered the passive infrared. And as things continued to fall that microwave picked up a couple other boxes that were moving, so they ended up with a couple false alarms in those scenarios. But this is the motion that you're going to want to go with for most applications, especially if there is any potential whatsoever of heat triggering the motion. So if you're going to have this somewhere, like if you have ceiling ducts and you have your heat on, and if that is anywhere near the viewing area of the motion, you want these in place so that whenever it senses that heat, if it is a big enough heat signature to trigger it, it'll use that microwave pulse. That microwave pulse will basically tell the passive infrared, you're crazy. We're not triggering right now. And then it will continue to monitor. So these are going to be, like I said, the most popular model that we carry. So the price difference between these and all of the others is not that much more so.
It is don't get me wrong, none of these are particularly cheap. You can't go pick one up at Lowe's for 20 bucks. But these do have a lot of technology built into them to make them the best of the best, which is why powered G stands at the top of wireless technology right now. So, if you're looking for motion detectors, like I said, we carry all five of these models on alarmsystemstore.com. We have the DSC neo as well as the Qolsys IQ panels, which are the systems that it works with. So if you need any power sensors whatsoever, if you need batteries for them, if you're looking at upgrading or just replacing old sensors, check us out. Alarmsystemstore.com. We got you covered.
But that's going to do it for me. And if you guys have any questions, by all means leave a comment down below. If you think I did something wrong, let me know as well. I do like constructive feedback, but otherwise, if you're on YouTube, give us a like and subscribe and I will catch you guys on the next one.