Technical Bulletin

4
Occupancy Sensor Testing (Walk Test)
This section of the document will cover the testing parameters for occupancy sensors: Standard Field of View
Walk Test, and Two/One Walk Test. (established tests are specified by NEMA but we have found them to not
be an accurate assessment of the customer experience and have thus increased our testing.
Standard Field of View Walk Test
To conduct an industry standard field of view walk test, the walk test must be completed by walking around the
perimeter (circumference) of the coverage pattern. This is the most precise way to measure the accuracy of the
PIR sensor. Passive Infrared technology divides an area into “detection zones” and functions by detecting the
movement of a heat signature from one zone to another. The size of the “detection zones” of the FOV is
directly related to the mounting height. The higher the mounting height the larger motion required to cross the
“detection zones” and active the sensor.
Two/One Walk Test
Another method for walk testing is to start at the outer edge of the field of view and take two steps towards the
sensor and the take one step back from the sensor until you walk directly under the sensor. This is repeated
around the entire 360 degree field of view. This demonstrates the difference between the “radial” and
“tangential” capability of the sensor. For example, the larger the FOV or coverage area the greater each of
these “zones” grows. This could be a dramatic impact for “radial” detection especially for aisle way
implementations.