© 2019 JETIR March 2019, Volume 6, Issue 3 www.jetir.

org (ISSN-2349-5162)

Automatic Light Control and Home Security using

PIR Sensor, GSM and Arduino System
Nishant Harkesh Meena1, Nikhilesh Parashar2, Nilesh Bhephalawat3, Pranshu Jain4, Prayag5
1,2,3,4,5
IV B.Tech, Department of EE, SKIT Jaipur, India

Abstract- Nowadays without electricity, we cannot imagine our daily life as electricity has become a necessity for all,
without which day-to-day life chores become stand still. People do not focus on the wastage of electricity around them.
Sometimes we notice various electrical appliances keep on working even in the absence of people. This negligence can be
seen in most of the public places, offices etc. However, there is a solution to control energy wastage at home by using
automatic light control. In this project, we will focus on the Automatic light control using Arduino and Passive Infrared (PIR)
Sensor, where the lights in the room will automatically turn ON when human presence is detected and turn off when no one
is present. Apart from automation, the home security system is also needed for convenience and safety. The system is needed
to keep the home safe from an intruder. For this work, we present the GSM based home security system. This motion-based
security system detects any trespassing of objects that occur in the range of the motion sensor. Depending upon the
movement of the object alert message will be sent to the user when the intrusion is detected. This GSM based home security
system has the capability of sending SMS alert once PIR motion sensor detects the movement. This SMS sending facility
gives the user a great safety feature.

Index terms: - Arduino, PIR, GSM, Relay, Microcontroller

I. INTRODUCTION

Humans face various problems in their life, House intrusion and wastage of power are two of the major problems faced
by human beings all over the world. People have a tendency to leave lights and fans on even when they are not utilising
them, they repeatedly forget to switch the appliances off which leads to wastage of electricity. In such a manner a lot of
electricity is wasted. Simultaneously there is a constant risk of someone breaking into the house when no one is present in the
house , so the people have to constantly remain alert every time they leave the house empty and worry if their house is secure
or not. Repeatedly, they are wasting so much energy by not turning off the appliances and losing their focus over the security
of the house. To overcome this problem, we have worked on a device that can be implemented anywhere in the house to
resolve both the problems at a reasonable cost.
This project is aimed at designing a combination of automatic light control and home security system. Passive Infrared
(PIR) Sensor is used to detect human movement and then it will send the signal to the Arduino and accordingly, it will
activate the relay to switch on the load. Similarly, theft detection is turned on when the people of the house are not present in
the house. First, it will sense the human movement presence through PIR then with the help of Global System for Mobile
(GSM) communication it will send the message to the owner of the house on detecting motion.
Gopal Chandra Nepal et al [1] proposed a system that provides security with the help of PIR sensor. Here the PIR sensor
is connected to relay and security camera. The recording only takes place when motion is detected in PIR sensing area. The
PIR sensor will trigger the relay and camera is connected to output of relay. Here the storage required to save the security
footage has been reduced as recording take place only when an intruder is detected. This type of security system lacks the
provision of providing alert to user when the intrusion is detected. This system can be connected with a GSM module so that
a message can be sent at the time when the intrusion is detected.
Maslekar et al [2] proposed a system with the aim of reducing power wastage by using PIR sensor and Raspberry pi. Here
the Raspberry pi is used as a monitoring device to control the switching of load on the detection of motion. The system also
lags the provision of providing security system and also the cost of system is unnecessarily increased by using Raspberry pi
which could be replaced by using arduino system to make a cost efficient system.
In [3] and [4], two type of system have been proposed to automate the load in public places. A system to automate the
load in classroom using PIR sensor and Bluetooth module is proposed in the first model. Here the Bluetooth module is used
to remotely select the load which needs to be triggered by the PIR output. In the second system the automation is done on the
principle of visitor counter where a PIR sensor is placed on the entry of room. The sensor is utilised to count the number of
people that have entered the room and number of people exited. The load remains active as long as the counter count is
greater than zero. If the counter count drops to zero the load will turn off as no one will be present in the room. The first
system has the drawback of unnecessary increase in cost due to increase in cost by Bluetooth module as PIR sensor is alone
sufficient for the automation. The second system has the limitation that only one person can enter the room at a time
otherwise the system would lead to improper counting and the device fails to fulfil its purpose in such conditions.
In this paper, there are two modes of operation at which this system works. First, when the user or family is at home it
only acts as an automation load switching system. PIR sensor detects human movement in a particular area and if the motion
is detected it sends a signal to switch on the load in a particular area. This system helps in reducing the wastage of electricity
by human mistakes and thus reduces load consumption. Secondly, it acts as a security system, when the user or family is not

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at home they have to activate this security system while leaving home. When this system is activated the PIR sensor which
was being used as an automatic load switching device now helps to maintain security. As the motion is detected in an area
this time the sensor sends the signal to a GSM module connected to the system. The system is programmed such that when it
is in security mode and motion is detected it sends an alert message to the user that your house has been breached so that user
can take desired action to keep their house safe. This project helps to maintain the house security which is important in
current times as the number of robberies and housebreaking cases especially when the people are not at home. This system
helps the user to remain ensured that his house is safe.

II. TECHNOLOGY
For establishing communication with the remote devices, different medium like radio waves, acoustic waves and optical
radiations are us. These medium differ from each other on the basis of operating frequency. These type of communication
may operate on wide variation of frequencies such as HF, LF, VHF, UHF bands, and so on. Optical radiations use the
infrared and visible section of the spectrum. PIR sensor work on the infrared part of visible radiation. PIR alone is not
sufficient it has to be incorporated with a circuit of motion detecting device. Actually PIR is a key components of a passive
infrared detector (PID). PIR is incorporated some other circuitry integrated together to develop the PID. Basically, a PID
contains four main structures: A Fresnel lens, a PIR sensor, amplifier circuit, and a time delay circuit. A PIR sensor is used to
detect the variation of infrared radiation in the field of view. This variation of infrared radiation is caused by movement of
objects which have infrared radiation along the field of view of PIR sensor. They are commonly used in security system and
automatic light control systems. They are commonly called PIR, or sometimes referred to as PID.
The PIR sensor detects if there is any change in infrared radiation, which varies depending on the temperature and
surface characteristics of the objects in front of the sensor. When an object moves in front of the sensor, the pyroelectric
material senses these variation in infrared radiation and a voltage pulse is generated, this voltage pulse is passed through the
amplifier circuit and this will trigger the sensor. Objects having a similar temperature but different surface properties may
also have a different infrared emission pattern, and thus moving them with respect to the sensor may trigger the detector as
well [8].
PIR basically come in several different type of configuring depending on the purpose or the place of utilization. The field
of view is directly dependent on the construction of the sensor hardware. The field of view can vary from 120 to 360 degree.
The normal range of the PIR sensor motion detection is 6 to 10 meter. Some larger PIR are made with single segment
mirrors and can sense changes in infrared radiation over thirty meters.
GSM is an abbreviation for Global System for Mobile Communication. It is a cellular technology which is used to
communicate remotely with other devices using network connection at different frequency. It is the source of transmitting
information through the mobile network. The GSM MODEM uses AT commands, for communicating with processor or
controller, which are interfaced through the serial communication port. Figure 1 shows the GSM Module.

Fig. 1: The GSM Module

Arduino is basically a development board of a microcontroller. Arduino can be divided two major parts: the Arduino
board, which is the piece of hardware which is used to build objects; and the Arduino Integrated Development Environment
(IDE), the piece of software run on the computer to assign functioning to Arduino. The IDE is used to create a virtual sketch
(a little computer program) that is upload to the Arduino board through an interfacing cable. The Arduino board is a small
microcontroller based board. Arduino is a small circuit that contains a whole computer on a small chip (ATmega328
microcontroller if 8 bit). There are 14 Digital pins, 6 Analog input/output pins and 6 pins to provide supply and ground. The
Arduino IDE is special software that supports many languages. It is used to write and test the code according to the need. An
IDE brings many development tools like a text editor, code libraries, compilers etc. into a single application. The Arduino
IDE is very useful as it provides a platform to develop code and test the code for errors directly in the software. The IDE is
also helpful to directly feed the code in the Arduino board so no other application is required separately for burning the code.
Arduino is different from other platforms because it has a multi-platform environment, uses an integrated development
environment, programming via USB cable is also possible. Figure 2 shows the Arduino system.

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Fig. 2: The Arduino System

The Microcontroller AT89S52 is an 8051 Microcontroller belonging to the family of Atmel Microcontrollers. It is an 8-
bit CMOS microcontroller with flash memory of 8Kb and 256 bytes RAM. It has 32 I/O pins. It comprises of three 16-bit
timers, external interrupts, full-duplex serial port, on-chip oscillator, and clock circuitry.
III. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND WORKING
The aim of this project is to implement a simple and affordable, but efficient home security and automation light control
system. The project is designed for detecting the movement and informing the owner by sending a message.
For automatic light control, a PIR sensor is used to sense the motion and Arduino UNO [9] is used to control the system.
PIR on detecting motion gives a high signal to Arduino UNO, the Arduino sends the digital high signal to relay, and then the
load is switched ON using a relay. The Arduino is programmed such that it checks for the motion constantly and when the
motion stops the load is turned OFF after a delay of 20 seconds of completely stopping of motion. A PIR sensor is used here
to detect the movement of the human body. Initially, when there is no movement, the PIR sensor doesn't detect any motion
and the output pin stays LOW. As the person enters the room, there is a change in infrared radiation which is detected by the
PIR sensor. As a result, the PIR sensor output becomes HIGH. Since the output pin of the PIR sensor is connected to the
digital pin of Arduino, so whenever it becomes HIGH, it will activate the relay by making the relay pin HIGH (the relay
module is an active HIGH). This will turn on the lights. The light stays turned on as long as there is a movement of the object
in front of the sensor.
If the person leaves the room, there is a no change of infrared radiation (that is it become stable) and hence, the output of
the PIR sensor will become LOW. This, in turn, will make the Arduino turn OFF the relay (by making the relay pin LOW)
and the room light will be automatically turned OFF. Figure 3 shows the block diagram of the automatic light control and
security system.

Fig. 3: Block Diagram of Automatic Light Control and Security System

Likewise, home security is also very important, for this part a microcontroller is connected with the output of PIR.
During the presence of the user at home the system is isolated from the automation system through a switch, but when the
people of the house leave it completely empty the security system is activated. The system then receives the input through
PIR, the input is sent to the microcontroller, on detection of intruder, an alert message is sent to the submitted mobile

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number. With this advancement, a house owner doesn't have to worry about home security while getting off his/her home.
When the PIR sensor detects any movement, the output of the PIR sensor is high. This is detected by the Arduino UNO
board. Arduino will then communicates with an 8051 microcontroller which has been interfaced to GSM module via serial
communication to make a call or send a message to the pre-programmed mobile number. The output of the PIR sensor goes
low from time to time, even when there is motion which may mislead the microcontroller into considering that there is no
movement. This issue is dealt with in the programming of Arduino by ignoring the low output signals and also
simultaneously setting PIR to H mode. Thus proper security application of the system is achieved.
The different condition of operation of the system has been depicted in table 1. In the table1 sw1 refers to switch which is
for the operation of the automation system and sw2 refers to switch used for the security system.

Table 1: - Operation of Automation and Security System

S. No. Condition sw1 sw2 Output
Load is turned OFF
1 No Motion Detected NIL NIL
No alert message sent
Load is turned OFF
2 open open
No alert message sent
Load is turned ON
3 closed open
No alert message sent
Motion Detected
Load is turned OFF
4 open closed
Alert message sent
Load is turned ON
5 closed closed
Alert message sent

IV. CONCLUSION

In this project, we have designed automatic house lighting and house security system with the help of the PIR sensor.
This system provides a solution to counter the increasing number of house robberies by alerting the user about the breach in
the house. The system is also helping in reducing wastage of electricity by switching on the load only when a human entity is
present. So the system is helping to automatically correct mistakes like unnecessarily active loads due to the human tendency
of laziness and tendency of forgetting to switch the loads off while exiting the room or a particular area. This problem is
expected to be overcome by using the PIR sensor as automatic load controller which switches the load on detection of human
presence. This type of automation is very useful for old aged people as it is very stressful for them to switch the supply on
and off repeatedly while moving around in the house. This system helps to reduce such stress on old people by removing the
repeated use of switches to turn on or off the loads. So the people can move around different areas of the house freely without
worrying about switching the loads. So the system is able to provide a solution to some of our day to day problems.
The fact of having chosen home automation and security as a subject to work on has been fulfilling because it is an issue
which is currently in full expansion and has a promising future. This technology is constantly expanding and its scope is
growing to cover more important areas. This project helps to provide a boost to the idea of developing smart homes by
providing both automation and security at reasonable rates. This project not only helps in automation but also in reducing the
wastage of electricity. Fig 4 shows the proposed automatic light control and security system. The image shows the way in
which all the component need to be connected to develop the proposed system.

Fig 4:- Automatic Light Control and Security System

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V. FUTURE SCOPE
The project has a great scope of future enhancement and implementation with incorporating different enhancements.
With some modifications, it could be used for several purposes in the future. The system is a great development because of
PIR technology being cost efficient it could be used in low-income houses because it is difficult for them to afford and install
an automation or security system due to the system available are generally very costly.
Applications of our device are listed below:
1. The project could be enhanced with incorporating a camera interface to capture the image of the person who breaks into
the house with sending a message and storing the photo of the intruder.
2. An extension can be added to differentiate between human and animals to reduce false triggering of alarm thus leading
to more efficient and reliable operation.
3. The system could be further modified for use as a fire detector. It can be done by adding the feature to differentiate fire
by its flickering nature.
4. It could further be modified for uses in places like banks or safes for providing great security enhancement.

REFERENCES

[1]. Gopal Chandra Nepal, Rajen Biswa, Devi Maya Adhikari, Pema Chodon, Sangay Gyeltshen, & Chencho, “Passive
Infrared (PIR) Sensor Based Security System”, International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Systems
(IJEECS) VOL14, 2013, pp.772-778.
[2]. Maslekar, K. Aparna, K. Mamatha and T.Shivakumara, “Smart Lighting System using Raspberry Pi”,
International Journal of Innovative Research in Science and Technology, Vol.4 (7), 2015, pp.5113-5121I.
[3]. Suresh S, H.N.S.Anusha, T.Rajath, P.Soundarya and S.V, Prathyusha Vudatha. “Automatic Lighting And Control
System For Classroom” 2016 International Conference on ICT in Business Industry & Government (ICTBIG).
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light-controller-with-visitor-counter.com
[5]. “What is Arduino?”, Available from https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/what-is-an-arduino
[6]. “Know About Passive Infrared Sensor”, Available from https://www.elprocus.com/passive-infrared-pir-sensor-with-
applications/
[7]. “ATMEL AT89S52 Microcontroller General specification and Introduction”, Available from
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/devicedoc/doc1919.pdf
[8]. “Engineer’s Guide to Using PIR Sensors for Highly reliable Security Applications”, Available from https://www.rs-
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[9]. “Arduino UNO” Available from https://store.arduino.cc/usa/arduino-uno-rev3

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