Energy device control apparatus and method

An apparatus for controlling one or more devices for an area of a building comprising:

• a presence sensor, wherein the presence sensor is operative to sense the presence of at least one person in the area;
• a passive infrared sensor, wherein the passive infrared sensor is operative to detect motion of the at least one person in the area;
• a microprocessor;
• a controller;
• wherein the passive infrared sensor is operative to send motion information to the microprocessor, wherein the presence sensor is operative to send information about the presence of the at least one person in the area to the microprocessor, wherein the microprocessor is operative to determine the number of persons in the area based on the information about the presence of the at least one person in the area from the presence sensor and the motion information from the passive infrared sensor, wherein the microprocessor is operative to send information on the number of persons in the area determined by the microprocessor to the controller, wherein the controller is operative to send control commands to a control system to control the one or more devices based on the information on the number of persons in the area received from the microprocessor, wherein the presence sensor is operative to continuously operate to sense the presence of the at least one person in the area regardless of whether the passive infrared sensor detects motion of the at least one person in the area, wherein, when the passive infrared sensor does not detect motion for a predetermined interval, the controller is operative to query the microprocessor to determine whether the number of persons in the area determined by the microprocessor is greater than zero, and to maintain or turn off operation of the one or more devices based on whether the number of persons in the area determined by the microprocessor is greater than zero.