about batteries...
I have been testing this... so far, I found that a Duracell 1.54volt battery will last about 1 year... but could drop in voltage with cold weather and fail.
since then... I bought the energizer E2 (lasts 7times longer) and found that they are 1.87volts. I wanted to see how long they would last, and WOW... I cant remember when I put them in now 2.4 years so far and not one failure.
I posted here somewhere (ill have to find it) that said when I installed the batteries, either 2005 or 2006.
still waiting for the final death of one of these batteries.
btw, last year we had record cold temp. snow and wind. everything worked good, even my exposed pieces.
so, next battery death I will replace one with the rechargeable E2 batteries and see how many volts and the time they last.
EDIT: Confirmed just over 2years on E2 batteries, btw... I also have animals that trigger motion lots... batteries are well used