I've read that the Philips Hue outdoor motion sensor is highly recommended, but to buy just 2 of would cost as much as all the 18 motion sensors (Sonoff) I have indoors, and I'll need about 5 of them to cover my gardens and driveway!
The Sonoff ones are awesome for indoor use. So I tried 4 in my garden (suitably shielded from rain) but they're just far too sensitive, triggering at every change of sun intensity, gust of wind, bird or even mouse. I actually don't mind the larger wildlife like foxes triggering them (I'm just as interested in being alerted to animals in my garden as to visitors and intruders) but the non-stop alerts from every passing cloud shadow and bird renders them useless.
Is there any decent outdoor motion sensor cheaper than the Hue one, or should I just start saving up?! To those who use the Hue, am I right in understanding that it is Zigbee; that I can connect it to Hubitat directly without any bridge; that it has adjustable sensitivity; and that it also reports temperature and lux in addition to motion (in a way that Hubitat can access)? Thanks in advance.
Sonoff and the like are not meant to be used outdoors. They are not weather proof and as you found out they are prone to false alarms because of floating debri and what not. You want something specifically designed for your situation and that is gonna be the homeseer or the Hue outdoor sensor...
My Hue sensors trigger at sunlight constantly. I turn them off in the day if it's sunny. Or worse yet, partly cloudy. And sensitivity is set to the lowest. One under the porch roof out of direct sunlight is pretty squared away.
I looked too and wound up with Hue.
I spent even more because I don't like worrying about batteries and purchased plug-in battery adapters for mine and ran wires. (Yes, I know it can be done cheaper)
Interested in that info as well...I do have a line buried in the front yard that could provide power to one of my Hue outdoor motion sensors very near that spot.
If you live in SoCal, fire, smoke, and heat might be more of an issue than rain and wind.
I live in Northern Illinois where we can get wind, rain, hail, snow, ice, fog and temperatures that range from 20 below zero up to over 100 degrees F. An indoor sensor wrapped in Saran wrap is not likely to do well in that environment.
Likewise, those in the Southeast who are subject to hurricanes need a sensor well protected from rain driven by high winds.
That is why outdoor sensors are more costly to produce than ones for indoor use.
There’s sufficient warning with hurricanes and tropical storms that I just remove externally placed sensors and devices. And use bungee cords and bricks to tie other things down.
Somewhat different than dealing with tornadoes in the Midwest.
I modified the Iris v2 motion sensors and put it inside a PVC box with 2 C cell batteries. Been out there for around 5 years now. Batteries change out once a year.
I tried with the Smarthings sensor but that thing is junk with crazy false alarm.
I know you said Zigbee, but if that's not a dealbreaker, the Zooz ZSE29 is Z-Wave and is sometimes cheaper than Hue (Zooz has sales on occasion, not sure about right now or what the stock is). Otherwise, depending on where you live and how sad you'd be if the motion sensor died, some people just take the risk of using "indoor" sensors outside. If it's reasonably protected, say, under a porch, even non-enclosed, you might be fine. I've also seen people coat the outside with a silicone spray to waterproof (and whatnot) things a bit or even coat the internal circuit board with a conformal silicone coating (leaving the battery terminals exposed, of course). Just depends on your tolerance for risk, I suppose.
It sounds like you may have already tried something like that, so then there are a couple of other things to consider. If you can't face the sensor a different direction or "sheid" it a little bit from direct sun (these are pretty much all infrared-based sensors and will be tripped by changes in sunlight from time to time during the day), you could use multiple sensors and use something like Zone Motion Controller to combine them into effectively one sensor that only trips if a certain threshold is met.
Or, related to this concern from another poster:
Why not just "restrict" the automation the sensor is being used for during that time? For example, I have a sensor outside one of my doors that turns lights on with motion--but it only turns them on at night. There are many false motion events throughout the day, and...I just ignore them because they don't matter. (Of course, this is different if you're trying to use it for "a person is here." But then the idea of combining multiple sensors might work, or perhaps there is another way to reach that goal with something else.)
$40 for refurbished. I've bought two refurbished Hue outdoor sensors and have had no issues with either. I frequently purchase Hue devices used. Never had a problem from doing that.
