Best motion sensors - Reliability & Range most important

Can anyone offer some advice on what motion sensors to get for the Hubitat?
I would like some for indoors and outdoors if they make some that withstand winter freezing conditions.

I know there are some threads on this topic already but they appear to be dated by over a year... so thought I would ask again before I go out and purchase any this week.

Thanks
David

Zooz has an outdoor motion sensor, I think it’s pretty new, but there aren’t exactly a ton of sensors that are rated for outdoor use.

Fair enough, I will look into it.

Any recommendations for indoor sensors? Mainly just want to trigger lights from them, preferably with enough smarts to not turn on the lights if there is already enough light in the room.

Honestly, I'm not sure much has changed in a year except for the introduction of a couple new products. Your best choices (unless you have a Lutron RA2 system) are either or both ZigBee or Z-Wave motion sensors. Each has categorial advantages and disadvantages: Z-Wave uses a lower frequency and tends to have better range. ZigBee tends to report motion faster (usually <1s of difference but sometimes more; annoying with motion-based lighting). With repeaters, range is not necessarily a problem for either.

Indoors, really anything should do. I iike the Iris v2 motion sensors, but with them being replaced by the short-lived v3 sensors and the entire product line being pulled from shelves due to the Iris shutdown, you'll only be able to find them via third-parties for the time being. The "new"/2018/v5 ST motion sensor is also good though much larger than these two. All are ZigBee. For Z-Wave, the Dome Motion sensor (DMMS-1) is reasonably priced and has worked well for me. The Aeon Multi 6 is a bit slower for me but not bad and does more if you need any of those features; the Tri Sensor is supposed to be similar (without as many extras as the Multi) and cheaper but has mixed reviews.

Most of what you read a year ago should be still good except there were never any good outdoor sensors--just many of us using indoor sensors outdoors. :slight_smile: If they're reasonably protected from the elements, many will work well. I have Monoprice 15271 outside under a soffit, and it has been working a well as it ever has (which was way too slow to use inside, in my opinion)--even in the recordbreakign -30 °F lows we had here recently (where I also discovered the sensor's temperature readings bottom out at -5 °F). I also have a Dome motion sensor outside and reasonably protected without problems. I had previously also used a Xiaomi with success (very cheap, so that's why I started with that--though there are other issues with these you may be aware of).

Recently, however, some dedicated outdoor sensors have been announced or released. If you're using yours near a floodlight, the HomeSeer HFLS100+ is new (Z-Wave). Hue also announced a new outdoor motion sensor (ZigBee), which will probably also be able to be paired directly to Hubitat, though not everyone is a fan of their indoor sensor on Hubitat, so I'm not sure how this one will compare. Zooz also just released the ZSE29 outdoor motion sensor (Z-Wave). It looks gigantic, but I'm sure that's just extra protection from the elements. Depending on what your motion sensor is for, some people have also effectively made existing "dumb" outdoor motion sensors smart by putting the light they automatically control on a smart switch that reports power; when the power usage goes up, motion was detected.

Beyond that, it just comes down to preferred protocol, price, appearance, and whatever other factors you consider important.

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Thanks for your detailed reply.

I just bought one of these and have it outside but under the soffit on my porch. It has been -22 windchill the last couple of days here and its working great.

https://www.thesmartesthouse.com/collections/motion-sensors/products/zooz-z-wave-plus-motion-sensor-zse18-with-magnetic-base-battery-or-usb-power

For indoor I like xiaomi, even tho i have ST and Zooz 4in1 as well, but the xiaomi are quicker,smaller and nicer looking and way cheaper

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Any comments on the ST motion sensors? They look to be the cheapest I can find in Canada.

I have the current generation (2018/V5) of the ST motion sensor and it's working fine for me. It's larger than some but does have a magnetic mount that allows for adjustment of the sensor, which is nice. (I also have the first and third/2015 generations, also good but not likely to be found anymore. I'm not sure most of the others were well reviewed.)

I have older ST sensors that are great and fast. I do like the quality of the current line of ST stuff but haven't used the sensors.

My big issue is battery power vs powered.. I don't want to change a bunch of batteries all the time - maybe that could also affect reliability as well dunno. I have also powered Aeotec multisensor 6s and they work well but as has been mentioned are sort of slow - but not bad. Nice to have the other features..

I can confirm Hue Outdoor sensors do pair with HE

Any recommendations for very small and cheap zigbee indoor motion sensors?

Many of us really like these Lowes Iris v2 Motion Sensors. Very fast reporting, great battery life, reliable, small and easy to mount with 3M Command Strips. This ebay seller has been offering them in lots of 10 for a few months now. Many of us have bought from him. I have also bought Iris v2 Contact sensors and Iris v2 Leak Sensors from him. He also accepts offers, so you can even save a little more! You won't find better motion sensors in the $5 a piece price range. (also, mine came with batteries, but others have not - YMMV)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-10-Iris-Motion-Sensor-3326-L/153437950990?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D3cff22056bcf4800a27b438601e327c2%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D153437950990%26itm%3D153437950990%26pg%3D2481888&amp;_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&amp;_trkparms=pageci%3A9d3f62ab-ac0d-11e9-9f61-74dbd18003b5|parentrq%3A16d2c86d16c0a9e0c727a493ff635516|iid%3A1

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I'll second that advice--I can't believe there are still so many Iris v2 motion sensors floating around, especially at this price. :slight_smile: But if you insist on something new, my two recommendations would be either the Sylvana/Osram Lightify motion sensor (looks like a slightly uglier Iris v2 and is/was made by the same beloved OEM) or the latest (2018/v5) SmartThings motion sensor. Both are around $25 USD, which isn't bad--the Iris ones were usually around $30 new, and at the time I thought that was pretty good (that's why I bought my first one).

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The eBay seller seems to be a bit of an A$$hole when it comes to making an offer. I put in a Make an Offer for $49,00 for 10, but he responded with $509.90 for 10.

You asked for a quantity of 10 (x 10 devices each, or 100 motion sensors total!)

Submit an offer for 1 @ 50.99 and I bet he'll accept it. Seems to be a simple case of confusion.

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I offered $4.90 each for 10 of the motion sensors, a total of $49.00

It's confusing because the title has "lot of 10," but to the eBay listing, that is one item. I just tried this myself (without submitting) and think Dan is right--the offer was for 10 lots, so the counter is still pretty reasonable. :slight_smile:

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OK my bad, I misunderstood.
Because in the "Make Offer section is says "Per Item" not per lot.
I was thinking it meant for each individual item in the lot.

The eBay item is the lot of 10 sensors. He has listings for other sensors in lots of less than 10.

@marktheknife
Thanks!

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