Favorite motion sensor (USA user), bonus points for temperature/humidity etc., and especially for being not huge, and having decent battery life. I have an old ST sensor that works fine, but there are so many more options now. Indifferent as to protocol. What's your favorite?
I’m using Phillips Hue motion sensors with success. Has temperature but not humidity.
My favorite is the Zooz one. Fast response and can plugged in.
I have Hue ones as well, but they are slow to respond
I have two types and both are zigbee:
- Iris 3326-L (second Gen) are great little sensors, super tiny (I only have a Hue sensor to compare to), very fast, iffy temperature calibration, but you can fix that in software, and good battery life. Pretty hard to come by now with Iris going under, but you can occasionally find a 10 Pack on eBay for like $50 which is a great deal.
- One thing to note, and I am not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but a few of my sensors are absolute battery hogs to the point that I think something is short circuited, like they kill a brand new CR2 in a week. But if you don't have one of those odd ones, great battery life, going on 6 months with 87% reporting.
- Hue sensors are also great, love that they take AAA batteries, but I am assuming this accounts for why they are so big. Also love the included magnetic mount (iris ones rely on tape or something more diy). In my experience, only one sensor, the temperature calibration has been good out of the box. LUX sensor is nice, but depending on placement the lights that you are turning on may or may not screw with the reading. Also par for the course with anything hue, pretty pricey but you can find decent deals from Costco, but even at that price they are x6 the cost (normally x8) of the Iris sensors if you can find them.
P. S. There are also Gen 3 iris sensors, not the ones I have, that I think have humidity sensors in them if that is something you need but want a cheaper option, but if I am wrong please someone correct me.
2 Likes
Any of the Zigbee motion sensors manufactured by CentraLite.
Hard to find these days.
1 Like
You gotta love HA, my experience is the exact opposite 
. Having said that, I'm with @Eric.C.Miller and @cjkeenan . I picked up a bunch of the Iris(Centralite) sensors and they are my favorite. I've converted 5 to wired.
1 Like
Aeotec TriSensor, very responsive, decent battery life as far as I can tell by now, have also temperature and illuminance.
1 Like
GE Jasco 26931 motion switch
Zwave plus
Set to manual mode and use as a smart switch and the motion sensor.
No batteries required.
Also blends in much better.
Which Zooz one are you talking about? I have the 4 in 1 sensor, but I didn't think it could be plugged in. I assume you are talking about the ZSE18? It looks like that one can be USB Powered.
I have used the following:
Eria Adurio, Iris 3326-L (2 Gen), Konke, Heiman, Aeotec Multisensor, Zooz 4in1, Nyce,
(I do a lot of testing!).
No question, hands-on, the best is the Iris 3326-L. Unfortunately, can't buy anymore!
Next is the NYCE motion sensor (not the ceiling sensor).
(It's too bad it's so expensive!).
In last place is the Zooz.
Right, give me an earful, I have found Aqara to be the best
1 Like
Agreed!
2 Likes
They are also very easy to modify by removing the battery and soldering a usb cable to power them.
I know. Just lazy.
Also, what's amazing: I have now 2 of them under the soffits in my eavestroughs outside (in the Cold Canadian winter). Amazing battery life! Months, and months of battery life. They use the CR2 or the CR123A (not sure which).
(Usually cold dramatically shortens life of batteries)
yeah I am north of the wall as well.
I hate having to change batteries so converted almost everything to dc power and I know if I was not around my wife and kids would not even know or bother to change the batteries.
A good project while you are locked down.
I've bought 3 Hue indoor motion sensors and they've been working great! I love the base plate is magnetic so you can mount it to a spot that's magnetic if you don't want to drill any holes.
I, too, am happy with the Philips Hue indoor motion sensors.
You can adjust Retrigger time to 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes and 5 minutes.
You can also adjust sensitivity to low, medium or high. This may be helpful if you have pets.
It also has a magnetic mount that makes it easy to mount and point it in the proper direction. Also, this allows you to easily remove when you need to replace the batteries.
They are a little pricey. The best price I’ve seen is a two pack available from Costco Online.
https://www.costco.com/philips-hue-indoor-smart-motion-sensor%2C-2-pack.product.100575866.html
2 Likes
Do they work with 5v directly or do you need a step down converter to 3.3v?
I have a Sylvania Zigbee motion sensor that has been rock solid. Responds instantly and hasn't had a single issue.
I also picked up a ZooZ zwave sensor that allows me to power it via USB, which is pretty great.
Both of those are better than the GoControl Zwave sensors I have (I have three of them, and 2 of them are... wonky. One reports 80F temperature no matter what and the other throws an absolute temper tantrum below 32F)
yes the Iris 3326-L work fine with 5 volts (no step down required)
old ST motion sensor also work fine with 5 volts but the newer ST motion sensors do not they must be stepped down to 3.3 volts
1 Like
