Most generally yes, If you haven't purchased any deadbolt locks and will be doing so, I would highly recommend ones that use Zigbee, the Zwave ones (on the list) "work" but not without issues currently, that HE is trying to iron out......
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There's a device for a different system (Homematic IP) called 'continuity sensor with direction detection'
Have a look at Durchgangssensor mit Richtungserkennung | Homematic IP
With two motion sensors seeing narrow field, knowing exact time of passing by and comparing these times one would know the direction of movement, I think.
Then we would know someone is in the room until they have left.
Edit: Sensors could turn on/off a virtual switch. The state of the switch would indicate in or out.
Good luck. If possible, let me know your thoughts when you are a few weeks in to HE. I'm not rushing into it yet, but it's my front runner and will probably be making a decision in the next few months (no immediate need for hub and automations)
I will do, I only plan on doing basic stuff at first.
Regarding the reading, maybe a mix of motion and pressure/vibration sensor under chair cushion or something
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Sure, could do something like that - depending on how much $$$ you want to throw at the problem. You start putting sensors on every sitting area, it would get insane.
Much easier to make sure there is a graceful way to turn the automatic stuff off or pause it.
Sounds just like my experience, down to being ignored or told to "read the manual" when I asked for help.
I did read the manual and tried to troubleshoot for hours before asking because I knew that is how "inviting" that community is.
Alternatively, if she is always sitting on the same furniture and the design allows, you could use a pressure mat hooked up to external contacts on a Z-Wave sensors like the Ecolonk Z-Wave Plus contact (door/window) sensor. When it's closed (usually, sometimes open, depending on the mat), then someone is sitting there, and you can use it in automations appropriately.
I have two pressure mats configured this way and they work great. One is in front of my kitchen sink that turns on the sink spotlight when someone is standing there washing dishes. The other one is under the mat of my wet bar. I tried putting one under my chair in my office but couldnât find a clean way to hide it. I ended up using a power meter smart plug to flag computer in use. I tried putting a button next to a light but my wife wonât hit the button. Go figure. I eventually gave up and made her reading lamp a dumb light.
On the other questions - I would advise to manage your expectations. These systems all require a lot of fiddling. That is just the way it is right now.
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My spouse just wants things to work and work instantly all the time. Hubitat is better than ST in this regard but still not perfect. And once your spouse falls in love with HA she will start asking for stuff that defies the laws of physics.
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SmartThings - mature platform backed by a monster sized company - Samsung. They are fumbling SmartThings miserably but they are big enough that I believe they will eventually get their act together
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See other replies and check the forum before buying
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My biggest issue is sync for older Zwave devices. I am also concerned about the long term viability of the company. If they go belly up then what? They are still technically a startup and we know that a small fraction of startups make it.
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Expect to do some cuddling no matter what devices you pick. Radio chips die, pairing breaks, etc. Just keeping it real - this isnât a non cuddling endeavor
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I have over 150 devices (~100 physical) and most of them seem to be supported with HE
My biggest issue with moving over to HE are the following
- App - must for family so they can control from their phone, similar to ST
- Support for SolarEdge and EnergyCurb device types. (don't want to keep another hub running just for them)
- Better quality dashboard icons.. (can work around it if needed)
- Support for Nest Protects .(maybe a Nest issue needing an API key).
- Time to move things over the right way so everything continues to work including our Harmony Remotes, TTS announcements, door locks...
Guess its mostly #1, as family does not like the dashboard on the mobile device, too hard to use or jump through for different items (have over 150 devices)
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You'll be disappointed with the app, then. The control will still be via Dashboard. Might I suggest laying out your dashboards differently? You don't need to put all 150 devices on each. (I also don't see how the ST app would be better here: equally painful with that many devices but also more dangerous since they can delete them, too.)
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Ever thought about using Google Home or the Apple Home app on the phone? Most people i see asking for an app want it to make it easier for their family. Usually people donât need the administration stuff in the app. Google Home or Apple Home work wonderfully for the family use case.
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Add the Alexa app in there as well. While not nearly as good as it used to be, as a device command interface, it actually does pretty well.
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None if you get it set up properly. I came from IRIS which is defunct. My wife was use to it so I set up Hubitat to basically function the same way. Using Google Home she can turn lights on and off with voice commands when necessary.
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I did a lot of research before choosing Hubitat so I have no experience with other current systems.
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Unknown
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Very little step by step set up documentation. You have to figure things out for yourself or ask for help here. It's not plug and play where you buy the hub, pair the devices, and everything works together. But the fact that it supports so many different devices is one of it's strengths once you get them working. The user interface was written by coders and the documentation doesn't always explain what the various buttons etc. are for or how to use them. Turning lights on and off is easy with their Simple Lighting app but not so for more complicated stuff. Still trying to get my security system to function properly but it does work and sends an alert to mine and my wife's cell phones when triggered. No direct support for Nest thermostats or Arlo cameras.
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I have mostly ZigBee devices coming from the IRIS world. Z-wave (in my experience) doesn't work as well unless you have a lot of them that have repeater capability spread around your house. Most of my devices are battery powered and do not function as repeaters. I'm cheap so I look for bargains. My motion sensors and contact sensors are all IRIS some of which I already had and the others I purchased on eBay for really cheap. Since setting them up they have just worked with no failures. I bought ZigBee outlets and two ZigBee repeaters from IKEA. For $10 and $15 respectively. So far none have failed but I've only had my system for about 3 weeks so time will tell.
Bottom line in my opinion is simple. If you want a system with a lot of potential then choose Hubitat. If you are not willing to spend time tinkering to get things working properly look elsewhere.
Except the manual was often out of date 
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Yep I had the same problem cause they updated without changing the manual
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How not to do open source...
This isn't the platform for you...sorry. Something like wink or ST without a lot of additions is. Not being a jerk but this is a tinkerers paradise platform. Not I want to set it and forget it platform.
If you are OK with the tinkering part...and knowing you will be doing it often...then this is a great platform.
Rule machine is its killer feature. It can be really simple to really complex. Sure with smartthings you can do some of that through Sharptools or WebCore but it's not as fast, has more stingy rate limits, and needs internet.
I respectfully disagree. There is no reason why, if setup to do what one wants, that one needs to continually "tinker" with HE. I have my drivers, devices, apps and rules added and don't have a need to go back and constantly change things, unless I'm updating the hub, adding a new device or come up with a new rule that I wish to add. Of course there are some that will continually tinker, but that should not be a reason to discourage the non-tinkerer from buying and using HE.
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If he sticks to the simple apps he's probably going to be okay. I'd say smartthings is actually more confusing because of how poorly they lay out their current simple light automation.
If they want to just control light bulbs he should probably just get a Hue because while pricey it works well and let's him later pick up something like Hubitat later without buying stuff again if he wants to get fancier.
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