Hello first post here. I was just looking for suggestions on the best motion detectors to use with a new lighting setup I'll be doing. My plan is to have motion detection with a very fast response time that can detect a member of the family getting out of bed and will do low light illumination path downstairs to the kitchen at different times. So it would need to be a detector with fast response time works in the dark and can link to some dimmable smart lights. Also would love suggestions on which lights to buy (and where) and smart outlets as well with my new setup. Thank you in advance for any nput on this!
Hi @jaugustine777, and welcome to the community!
Zigbee would be your best bet for fast response time. In my experience, the SmartThing motion sensors were really fast. However, they are discontinued for now. It is said that Aeotec will be selling them at some point soon.
See this post for more input on sensors:
For lights bulbs, the Sengled have a very good reputation and should work well with the Hubitat Hub. A lot of people including myself use Hue lights connected to the Hue hub, but integrated to Hubitat. That setup works very well for me.
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Centralite was the OEM for a lot of the zigbee motion sensors. They all seem to be pretty good but, at the moment, hard to find.
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Welcome to the Hubitat community!
I have tried lots of motion sensors to automate lights. By far the best results where from using Zigbee motion sensors. They are noticeably faster reporting motion events for turning on lights. I tried Z-wave and was annoyed how slow they reported and ended up returning and replacing with Zigbee.
My favorite right now is the Philips Hue indoor and outdoor motion sensors. You don't know need the Hue hub, the motion sensors pair directly to Hubitat over Zigbee. If you are on a budget then look on eBay for used Iris 3rd Gen motion sensors for around $12-15 each.
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Two suggestions on outlets learned the hard way:
- Steer clear of Peanut plugs for outlets, unless they’re the only zigbee devices on your mesh. They have great range and are super reliable in my experience, but wreak havoc for other devices on your zigbee mesh (for fun, search for Peanut Panic on these forums).
- Consider IKEA Tradfri outlets if you want to leave the door open to cheap and highly responsive devices from the Xiaomi range (eg lux sensors, keypads) as you build out your sensors. Unfortunately Xiaomi uses non-standard Zigbee which most zigbee repeaters can’t support. The ikea outlets, which are cheap and act as repeaters, are one of the few devices that can repeat Xiaomi reliably. Downsides of IKEA are their large size and absence of a physical on/off button.
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Not on a budget so I can afford the Hue lights. Should I buy directly from Hue website or are there better options for buying? Also do I just need the hue bulbs and motion sensor or do I also need their bridge if using hubitat to do this. Do you have any suggestions for a smart outlet that would pair well over hubitat with this motion sensor? Thanks for the advice!
I think the Hue motion sensors are good. You can pair them directly to the Hubitat hub but it will be a bonus if you have a Hue Bridge because that will allow you to update (if necessary) the firmware on the Hue motion sensor. I think, from what I have heard, you want the Hue lights to be on the Hue bridge, the motion sensors can pair directly to Hubitat.
Not on a budget so I can afford the Hue lights. Should I buy directly from Hue website or are there better options for buying? Also do I just need the hue bulbs and motion sensor or do I also need their bridge if using hubitat to do this.
I suggest Philips motion sensors directly paired to the Hubitat and then use standard non-smart LED bulbs controlled by an in-wall smart switch or dimmer. My favorite in-wall switch/dimmer is Jasco/Enbrighten.
The problem I would run into with that is my inwall switches in this house are on 4 switch banks in terms of the lights I'm looking to control. For that reason I would prefer to skip the work of wiring an in-wall switch (which I admit would be awesome) and elect stick with the motion detector linking directly to the bulbs. Would this be a problem?
The problem I would run into with that is my inwall switches in this house are on 4 switch banks in terms of the lights I'm looking to control. For that reason I would prefer to skip the work of wiring an in-wall switch (which I admit would be awesome) and elect stick with the motion detector linking directly to the bulbs. Would this be a problem?
Yes the problem is anyone who turns off the traditional in-wall switch will cut the power to your smart bulbs and your motion automation is useless. In-wall smart switches with non-smart LED bulbs are the way.
Your motion sensors can be setup to control the bulbs. I have most of my lights setup that way. You might also want to have switches.
You have several options related to switches which include:
- Purchasing Inovelli Red dimmers and setting them so that the paddle on the wall will not control the power. (Be sure to have white wires in the box.). Set a rule or an app to control the bulbs based on the activities on the paddles.
- Purchasing a Lutron Pro hub and Pico Remotes. Hard wire your bulbs and program the Pico Remotes to control the bulbs (I have mine setup this way so that the center button will cycle through key available colors and the top will cycle through the whites from warm to cool levels).
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