I use this sensor on my spare ref/freezer in my garage.
I use Hubitat Basic Rules to alert me if the contact stays open for 60 seconds. Probably not the best option for in the kitchen (visible) but it works well for me.
I use Hubitat Basic Rules to alert me if the contact stays open for 60 seconds. Probably not the best option for in the kitchen (visible) but it works well for me.
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That's weird. My Hues has been working great for years.
I have one in the freezer section and another in the fridge section.
It's a Frigidaire side-by-side.
I've even have sensors for a LaCrosse dumb-but-nice thermometer, whose display is magnetically attached to a door, that work great.
The Hues are paired direct to the hub (I have no repeaters).
I have installed the following at a number of clients. Using this device allows me to monitor temperature and if the fridge/freezer has been open for a long period of time.
After extensive testing of many devices, I settled on the Ecolink model 4655BC0-R.
Critical to using this contact sensor, is that I "encase" the sensor with scotch tape, to ensure that the mechanism inside the sensor doesn't freeze up. It uses a CR2450 battery. I stick it on the inside of the freezer (or fridge) with 3M command strips. The magnet part (which doesn't have to be encased in scotch tape), is attached via 3M Command strips on the door. I have found via experience that the battery lasts around 1yr - 2yr, depending on how often the door is opened.
I have constructed "alarms" when the contact sensor is opened for longer than X minutes.
I have constructed "alarms" when the contact sensor reports a temperature greater than Y for longer than Z minutes.
I also have a neat looking Dashboard that shows everything for the client.
The sensors are available on ebay for a reasonable price.
I apologize. I just checked with Amazon.com and Ebay, and these sensors are all sold out everywhere....
By the way, another critical piece has been that a Zigbee repeater should be positioned close to the fridge/freezer door.
Depends on how the refrigerator is made I suspect. My old fridge didn't have any difficulty either, but the front door was NOT metal :-).
Mine is, as well as the left and right sides.
Not so sure about the back and bottom.
I use these, and their kind in 4 fridges. They do well, have decent battery life.
I have been known to take the battery from the ones in the freezers and move themto the ones in the fridges, and put new batteries in the freezer sensors.
I have not had to, but if one upsets me, i would just swop it out.
Love your drawer of misfit toys! I think we all have a similar collection :-).
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Thank you! I placed one on order; switching from Zigbee to 2.4Ghz might do the trick. I wish Hubitat supported 2.4Ghz. Do they require a hub?
If you're referring to Woodsy, it looks like he's using the Xfinity XHS2-SE door sensors (rebranded Centralite or Visonic? IIRC) and those should be Zigbee and will join the hub and use the generic Zigbee contact sensor driver.
They are zigbee, generic built in contact sensor driver.
I have a dozen in use, fridges, doors and a couple or more just for temp reporting.
Sometimes i miss multifamily housing.
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I have a Fibaro Motion Sensor in our garage fridge. It is even a model built for garage installation, so has extra insulation and such. Gives me temp, motion and light sensitivity. I mainly use it to monitor the temp in the fridge. I have only had to change batteries maybe 1-2 times in that last 4 years. Signal always works great.
YoLink works great inside a fridge, either temp, motion, or contact sensors - and battery life seems good as well - It's currently cloud based over lower freqency LorWAN, but there are HE drivers for it
Bottom line it can even speak thru an 1/8 plate steel mailbox - 100 feet from my home - Hell, I think they use it to speak to submerged submarines (just kidding, that's ELF). But for sensors either very far away, or in a Faraday cage (steel box), YoLink is my goto answer.
And latter this year, their newer hub (recent thread on this) is to locally support matter - We'll have to see about that bit.
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Nice endorsement, thank you!
I placed a three pack on order :-). Let's see if they can defeat my fridge!
Yolinks arrived, but I can't see how to access them via HA. They want you to install yet another app (done), but still won't see the sensors.
I suspect I need to buy a Yolink hub (seriously?).
YoLink devices only connect to a YoLink hub, and the hub is the only thing that connects to your network. Will it work without internet or WiFi? The hub does require an internet connection . It uses a 2.4 GHz WiFi connection, and/or ethernet (plug into your router).
Yes, I thought I mentioned that YoLink is cloud based - And yes, their devices need their own hub (get the low end one with ethernet, unless you require the 2.4 wireless link), and FYI in a few more weeks, they are coming out with a new hub (X3), that will (supposedly) support local Matter -
The basic hub is like $25, I believe - as YoLink isn't at Zigbee or Zwave frequencies - YoLink is a LoRa WAN wireless system, see: LoRa - Wikipedia - This is similar in concept to Zwave LR (but HE doesn't support that either - yet, but the proper radio HW is in the C8 and later hubs - So HE will likely support ZwaveLR in the future). - So YoLink devices are registered in the YoLink eco-system, then HE talks to the YoLink cloud/API (until Matter comes to the YoLink world - Also in the future). So for now, to get long range, and higher power, you need YoLink over LoRa WAN connected to HE via their cloud API
Once you have Yolink up, devices registered in your own phone app, their cloud account setup, then see:
For the details of HE integration.. - Best installed from HPM. - Say Thx to Steve..
Sorry if I was unclear earlier, I assumed you we're familiar with LoRa WAN
Yolink door sensors are installed with the (relatively) inexpensive hub ($25). I just had to swallow my pride and add yet another hub to my home automation :-).
The antenna coil (inside the Yolink door sensor) is VERY impressive. So far, it has tamed my faraday cage.
Here is the rule; any comments would be appreciated! I sure would like the HB Zone Motion Controller to support contact sensors :-).
I might not, if I actually tried it, but it seems like a logical fit.
Obviously, you should put a time parameter on the condition, so that it only notifies you is its open and after a certain length of time.
