I have two side gates to my backyard. I have contemplated finding some type of lock for them, but I'm afraid it will make things tougher for me to physically lock them than it is worth. One such example is we have a pest-control guy that comes, usually when we are not home, and he needs to get access to our backyard. I also had a scary event where I had a gas-leak while I was on vacation. The fire department narrowed it down to our backyard to a cracked gas pipe. They were able to open the gate without destroying anything. I would rather just KNOW when someone comes and goes via the gate. I was thinking of some type of Zigbee or Z-Wave sensor and create rules for my Hubitat to notify me when tripped. I do not want it to be an optical motion detector, although I guess it could be an optical beam interrupt. I could probably build one with a microcontroller and a garage-door safety sensor but I'd rather save myself the effort and hopefully money by purchasing a relatively inexpensive device to detect when the gate is open.
there are a lot of great diy gate sensors in the community. Just search outdoor gate sensor and you'll get some great ideas. There's nothing in the market that you can buy without modifying unless you want to buy sensative strips. Too expensive for my taste and the reviews aren't all t hat reassuring. Good luck with your gate. I'll be excited to read about your project once you get it going.
I have a gen2 smartthings multi sensor (contact sensor) on my side gate. It has lasted 2 winters and 2 summers so far. Freezing rain and 110F temps in summer, with some afternoon direct sunlight exposure. I was going to add caulk or something to help weather proof it, but figured this would be a good stress test to see how long it lasts.
Battery dies faster when its cold in winter, but not too bad relative to my garage sensors.
If it dies, i will prob replace it with a sensor with external contacts or an esp32 device located in my garage and run wires to the gate for a contact sensor as this should be bulletproof
Linking an older post of mine. Still working great.
The monoprice recessed sensor is probably one of the better options. I have one, but was lazy on a side gate and simply wrapped a Visonic contact sensor in a couple layers of saran wrap, and it's been working fine for over a year now. The sensor is not in direct sunlight, so the saran wrap isn't getting eaten alive by too many burning rays.
I have two smatthings sensors on outside gates, I sprayed them with gutter sealing paint that is rubberized. When it's time to change the battery I'll peel it off, change and spray again. No problems with either of them at the moment and they were the only ones with the range I needed out of the few I tested.
I think the Monoprice Z-Wave Plus sensor looks like it will work well for me. NOW, I'm looking for a chime that I can have this sensor trigger. I am not wanting a loud siren, just a pleasant-sounding chime or notification. This is not intended to be an alarm but just a notifier that the gate has been opened. I am hoping to have two of these, one for inside the house and another for my "office", which is a detached from the house.
I used this article as a guide to add a contact sensor to my gate. It has worked extremely well.
i put my ecolink zwave plus sensor on the gate.. inside a zip loc bag.. has worked fine.. but the metail gate causes issues.. i also put an ultra strong neodinium (sp) magnet on the gate door instead of the normal magnet.
No enclosure or shelter at all??
There's this z-wave plus outdoor contact sensor. You can't change the battery but it's supposed to last a few years.
Iris V1 contact sensors work well outside. They are cheap and do not require any kind of weather proofing modifications.
I beleive you linked the wrong product, this is a Temp/Lux sensor. ?
You are correct. Here's the correct link.
they say right in docs they dont work on metal gates etc and i tried and it did not
I've got a Sensative on my wooden gate. The one biggest drawback, and why I'd be reluctant to buy again, is it's really complicated waving magnets around in particular patterns to pair and unpair. It took ages to work out how to pair it with my SmartThings hub, and now I am finding it impossible to unpair and pair with Hubitat because presumably I am not waving the magnet around in the right direction or at the right speed. While trying to follow the complicated choreography you're also meant to be observing a tiny green light which is set against a green painted dot of the same colour - meaning in anything other than darkness you can't tell if the light has blinked or not.
Iām using the Wyze ones with an IFTTT virtual switch. I also put a Wyze motion sensor (not the cam) out there as well as a backup.
I bought a Sonof contact sensor. Under Ā£12 a pop, with the help of a driver found in Hubitat Package Manager, works a treat. Looks pretty weather proof to me.
I have an Iris v2 motion sensor and an echo dot installed outdoors in a wet coastal environment. The dot is going on 3 years now sitting on open deck with just the bottom of a peanut butter jar as a cover. The Iris is under an eaves but I'm sure it gets hit by driving rains. It's been one of my best outdoor temperature monitors for about 2 years now.
