Need some advice. Bedrooms- can lights. I see 2 options- occupancy sensor switches- lights switch off if they don't sense movement in x amount of time.
Or a z-wave switch with motion sense. Is there any significant advantage of having the additional cost with the z-wave?
The advantage to a light switch with a radio in it would be that you can then use multiple external motion sensors to capture movement in the rooms, and place it in a more appropriate location for that. If you have just a motion sensor on the switch for use in a bedroom, you're going to be in the dog house. Lights will go out all the time in a bedroom when someone is reading, watching TV, etc. Furniture will sometimes block the IR sensor too.
Generally I wouldn't suggest motion sensors in bedrooms, unless it's to turn the light off after something like an hour of no movement. I wouldn't put one in at all unless mounted to the ceiling or multiple sensors are used to capture movement.
I have motion sensors in my bedroom....you just have to be smart about the logic you use to control them. For example, my motion rules for my bedroom will only turn the lights off if they are above 95% and only if other things, like the TV, are not on. That way, if I walk in to put laundry down, they lights will turn on automatically and then turn off automatically. But if I'm laying in bed watching tv, then they will not turn off automatically. And I only read in bed with the lights dimmed below 100%, so they won't turn off automatically then either. Also, I use mode to control them not turning on while I'm sleeping. Works well for me.
As far as your question goes, you don't state what you would use instead of the z-wave switch with the motion sensors being separate. If you mean something like smartbulbs....well, that is a big debate among HA enthusiasts. Smart Bulbs are great cause they're cheaper and require less trouble for installation. However, you have no control over them if your Hubitat were to go down for whatever reason. So, that's a trade off. You can always go with a z-wave or zigbee dimmer along with separate motion sensors. Then you just loose the automatic part if Hubitat goes down but you retain full dimming control of the lights.
FYI, this is the rule I use to control motion in my bedroom. This has been perfected over 3 years using first webCoRE and then RM. So, I've spent a lot of time tweaking it. It works for me and might work for you too.
