Zigbee motion detector recommendations?

Anyone using any motion detectors that work really well for light control that they would recommend? I am moving over from smarttthings and have been using their brand - but they have always been less than reliable. I also use a two Aeotec MultiSensor 6 MultiSensor 6: Z-Wave motion, light, temperature sensor. But they are slow and the lux reading is very very random. Any recommendations would be appreciated. :slight_smile:

Lowes Iris motion sensor is the way to go. It’s small, fast, reliable, temp reading and with a extra bonus of no false motion like ST sensor.

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NYCE motion sensors, both ceiling and wall mount, are good quality with a 5 year battery life.

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Keeping in mind the upcoming Motion Detection Zones app, I’d suggest the Xioami Aqara Motion Sensor as a low-cost solution (as low as $12.50 each via AliExpress if you don’t mind waiting a couple weeks for China EMS -> USPS ePacket delivery.)

I am using them in tandem with a few other (more expensive) PIR devices, to keep costs down. They are tiny - only 1 1/16" diameter and 1 1/4" tall, with an equally small mounting bracket.

They only send motion detected messages with a hardware reset of 60 seconds, but the device handler I’ve shared takes care of automatically sending a motion inactive event at the time of your choosing. I’ve had great luck using them as PIR lighting triggers for me.

Lux is also reported, but only some milliseconds before or after the motion detected message (to save on battery usage), so I imagine setting up a rule that delays action on the motion trigger until lux can be evaluated might be the best way to deal with that.

Caveat Emptor: It being a “cheap” Chinese sensor intended to work specifically with their own ZigBee hub solution, I was skeptical myself, so I ordered one to do testing with, and now I have half a dozen with plans to get more.

The question is. Does it work well with repeaters? I have 4 aqara temp/humid sensors and they work great with direct connect to the hub but not so much with repeaters.

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thanks for the suggestions. I will defiantly take a look at all of these and see which make sense.
The zone Motion App looks interesting - several sensors working to prevent false positives will be nice. Or covering a large room. I am going to have to play with this :sunglasses:.

I have tried quite a few and find the iris sensors to be the fastest and most reliable.

This app was released, sans fan fair about two versions ago...
Zone Motion Controllers

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Mike
I can’t believe you kept it quiet!!
Thank you SO much for this app

Andy

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I’m using the Sylvania Lightify. Is the same Centralite sensor as the Iris, just a different housing, and $10 less

Are you sure they are the same sensor internally? The page you linked says the Lightify uses a CR2450. The Lowes Iris uses a CR2 (at least the version that is compatible with ST and Hubitat).

It also has a smaller field of view. 100 degrees vs 120 degrees for the iris.

I raced Iris, Lightify, and ST against Aeon 6-1.
In most tests, Lightify was the fastest. However, all three Centralites are very fast; and depending on the movement direction, Iris or ST could also win.

Aeons are nothing but a total joke. I have a whole bunch of them but now only use them for humidity.

BTW, on a good day, ST/cloud processing costs at least 300-400ms.

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I’m getting a trio of Xiaomi motion sensors. I’ll see how they work for speed-on routines. If they’re rough, I’ll probably just use for delay-off instead.

Yes, a good question which I personally don't have to worry about since I'm not wealthy and have a small house! :laughing:

I'd expect any other Xiaomi devices to all have the same issues the same brands of repeaters. Some users like @NoWon have been testing how Xiaomi devices get along with different repeaters, can have a look near the end of this thread.

But yes, until a particular repeater device has been verifiably confirmed to play well with Xiaomi devices, I suppose it's a probable deal-breaker for the large-home owners here.

Makes me miss the Iris sales, got all of mine for 10-12 bucks. I’ve never spent more than 20 on a single sensor I don’t think. The NYCE ones for $50 are crazy! And BIG!

I vote Iris as well, WAY better than the ST or any z-wave motion sensor.

Fair point. I don’t know for sure. They seem very similar and are both made by Centralite. CR2450 and CR2 are both 3V and both roughly 600 mAh, so it may have been a choice based on the available space. Can’t speak to the spec of the field of view, vs the real world use since I don’t have an Iris to test against. It does catch me quite easily as I walk by the side of it from behind. As @mag has confirmed, it is very fast and I find it very sensitive. I have it above our linen closet door at the top of our stairs. When anyone steps on the first step at the bottom of the stairs, it turns on the upstairs hall light.

It is fully compatible with ST using the SmartSense Motion Sensor DTH and I’m now using it with Hubitat using the Generic Zigbee Motion Sensor driver, and it has been peforming its duty flawlessly, It was very fast with ST, but now it’s instant on every time with Hubitat. Wherever I don’t need a motion sensor with ambient light measurment, I would definitely buy more of these.

CR2 batteries are typically 800-850mAh, a bit of a bump in capacity over the CR2450. That’s another reason why I like the Iris; it does well outdoors with a little rainproofing given the right placement and have performed great the last two winters I’ve used them here in the Northeast (all the way down to the -15F cold snap we had last month).

The OP wasn’t asking for an outdoor sensor, but good to know.

I know; and the Iris isn’t spec’d as an outdoor sensor (my application is definitely off-label, but works).

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