I’m looking to get a motion sensor to mount over my front door and trigger my front porch lights as someone walks up. Looks like there are a few different options. Is there one motion sensor that’s considered “the best”?
this has been asked several times and a few current threads.
I’ve been using HomeSeer HSM100-S3 Z-Wave Multi Sensor outdoors with excellent results.
Doesn’t trigger with rain
Actually “the best” would be thousands of dollars and are used in high security installations. Most of the cheap ones, including all the zwave specific models, will usually last only a year or two if actually exposed to sun and precipitation.
I’ve been using HomeSeer HSM100-S3 Z-Wave Multi Sensor outdoors with excellent results.
Doesn’t trigger with rain[/quote]
Bulldoglowell, have you noticed whether the Homeseer requires increasing its sensitivity setting for night use? I’ve experienced (and the mfr confirms this) that the Aeotec 4-in-1 is much less sensitive at night. See my recent post in this same forum section.
Are there z-wave-compatible cameras that can be used to detect motion in a specific masked area of the image area? It would be interesting to know if there are applications when such a camera would be better suited to the job than a PIR sensor, and vice versa. Good luck with your search. Let us know what you end up using and how well it works out.
Save yourself some time and money and get a 19$ Home Depot motion flood or any other motion activated light and then install a Z-Wave light switch on that switch.
Make sure the Z-Wave switch is NOT dimmable.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Heath-Zenith-150-Degree-Outdoor-Grey-Motion-Sensing-Security-Light-SL-5411-GR/100645214?N=5yc1vZc7qfZ1z0sjx6Z1z10h40
You will not have Z-Wave motion for automation, but the lights will turn on and off automatically with motion outside and you will be able to turn the light on and off remotely.
I think this is the best bang for our buck. Especially with the cold weather we have, outdoor motions will not last but a season or two.
[quote=“Jamr, post:7, topic:180888”]Save yourself some time and money and get a 19$ Home Depot motion flood or any other motion activated light and then install a Z-Wave light switch on that switch.
Make sure the Z-Wave switch is NOT dimmable.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Heath-Zenith-150-Degree-Outdoor-Grey-Motion-Sensing-Security-Light-SL-5411-GR/100645214?N=5yc1vZc7qfZ1z0sjx6Z1z10h40
You will not have Z-Wave motion for automation, but the lights will turn on and off automatically with motion outside and you will be able to turn the light on and off remotely.
I think this is the best bang for our buck. Especially with the cold weather we have, outdoor motions will not last but a season or two.[/quote]
yeah, you can even transmit the one pulse or two pulse signal to activate always on or motion on…
I was too lazy to type that but that is exactly what I was thinking…lol
If you want a really good outdoor system you will need to get an alarm panel with a zwave interface. Then you can use good quality wired outdoor detectors. You can also add inexpensive interior wired detectors and also wired smoke alarms. Before buying a lot a zwave motion detectors and fire alarms consider getting an alarm panel and using as many wired devices as possible.
[quote=“Jamr, post:7, topic:180888”]Save yourself some time and money and get a 19$ Home Depot motion flood or any other motion activated light and then install a Z-Wave light switch on that switch.
Make sure the Z-Wave switch is NOT dimmable.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Heath-Zenith-150-Degree-Outdoor-Grey-Motion-Sensing-Security-Light-SL-5411-GR/100645214?N=5yc1vZc7qfZ1z0sjx6Z1z10h40
You will not have Z-Wave motion for automation, but the lights will turn on and off automatically with motion outside and you will be able to turn the light on and off remotely.
I think this is the best bang for our buck. Especially with the cold weather we have, outdoor motions will not last but a season or two.[/quote]
I had this and I intentionally took them out and have started putting in aeon micro dimmers instead. Here are my reasons:
[ul][li]I can more easily adjust ALL the lights on time (using any duration I want).[/li]
[li]I can link more than 1 light to a motion sensor. for instance any of my motion sensors trigger, and all the back lights go on.[/li]
[li]I can turn on lights based on other events besides motion (I’m within .25 mile of the house, turn on the front lights; party mode keeps them on all the time if it’s night)[/li]
[li]I can monitor which motion sensors are tripped and if more than 2 are hit in a sequence, light up all lights. For instance, someone moving around the house[/li]
[li]If I have audio outside and a way to control it from Vera, I can do a voice warning (someone on here I think does that)[/li]
[li]I can turn on cameras and take pictures/video based on motion[/li][/ul]
I could list more. The point is that with a motion sensor tied into the Vera, I have a lot more options than just turning on the lights when there is motion. It might be that z-wave motion sensor are not the right tool for the job. I’m not sure if there are any good alarm panel exterior motion sensors, but if you have an alarm panel, you could use those instead.
However, I understand that yes, this is the more expensive route. It all depends on what your use cases are.
It doesn’t take much work to add a Z-Wave micro switch to a low-cost mains-operated outdoor motion sensor (with or without the light). Then you can have all the advantages of Z-Wave and no batteries to change. You do need a motion sensor with a relay output (listen for the click). Most of the budget Chinese-made units I’ve seen have relays.
I have seen some units that have sufficient space inside to take a micro switch. The ones I used didn’t so I put the Fibaro module into the wall-box on the other side of the wall.
Just to clarify… you are wiring in the microswitch in between the motion sensor and the light itself - yes? Basically the sensor is the “wall switch”
Yes. See diagram.
The Z-Wave module needs to be one that accepts a mains-voltage input. I use Fibaro FGS211 and FGS221.