Hello All,
So, I have tried the HSM100 and each time, I just want to spike the thing into the ground. LOL seems to never work right and if it does, the battery gets sucked down very fast. I don’t have the ability to provide power to each so battery is a must. Once I find a good working solution, I want probably 8 of them so I don’t want to invest in battery hogs or junk.
My hope is to ask for guidance toward the BEST zwave motion sensor to date.
Needs:
Good battery life
Motion
Indoor/outdoor a big plus
Light sensor (no reason to burn lights during day when triggered)
Humidity, temp…these things mean very little to me and my needs.
I’m ready to order different sensors and have no problem scraping the HSM100
Hoping others can post from their experience.
I realize there are many posts on motion, many are older.
What I seek is current opinions on the latest options.
Thanks in advance!!
Shawn
it’s interesting how the same product, likely to have been manufactured in the same factory, used in similar applications can produce such divergent results.
I have 4 of these around our courtyard, outdoors in a very humid environment, extremely hot in the summer (SoFla) and they see a reasonable level of motion (two kids, three nephews literally running in circles around the pool) mostly every day.
I looked and the last one I put in was done in October and the battery still reports 100%. The others almost a year and have the original batteries.
Too bad you have been on the other side of the bell curve on this one.
You can send me yours if you decide to toss it!
Agreed. I have the aeon 4 in 1 and aside from the initial setup issues, they have been flawless for me. I have 3 in place right now. I do wish the battery would last longer, but I am getting about 5 months on a set and to me that is ok.
Others on this forum hate these sensors and have troubles. I really think battery operated sensors are built from the factory with personalities. You have to talk nice to them.
Aeotec?s Z-Wave MultiSensor
I bought two of these with my Vera and have flashed them several times to the latest firmware supplied from Aeotec. I have been unable to get them to function reliable on battery power, even with them within line of site of the Vera. I have to constantly triple press the button (10 minute wake up), in which case they function fairly well during that period. As soon as they go into power saving mode. Wakeups are very rarely reported and sometimes go days before reporting to Vera. When motion is detected and reported to the Vera it remains tripped for days or until I tripped press. Put a wall or hop into the mix and forget it. I have written these two motion sensors off as a learning experience and have put them in the junk pile ? maybe they can be resurrected with a future firmware update.
MonoPrice (noname) Motion Sensor
I ordered one of these after reading about them here. I placed it where one of the above Aeotec?s could not communicate with the Vera (even when it was powered by a portable USB power supply). A floor and several walls between it and the Vera unit. It has worked just fine right out of the box. Sometimes there is a small delay from detection until the light comes on. I am sure it is due to the hops required to get back to Vera. I am waiting for MonoPrice to replenish their inventory and I will be ordering more of these. I did not move this sensor around and try in different locations. It worked where I first placed it, so I did not tempt fate and left it alone.
Ecolink Z-Wave Motion Sensor PIR-ZWAVE2
I waiting for 1 of these to arrive and will post my observations after I test it out.
Everspring SP103 Z-Wave PIR Motion Detector
I waiting for 2 of these to arrive and will post my observations after I test them out.
Thanks Guys…
No surprise, mixed reviews and results darn it…seems to be the norm with these devices and Vera. I was considering trying the Aeotec next. As posted, some love it, some hate it. Was very surprised to hear you are happy with the HSM100 Bulldoglowell. I live in N Central FL, my sensor is indoor and still full of problems.
Maybe more folks will chime in too and we can get some additional input and opinions.
Thanks for the posts!!
I also have the HSM (gen 3) with great success. I have them hard wired so can’t confirm battery experienced. It also has the most customized features (all via Vera/Z-Wave)
If your having your batteries drain in under 2 months (like days), you probably have enabled the “Stay Awake” mode under device options in Vera device tab…it should be set to 0. You’ll need to change this, reboot vera, and reconfigure the device for it to switch to the battery.
I use the Everspring SP103 (now discontinued) Outdoors. However, everywhere they get rained on they have failed (and everpring warranty support is non-existent). Under the roof eves, they are reliable.
http://www.smarthome.com/65450/Everspring-SP103-Z-Wave-PIR-Motion-Detector/p.aspx
These are battery powered and last about 2-3 months. Delay is about 3-5 seconds on battery power. Tripped/Not tripped is a manual screw adjustment and can’t be done via Z-Wave. I plan to hard wire to them in the next year along with some additional IR illuminators (for night cameras). They are very sensitive (will pick up a cat or raccoon at 8 meters)…but unlike the HSM, have no sensitivity adjustment (manual or via Z-Wave)
I was unimpressed with the Schlage motion sensor and returned it after a few days.
The problem with any battery powered is the delay. My inside hard wire are sub-second. Everspring battery powered sensors takes 3-5 seconds to trip as their ir motion detector is powered down most of the time.
Very nice…I will have to do some settings checks this evening when I get back home.
I really appreciate the input and detailed explanation…
Would like very much to make what I have work and get more.
Like the look and features of the unit…
Just want it work as you can imagine.
Will give it a try and let ya know…
Thx
Some more mixed reviews. I have the Schlage motion sensors and they work really well. I wish they had more options for sensitivity, but they do work well. I sue them to detect motion into my kitchen and then I use it for motion on my porch. My only complaint is that it picks up cars driving by 100’ away which is annoying as I use it to turn on my front porch lights.
The Aeon ones I have mixed feelings on as well. I bought 3 so far, one is on it’s way back. The other two, however, seem to work well where I have them.
I didn’t realize the sp103 was outdoor capable. Seeing that they are in the $31 range that makes them comparable to the monoprice.
I have two of the monoprice and had them such a short time I can’t really comment on battery drain but so far I really like their range. They were easy to setup and they show the temperature which was very useful in my garage.
I believe I will get a couple of the sp103’s for some outdoor detection. Or would I be ahead of the game to get an outdoor camera with motion detection included?
Thanks for the info.
[quote=“Bulldoglowell, post:2, topic:180158”]it’s interesting how the same product, likely to have been manufactured in the same factory, used in similar applications can produce such divergent results.
I have 4 of these around our courtyard, outdoors in a very humid environment, extremely hot in the summer (SoFla) and they see a reasonable level of motion (two kids, three nephews literally running in circles around the pool) mostly every day.
I looked and the last one I put in was done in October and the battery still reports 100%. The others almost a year and have the original batteries.
Too bad you have been on the other side of the bell curve on this one.
You can send me yours if you decide to toss it![/quote]
All–
I too have had good experience with the EzMotion+ (HSM100 version 3). As bad as the version 1 and version 2’s were, the version 3 is a stellar performer. I have 9 EzMotion+ and have had 6 of the EZMotion 1 and 2. I would not have believed a year ago that EZMotion+ would be a reliable performer.
Battery usage on the version 3’s is very good. Have used all 9 without battery replacement for 9 months. They still show 80-100% battery life.
Don
Thanks guys…
Maybe this will help someone else too :o)
You were RIGHT AgileHumor - Sure enough, the stay awake was set to 60 
I have updated the setting as suggested and attached a copy of the device settings below.
Please review and let me know your thoughts.
This would be great if that’s all that was needed.
Hopeful…!!!
Here is the only other thing I could think of for consideration…
Wakeup interval (seconds): 3600
Poll this node at most once every: 10800
I choose the Everspring SP103 allow it to easily pointed down/up to tweak the coverage area.
Camera based motion sensors are too false positive based on feedback from this board (I don’t have any that support it). You need IR to ensure cloud cover shadows won’t cause your sensor to trip.
you are transmitting on changes of light of <7>.
was there a reason you needed to see such small changes in light level?
your on time is short too, but i don’t know how it is being used.
reducing the actions that fire a signal to Vera are also ways to help improve battery life
1- Sensitivity - I use 5-75 as i have a cat
2- My on time depends on the area. 3 minutes for hallways, 10 minutes for kitchen, 5 minutes for bathroom with door open, 30 minutes for bathroom with door closed, 20 minutes living room/bedroom/office
3 - LED on as i’m still testing (and hard wire so battery not a concern)
4 - I don’t use light threshold. Vera has motion scenes on/off when motion is tripped when armed. Arming controls whether it is active. 100 fires all the time regardless of light level
5 - Already discussed. Note - If hardwired, this is enabled.
6 - On value = Dimming level (20%) 255 means On (full)
7 - Adjust temp up or down to fix off sensor or if it is placed high in the room (4-5 degrees warmer)
WakeUp - I use 1800 for all my battery device as I am tweaking settings constantly. This is a 15 minutes to check in for a heal for example…and update of light/temp values.
Polling, I poll every 60 seconds. If the device is asleep per wakeup interval above, the poll is skipped. YMMV
We simply pass through that workout room heading around to the bedroom, this is why so short. I can adjust the light from 7 too?? What would you suggest?
I remembered why I had the stay awake setup now…
It was working great for the first few tests I tried after adjusting the STAY AWAKE setting to zero.
Now, after a few minutes though, it stops working.
I have to hit the blue button before it will recognize motion again Grrrr
Any thoughts?
I have surveillance system as well and can say I am less than impressed with camera motion as well…
WAY too many false variables when used outside.
I use 100, but I am not really using the sensors’ light feature.
That is probably the default setting, I don’t think I ever changed it.
Thanks for taking the time, will check them out and report back ;o)