small motion sensor

Other Devices & Integrations Door Locks & Sensors
#1

I searched through the supported hardware page and looked up products but it’s difficult to find sizes for some of the motion sensors. I was wondering if you all could suggest the smallest motion sensor supported by the Vera. I have a couple of these:

but they are a little big for my liking. Really, the Iris motion sensors at Lowes are an awesome size but it appears that these are unfortunately zigbee.

#2

I have one Aeon Labs 4-n-1 sensor, one EZMotion 3-n-1 sensor, several CA9000 motion sensors, and several Schlage Nexia RS200HC motion sensors.The Schlage Nexia RS200HC motion sensor is the smallest one of the four types I use with my Vera 3 system. None are as small as the Iris motion sensor which is not Z-wave.

#3

Thanks, I’ll check out the RS200HC. Appreciate the help!

#4

I would think a more important question … is what is the most reliable motion sensor …
You would likely be better served with a “Wired” motion sensor from an Alarm system connected via a Z-Wave contact switch … Most of the Z-Wave motion sensors are quite lacking in customer satisfaction.

#5

[quote=“RichardTSchaefer, post:4, topic:177071”]…
Most of the Z-Wave motion sensors are quite lacking in customer satisfaction.[/quote]

In what respect? The Aeon 4-in-1’s features look attractive. I read about some of the setup problems, but apparently the newer devices work with Vera. What difficulties should I expect? I would power this from USB.

Thanks.

#6

[quote=“RichardTSchaefer, post:4, topic:177071”]I would think a more important question … is what is the most reliable motion sensor …
You would likely be better served with a “Wired” motion sensor from an Alarm system connected via a Z-Wave contact switch …[/quote]

A more important question for your needs perhaps, not mine. My use is to simply turn some lights on and off so reliability takes a back seat to size. I have a separate (non z-wave) security system with good reliable motion sensors.

#7

So it’s ok for the device not to detect motion, and trip lights? Or to detect it late?

If you read back through this sub-forum, you’ll see a long history of the issues people have had with the battery powered Z-Wave based Motion devices. Some of the newer ones may be better, but the likes of the HSM-100’s (Gen1,2,3), ACT HomePOS (etc) have a long history of problems. I have a couple of these in a box in the garage as a result of their poor overall performance.

They often improve a little by being mains powered, but you’re still left with a small # of options.

Once you start wanting to get closer to presence-detection, you need detectors that are fast, have a wide sensitivity range (etc) in order to improve the speed at which lights (etc) come on.

There’s nothing worse than walking into a dark room 30% of the time because a device failed to detect, or detect & act, quickly.

I suspect this is all part of the reliability that Richard is referring to, and it’s why a number of us have integrated our Alarm systems - to give us choice over a wide range of available sensors, and ability to choose the ones with the specific characteristics we need (accuracy, false-detection, spread, size, placement, internal-external etc).

For smaller, powered, deployments you can also use the contact-sensor method in order to give yourself some choice. This gives you the advantage of access to a wide array of reliable motion detectors, in various shapes and sizes, without having to start out with a full-blown Alarm integration.

Out of interest, what make/model is the Alarm system?

#8

Yes, this is ok. Again, I’d much rather have lights turn on late or even not turn on at all than have a big motion sensor in the places I’m needing them put. I have 6 motion sensors set up already (3 from alarm system, and 3 from z-wave system) and they are larger than I’d like but I’m ok with that because of where they are located. In the new spots where I’m looking for motion detection, I definitely need smaller than what I currently have.

I have a Simon XT

#9

Fair enough.

I’d love to see something like a ceiling-mounted motion sensor, but merged into a powered device you already have in the room (like a Smoke/CO2 Sensor, or light fixture, to avoid batteries). Once you mount them up high, the issues of spread/coverage, and to some extent overall physical size, start to be less important (IMHO). Merging it with an existing ceiling-mounted, and powered, device would further ease the installation headaches.

I recently used a ceiling-mounted, and hard-wired, motion sensor and it’s something I’d use again for automation (as compared to wall-mounted). The coverage is great and it’s out of the way - esp once you turn off the detection LED’s. In my case though, it’s wired to my Alarm system (Paradox), so it’s not for everyone. It’d also be a lot more bulky if you had to power it externally. A version that provides direction-of-motion would be even better, as I’m sure you’ll find out soon.