Z-wave Plus motion sensor recommendations

[jmbraben]

I have some aging Insteon MS I need to replace, I'd consider the MSII, but opinion seems to be battery life is very bad and these are in protected outdoor locations, but not where I can USB power them.

My new ISY has Z-wave support, would like to know if anyone would recommend (or discourage) any particular Z-Wave motion sensors that works with the ISY based on their experiences...primary criteria being battery life and secondly speed of response.

TIA

[adamthp]

@jmbraben

I'm loving my Aeotec multisensor 6s, but I have them hardwired so not sure about battery life/performance. These are my only z-wave motion sensors so nothing to compare to, but they are working great. 

[lilyoyo1]

I have the fibaro and dome motion sensors. Both work really great. I prefer the bracket that the fibaro uses over the dome as it allows you to aim it better.

[simplextech]

Not all Z-Wave motion sensors are created equal.  If you are looking for a fast responding motion sensor the dome and fibaro are both pretty quick with fibaro being the most expensive.  I have had some issues with my fibaro in my new ISY not sure what the issue is just yet.  The Zooz ZSE18 is also a decent motion (no other sensors) and the magnetic mount is nice.  The ZSE18 is not as fast as the dome or fibaro but is cheaper and has less false positives than the dome.  The dome is the same as the discontinued zooz ZSE09.

For a very fast motion only the Zooz ZSE02 is great.  Downside is the thing is huge so for outdoor it might be fine but not something that looks ok inside unless it's on the ceiling or some where out of plain site.  

For Z-Wave stuff you will notice that I do recommend a lot of Zooz stuff.  Two reasons. One the stuff works well and it's decently priced.  The main retailer thesmartesthouse.com is fast to respond to support and RMA bad items.

Fibaro is also quality z-wave but expensive and sometimes questionable as they deviate from z-wave standards to make things work well with their own controller.  Sadly I must say I have no experience with Aeotec sensors.

[jmbraben]

Thanks...how is the battery life on the Zooz? Can you generalize that? Or every product different?

The ZSE18 would probably be something I'd try, but they are out of stock...they have the multi sensor ZSE40, but not sure if all this stuff is "plug and play"...as the ZSE40 appears to be the same as the monoprice "15902", it does make me wonder who really makes this stuff.

I guess they're mostly based on the same chipsets (right?)...but does that mean there is any commonality in support by the isy? I probably should just buy a ZSE40 and try it out, but hate to waste time if there will be many issues.

[simplextech]

23 minutes ago, jmbraben said:

Thanks...how is the battery life on the Zooz? Can you generalize that? Or every product different?

 

This does tend to vary by product and by battery type/quality and device usage.  I find myself replacing batteries in some sensors every couple of months and others twice a year.  It just depends on how much activity a sensor responds to.

24 minutes ago, jmbraben said:

The ZSE18 would probably be something I'd try, but they are out of stock...they have the multi sensor ZSE40, but not sure if all this stuff is "plug and play"...as the ZSE40 appears to be the same as the monoprice "15902", it does make me wonder who really makes this stuff.

There are a lot of devices that look the same and are basically the same.  Monoprice, zooz, neo, dome, etc but there are generally some subtle differences in the firmware changes done by the respective vendor.  The zooz vs monoprice are good examples of lots of people have and use the zooz and then have problems with the monoprice... why?  Dunno.. I don't have a monoprice to compare with.

26 minutes ago, jmbraben said:

I probably should just buy a ZSE40 and try it out, but hate to waste time if there will be many issues.

I don't know how "nicely" this will play with the ISY.  But if you give me an hour or so I'll tell you   I need to get one of mine and include it with the ISY.  

[jmbraben]

21 minutes ago, simplextech said:

I don't know how "nicely" this will play with the ISY.  But if you give me an hour or so I'll tell you   I need to get one of mine and include it with the ISY.  

Sweet! Thanks for the help.

Currently I'm running 5.0.13D and 6.81.00 on the zwave module (if it matters)

[simplextech]

31 minutes ago, jmbraben said:

Sweet! Thanks for the help.

Currently I'm running 5.0.13D and 6.81.00 on the zwave module (if it matters)

I'm running 5.0.14.

ZSE40v2 includes fine...but....not all sensors are created mainly motion.  So I would not recommend the ZSE40v2 for use as a motion sensor as that device/node does not get created correctly in the ISY.  This may be a security issue or device issue.  I have had issues with this device with other controllers as well though.  I plan on doing some more testing with this later on tonight so I may have more info/details later. 

In reading the forum it seems that ISY and z-wave multi-sensors are still not up to par yet with other z-wave controllers, so it may be best to just go with a motion sensor rather than a multi-sensor?  

I also have a ZSE09 which is the same as the dome and it so far works fine for motion.  The illuminance is questionable, but sadly it has always been questionable with every controller I've tested it with.

The ZSE18 which thesmartesthouse.com sells is the same as the HS-MS100+ from HomeSeer.  HomeSeer has it "on order" on their website but it is available on Amazon. The Dome motion sensor is also available on Amazon.

But I have to ask.... Why are ou looking for a z-wave motion sensor and not using the Insteon Motion Sensor II?  

[simplextech]

I tried including the ZSE40v2 again and this time it included and created every device as it should and motion is working fine.  I'll let it sit for a while and see if the temp/humidity/illuminance start feeding in data.

Partial verdict:  temperamental inclusion, but so far working.

[jmbraben]

The biggest reason I'm not keen on the Insteon MSII is everyone says the battery life is horrible (kills batteries quickly)...I'm fine retrieving and replacing batteries once/year, but once/month would be a pain.

Maybe I'm naive about the zwave batteries...these are located in places where only maybe 10 or so activations/per day...but that is primary concern.

Any insight is appreciated.

[simplextech]

1 minute ago, jmbraben said:

The biggest reason I'm not keen on the Insteon MSII is everyone says the battery life is horrible (kills batteries quickly)...I'm fine retrieving and replacing batteries once/year, but once/month would be a pain.

Maybe I'm naive about the zwave batteries...these are located in places where only maybe 10 or so activations/per day...but that is primary concern.

Any insight is appreciated.

I just got my MSII so I have no experience with them yet in regards to battery life.  I can say with different z-wave motion sensors it comes down to.

• Sensors
  • Motion only or does it have multiple sensors?
  • Polling frequency for all of the sensors?
  • Motion activity?

I can blow through batteries every month in a multi-sensor by setting all of the parameters really low and doing constant temp/humidity/lux updates no problem.  Or I can turn things around and make the batteries last by disabling the features I'm not using for that particular sensor.  

I'm suspecting the same would be true for the MSII as it also has temp/lux sensors.  I'm going to find out as I just installed another one today replacing a z-wave sensor.  (I'm replacing as I'm doing testing of Insteon stuff).

[danbutter]

This may not be for you as you said you couldn't power via usb so you likely can't power via 120v either, but this one works well if you have a location where it could be installed:

 

[jmbraben]

1 hour ago, simplextech said:

MSII as it also has temp/lux sensors

To my understanding the MSII does not have temp, and only lux is "day"'/"night", and on at least the first gen, there is limited configuration.

Again, I really appreciate your input...thanks

[simplextech]

The two I have have temp and illuminance...

 

[jmbraben]

On 2/4/2019 at 10:39 PM, simplextech said:

The two I have have temp and illuminance...

Wow...I read the website description and smarthome manual and do not see that. Cool! What is your battery life like? Thanks again.

[simplextech]

2 minutes ago, jmbraben said:

Wow...I read the website description and smarthome manual and do not see that. Cool! What is your battery life like? Thanks again.

I'll tell you when I change the battery!

I just installed that one this week and another one last week so they are both very new.  

I have noticed and someone else also said the same that the temp/lux don't seem to update on battery unless queried.  However, I did setup a program to use the lux as a condition and so far that "seems" to be working??? but I can't confirm yes/no just yet as it hasn't been very funny the last couple of days here.

[jmbraben]

On 2/6/2019 at 10:50 PM, simplextech said:

I'll tell you when I change the battery!

I just installed that one this week and another one last week so they are both very new.  

Smart home has the msii on sale today for $20, I was curious how the battery levels are holding up... only a month,  but if they've dropped significantly, it would good to know

[simplextech]

So far they are holding up just fine.  I haven't had the need to change out a battery yet.  If I can trust the battery level shown in the ISY Admin Console then one of my MSII's batteries is at 79% and this is in the Kitchen (high traffic area).  

[lilyoyo1]

I have a few of the insteon motion sensors controlling my underbed lights. Battery life hasn't been an issue so far. Mine have been in place for about 8 months now.