Compatible Motion Sensors

[epete]

I am looking for a Motion Sensor that is compatible with ISY.  I have the ZWAVE module but no ZWAVE devices so I am not sure that is a good solution.  Insteon Motion Sensors are impossible to find anymore.  I have Polisy Pro but do not have it connected.  Still haven't quite figured it out with the limited time I have.  

Do folks have experience with Non Insteon Motion sensors that have some sort of connection to ISY that can be used?

 

[Javi]

I have gradually moved most motion/water/door sensors from Insteon to Z-Wave over the past few years and only have one wired Z-Wave switch. I have not yet had to replace a battery in a Z-Wave device, all the insteon sensors need battery replacements at least once a year.  

Anyway, this one has worked well for over 2 years without any issues and mounts easily in corners:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQXXG0I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[epete]

Thanks.  

[Techman]

2 hours ago, epete said:

I am looking for a Motion Sensor that is compatible with ISY.  I have the ZWAVE module but no ZWAVE devices so I am not sure that is a good solution.  Insteon Motion Sensors are impossible to find anymore.  I have Polisy Pro but do not have it connected.  Still haven't quite figured it out with the limited time I have.  

Do folks have experience with Non Insteon Motion sensors that have some sort of connection to ISY that can be used?

 

The Aeotec Zwave Multisensor 6 works flawlessly with the ISY and has great tech support from Aeotec. They are scheduled to release the Multisensor 7 but are delayed due to parts shortages. Their link is below.

MultiSensor 6 Z-Wave motion, light, temperature sensor (aeotec.com)

 

[RPerrault]

if you have the elk security module...

i hardwired a bosch to my elk security system

 

[epete]

Thanks everyone. The Aeotec looks like a nice device.  I may just wait on that to have a bit more availability.  Not sure I want to pay over $80 for it at the moment.

[lilyoyo1]

Id go with any 700 series motion sensor such as the zooz.

[JTsao]

I bought a Zooz ZSE40 700 series this week $36.95 - it is working well so far (for about 2 days) - what remains to be seen is battery life...

[Techman]

5 hours ago, epete said:

Thanks everyone. The Aeotec looks like a nice device.  I may just wait on that to have a bit more availability.  Not sure I want to pay over $80 for it at the moment.

The $80 price is from a 3rd party reseller, Aeotec usually sells them on Amazon for about $62

[Jimbo.Automates]

5 hours ago, JTsao said:

I bought a Zooz ZSE40 700 series this week $36.95 - it is working well so far (for about 2 days) - what remains to be seen is battery life...

I had purchased a Zooz ZSE11 a while back and liked it a lot, but what I didn't like is if you put the motion in a scene to turn on the scene, then when it timed out it would turn off the scene and there was no way I could find to ignore it.  So you are stuck with using programs to turn on scenes.  Support told me this, and I could find a way to do this with the ISY. 

Quote

There is currently no way to remove the "no motion" notification from the sensor to be sent to the hub. If you would like to remove it as a condition for a scene, you can simply create a scene based on the motion trigger and remove the "no motion" report from the triggers so that it doesn't turn the devices off for you - or is this not possible in the ISY hub?

Do you know if it's possible with the ZSE40?

On 3/4/2022 at 4:48 PM, Techman said:

The Aeotec Zwave Multisensor 6 works flawlessly with the ISY and has great tech support from Aeotec. They are scheduled to release the Multisensor 7 but are delayed due to parts shortages. Their link is below.

MultiSensor 6 Z-Wave motion, light, temperature sensor (aeotec.com)

What kind of battery life are you getting?  I tried one of these as well and the accuracy of the battery level reporting.

On 3/4/2022 at 2:09 PM, Javi said:

I have gradually moved most motion/water/door sensors from Insteon to Z-Wave over the past few years and only have one wired Z-Wave switch. I have not yet had to replace a battery in a Z-Wave device, all the insteon sensors need battery replacements at least once a year.  

Anyway, this one has worked well for over 2 years without any issues and mounts easily in corners:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQXXG0I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's an amazing claim of 5 years battery life!  Do they work in scene's and have the ability to ignore the off?

I still love the speed of the old Insteon MS's but they are a little ugly, and having to make educated guess when battery will die is annoying, or hoping the low battery gets sent out and received...

 

[JTsao]

46 minutes ago, JimboAutomates said:

what I didn't like is if you put the motion in a scene to turn on the scene, then when it timed out it would turn off the scene and there was no way I could find to ignore it.  So you are stuck with using programs to turn on scenes.

Due to the complex nature of jointly controlling lighting in rooms with both a motion detector and a manual (Insteon) switch, I never put the motion sensors into a scene - I use a state variable based state machine to coordinate turning on and off via MD or manually - I also have been using a GE Enbrighten z-wave plus in-wall motion sensor in my kitchen for a couple of years now it works great - one thing - I found a problem in the ISY-Polisy that you cannot set the timeout duration to greater than 127 seconds in the ZSE40 (parameter 5) - it should accept a full 8 bit value, but for some reason, the menu does not allow that, so the timeout can only be max. 127 seconds

 

[Jimbo.Automates]

21 minutes ago, JTsao said:

Due to the complex nature of jointly controlling lighting in rooms with both a motion detector and a manual (Insteon) switch, I never put the motion sensors into a scene - I use a state variable based state machine to coordinate turning on and off via MD or manually - I also have been using a GE Enbrighten z-wave plus in-wall motion sensor in my kitchen for a couple of years now it works great - one thing - I found a problem in the ISY-Polisy that you cannot set the timeout duration to greater than 127 seconds in the ZSE40 (parameter 5) - it should accept a full 8 bit value, but for some reason, the menu does not allow that, so the timeout can only be max. 127 seconds

 

Thanks, I've had the programming issues with using scenes figured out for a while. But if switching to z-wave I'm not sure there is a speed advantage over programs so may no longer be an issue, insteon in scenes are so fast...  

[asbril]

54 minutes ago, JimboAutomates said:

Thanks, I've had the programming issues with using scenes figured out for a while. But if switching to z-wave I'm not sure there is a speed advantage over programs so may no longer be an issue, insteon in scenes are so fast...  

Without the mythical "Association",  with Zwave there is no speed difference beween usng a Scene or a Program.

[matapan]

You can find Insteon motion sensors on eBay still.

if your setup is primarily Insteon based still, using an Insteon motion sensor has its advantages. The timeout period can be set to different values. The latency of the sensor is relatively minimal.

ZWave sensors are also an option, but the sensor may be affected by the number of devices on your ZWave network and where the sensor is located in relation to the ISY. I personally have on Schlage sensor which has a fixed timeout period. That can be a potential issue for certain applications. I don’t know about sensors from other companies.

X10 sensors might be a low cost alternative too. The X10 signal is wireless and would require a tranceiver near the ISY.

 

[bob123]

I have 3 new in box insteon motion detectors (not 2nd gen) - 2842-222, that I am not using.  Purchased them  about 5 years ago but used my ELK hardwired detectors instead.  If you are interested, make me an offer.

[Javi]

11 hours ago, JimboAutomates said:

That's an amazing claim of 5 years battery life!  Do they work in scene's and have the ability to ignore the off?

I still love the speed of the old Insteon MS's but they are a little ugly, and having to make educated guess when battery will die is annoying, or hoping the low battery gets sent out and received...

 

I've only had it for about 2.5 years, but it is in the main entry and living room, so with the family being home for the last two years due to covid it is being triggered all day long.  The only insteon motion sensor which I have not replaced is in the laundry, maybe triggered 5- 20 times a day, and I'm lucky if it lasts a year.

I also still have a few remaining Insteon Open close sensors with the same horrible battery life but have replaced most with low cost Z-Wave sensors with great battery life.

 

10 hours ago, JTsao said:

Due to the complex nature of jointly controlling lighting in rooms with both a motion detector and a manual (Insteon) switch, I never put the motion sensors into a scene - I use a state variable based state machine to coordinate turning on and off via MD or manually - I also have been using a GE Enbrighten z-wave plus in-wall motion sensor in my kitchen for a couple of years now it works great - one thing - I found a problem in the ISY-Polisy that you cannot set the timeout duration to greater than 127 seconds in the ZSE40 (parameter 5) - it should accept a full 8 bit value, but for some reason, the menu does not allow that, so the timeout can only be max. 127 seconds

 

With regards to setting the parameters: Does the main node have a "Set Parameters" command?  Are parameter edits available by right clicking the node > Z-Wave > Set-Configuration-Parameter?

[asbril]

3 minutes ago, Javi said:

I never put the motion sensors into a scene - I use a state variable

Is there a practical difference between using a simple program (IF motion sensor is ON THEN light X is ON - Wait 3 minutes Light X is OFF ) and using a variable ?

[lilyoyo1]

16 minutes ago, asbril said:

Is there a practical difference between using a simple program (IF motion sensor is ON THEN light X is ON - Wait 3 minutes Light X is OFF ) and using a variable ?

No. The use of a variable isn't necessary unless you want other things to happen

[MrBill]

1 hour ago, Javi said:

have replaced most with low cost Z-Wave sensors with great battery life.

Which?  I've been evaluating how to add more.  Since you mentioned above that you only have one wired device I've become more interested in z-wave (so far I have no z-wave).

[gzahar]

9 minutes ago, MrBill said:

Which?  I've been evaluating how to add more.  Since you mentioned above that you only have one wired device I've become more interested in z-wave (so far I have no z-wave).

Other than this?

"Anyway, this one has worked well for over 2 years without any issues and mounts easily in corners:"

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQXXG0I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[MrBill]

6 minutes ago, gzahar said:

Other than this?

"Anyway, this one has worked well for over 2 years without any issues and mounts easily in corners:"

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQXXG0I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, perhaps I didn't quote enough of @Javi's sentence.. but he's referring to door sensors in that post...

1 hour ago, Javi said:

I also still have a few remaining Insteon Open close sensors with the same horrible battery life but have replaced most with low cost Z-Wave sensors with great battery life.

 

[lilyoyo1]

2 hours ago, MrBill said:

Yes, perhaps I didn't quote enough of @Javi's sentence.. but he's referring to door sensors in that post...

 

I'd go with Zooz sensors as they are low cost and quite small.

Can't speak on longevity but i do like what i see so far in my testing. Just make sure you get the 700 series

[MrBill]

5 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

I'd go with Zooz sensors as they are low cost and quite small.

Can't speak on longevity but i do like what i see so far in my testing

Do they have a door sensor?  I'm not seeing... https://www.getzooz.com/portfolio-zooz.html

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, MrBill said:

Do they have a door sensor?  I'm not seeing... https://www.getzooz.com/portfolio-zooz.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JKKLRLW/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_2JCBZCRKHAZNGV1JDH5G?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[JTsao]

7 hours ago, Javi said:

With regards to setting the parameters: Does the main node have a "Set Parameters" command?  Are parameter edits available by right clicking the node > Z-Wave > Set-Configuration-Parameter?

If I right click and do set configuration parameter like you are suggesting above, then it appears that I can set the parameter to values > 127, however, I set it from the main screen which looks like the attached image below, parameter number=5, parameter value=X, then X is limited to 127 on this screen

 

7 hours ago, asbril said:

Is there a practical difference between using a simple program (IF motion sensor is ON THEN light X is ON - Wait 3 minutes Light X is OFF ) and using a variable ?

After switching to ISY-Polisy and switching from the serial PLM to the 2448A7, I have noticed that sometimes Insteon messages are being missed, therefore, I changed my programs for motion sensors to use a state variable, so I can track if the lighting in the room matches the state value.