Outdoor Z-wave Motion Sensors?

DLONG2

DLONG2

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May 17, 2017
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Looking for an outdoor motion sensor to integrate with HomeSeer, preferably battery-operated. I can't seem to locate anything rated for outdoors.
 
DLONG2 said:
Looking for an outdoor motion sensor to integrate with HomeSeer, preferably battery-operated. I can't seem to locate anything rated for outdoors.
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I don't thing I've seen any z-wave ones specifically rated for outside either. Depending on your climate, people have used indoor sensors outside successfully in sheltered locations.
There are some outdoor motion sensors that are battery operated and designed to be wired to a wireless alarm sensor (a zwave door contact could work too). Optex makes some of these but they're expensive.
 
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Can you post a photo, sketch, or satellite image of the area(s) you want to cover with motion sensors. Some sensors will work better than others and most have some specific mounting height requirements for optimal performance.
 
avoid z-wave, many connectivity issues (unreliable). Better use dual tech sensors (optex), as tangent mentioned
 
I agree about dual-tech sensors... I have an outdoor Insteon single-tech (IR) motion detector and during the day it can be way too sensitive... i.e. glare from car windows passing by 50 feet away on super sunny days will register. It's decent at night, though. Dual tech should def. help with the day problem, but I don't rely on the sensor during the day, so I haven't found the energy to run a hard line out and replace it with a dual-tech sensor.

I haven't had any problems with my z-wave network having connectivity issues, though... but as with anything wireless, everyone's experience is going to be unique.
 
aristobrat said:
I agree about dual-tech sensors... I have an outdoor Insteon single-tech (IR) motion detector and during the day it can be way too sensitive... i.e. glare from car windows passing by 50 feet away on super sunny days will register. It's decent at night, though. Dual tech should def. help with the day problem, but I don't rely on the sensor during the day, so I haven't found the energy to run a hard line out and replace it with a dual-tech sensor.

I haven't had any problems with my z-wave network having connectivity issues, though... but as with anything wireless, everyone's experience is going to be unique.
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It depends heavily on where the sensor is mounted. For example, an indoor single PIR motion sensor mounted on a covered porch pointed at the front door would probably be pretty reliable.

The more reliable sensors do combine multiple sensors. Some of these use two different PIR sensors, some use a single PIR and a microwave sensor, and some use dual PIR plus microwave. The better outdoor motion sensors can cover a pretty large area, but the mfg recommended mounting height is important if you want reliability. Even sensors marketed for outside need some protection from the elements as some are only IP54.
 
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in my case, a wireless point-to-point rf transmission would be better than z-wave meshing technology. If using z-wave, I normally stick to a reputable brand, like Aeotec, Fibaro, others, especially as you add more and more z-wave products to your network. My experience using Monoprice generic sensors was unreliable
 
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