Hey all. Apologies if this has been answered already, but has anyone found a way to utilize the Ecobee3 thermostat itself as a motion sensor? Since it has the same ability as the remote sensors to identify occupancy, I would think it could also be utilized as another motion sensor with Smartthings. The remote sensors are identified as motion sensors, but not the thermostat. Am I missing something? Thanks!
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Iām using the @StrykerSKS Ecobee SmartApp and all three of my remote sensors and the thermostat show up as motion sensors. IIRC, you have to be careful with them because they donāt update constantly. I believe that if you walk in front of the sensor on your way out of the house and then set Smart Home Monitor to away, it will continue to show motion and will immediately cause an alarm. The same would happen if you have it detect occupancy. I could be a few minutes before the lights kick on.
The Ecobee sensors do not report real-time motion. Once triggered they will show presence for up to 30 minutes.
Mother should NOT be used for real-time motion events.
This is an Ecobee limitation so nothing that can be done to override the behavior.
Yes, there are some known limitations in the ecobee APIs regarding the ecobee3ās motion sensors.
For more details, refer to
http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=Ecobee3RemoteSensorInit#Known_issues
However, Iāve created some smartapps that can leverage any ST connected motion (and temp) sensors and reproduce the ecobee3ās follow me and smart away features with customizable occupied thresholds for each of your rooms. The threshold to detect occupancy can be as low as few minutes (ex. 5 minutes) according to your own requirements.
For more details, refer to these threads:
Regards.
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Hello - Is there any update by ecobee in providing the capability of using their motion detection as real-time motion detection for Smartthings? I just installed an ecobee3 and motion is not working like my other ST motion detectors. I would have thought they would have fixed this in the last 1-1/2 yrs.
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Hi, ecobee was talking about some push APIs (ex. webhooks in RT) at one point, but it seems that for now on, itās only limited for reporting purposesā¦
To be followed.
P.S. Ecobee considers its remote sensors as occupancy sensor (not motion detector) and if you look at the ecobee APIs, ecobee states the following limitations:
The remote sensor data will only show computed occupancy, as does the thermostat. Definition - For a given sensor, computed occupancy means a sensor is occupied if any motion was detected in the past 30 minutes.
https://www.ecobee.com/home/developer/api/documentation/v1/objects/RemoteSensor.shtml
Regards.
OK, but even with that, after 30 min of no motion, I did not get a notice within ST when I walked in front of the thermostat.
Besides, here is the statement from the website for the 3 which distinguished it from the Lite.
Uses motion-detection to determine occupancy
ecobee3 room sensors use motion-detection to decide if anyoneās home or everyoneās away (pets wonāt trigger it). When youāre at home, youāll be comfy. When youāre not, you wonāt waste money heating or cooling empty rooms.
This certainly sounds like ST-style motion detection to me.
Old thread I know, but Iām thinking on this.
If Iām not mistaken, the ecobee display changes whenever it senses motion. (I will test that when I get home.) That has to generate a system event of some sort, no?
If so, a Webcore Piston could be written such that every time that event occurs, a simulated motion sensor gets set to āMotionā. Then the piston could count 15 seconds or so, and then set the simulated sensor to āNo Motionā.
Of course if the screen change generates no system event, none of that matters.
EDIT: the event occurs, but does not show up.
So I emailed ecobee support, to see if they could make the āmotion screen changeā event show up as a system event.
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Another question from this old thread. Any word from Ecobee about the motion screen change event?
Nope, nothing.
Iāve given up hope on any of these companies improving existing products in truly useful ways. For example, Alexa is now featuring fart jokesā¦ but nearly a year after putting out the phone link, they still have not given an IFTTT actionable trigger for when the phone rings. Their IFTTT links, in fact, have not changed whatsoever since they first appeared.
Any response from Ecobee??
I reached out to them yesterday to ask about it. Iām asking for the Ecobee4, but naturally the same would apply to the 3. I canāt believe the motion event from the main device isnāt available. It seems to obvious to have included it from the start.
Hi, with My Ecboee device, you have access to the ecobee3 or the ecobee4ās occupancy sensorās events at the thermostat.
However, this is not a motion sensor per se ( as indicated above), but an occupancy sensor which has some limitations (just like the other ecobeeās proprietary remote sensor)ā¦
http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=Ecobee3RemoteSensorInit#Known_issues
Regards.
Is this actually an ecobee problem? Their own API is able to provide the motion data, since other home made apps on ST are using it.
Isnāt this a problem of whoever owns the default ecobee thermostat device definition? Isnāt that a ST problem?