Anyone have a good solution for motion detectors and pets?
My dogs seem to be setting off the Smartthings motion too much. I think the Aeonlabs motion sensor has a sensitivity adjustment but not sure how well that works. Any other options?
Yes, there is a sensitive dial on the AEON. I haven’t played with it much myself, but it is designed to minimize or eliminate pet triggering.
Can you position the detector on a counter or something so it point “up-ish”? The people should set it off but dogs won’t necessarily.
I have the same issue too. Rather annoying while watching a movie and the dogs keep turning on the spot lights. An ideal situation would be a motion sensor that would detect in a straight flat line, so it could be mounted at chest level.
With the SmartThings one you might be able to put a tube around the eye so that it only “sees” in a narrow line.
Not a bad idea with the tube… I’d have to make something for that though, and dont want it to look ugly. I currently have my ST motion on a bookshelf about 5 feet off the ground and the way it normally sits it looks like it is pointing up a little but my ~20lb dog still sets it off. Maybe it is when he jumps on the couch but even the couch is only 2-3 feet off the ground and still pretty far from the motion.
I’ll probably try the aeon at some point.
IR is line of site. Push the sensor back away from the shelf front edge shadowing the floor area. You could use a flashlight to mimic the IR signal to help visualize the effect.
Aeon shoots at a down angle. Mount it upside down (indoors only) about 6 feet up.
There is a product at home depot called plastidip. It basically is rubber in a spray can. I would tape the top and spray the bottom of the sensor with this. This should severely limit motion from the ground. If you ever change your mind it just simply peels off.
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My SmartThings motion sensors are up high near the ceiling. I decided to forgo the wall plate and just use the screw option so that they point downwards ever so slightly. However, there were several motion alerts triggered by our cat walking around. So I just put a piece of white electrical tape over the bottom half of the sensor. After adjusting it a bit to approximately half the sensor surface, I had no more triggers from the cat, but preserved the triggers from the people.