i just got a smartthings hub yesterday and installed 2 light switches which i now control with my amazon echo.
im looking to add a couple more things.
a motion sensor in my laundry/kitty litter room so that if a cat enters it turns the fan on. im assuming ill need a motion sensor (mounted near the floor) and a smartthings controlled switch to replace the current fan switch.
same thing in my garage except one that will turn on when a person enters the garage.
both my garage and laundry room are on the opposite ends of teh house from the hub. (2500 sq ft house)
will i need some kind of extender to provide decent signal coverage near the rooms?
any suggestions of what kind of motion sensor to get? i looked at the samsun one on amazon and it gets pretty poor reviews so im looking for alternatives the switches i installed yesterday are leviton switches so thats what id probably use again
(I moved this to projects so you can get individualized answers depending on your own needs, preferences and budget)
First, as far as whether they need repeaters or not, it just depends on how you have your network quote back bone“ laid out. Start by reading post 11 in the following thread, then go up to the top of that thread and read the whole thing, and then you should have a much better understanding of whether or not you will need to add devices to get a good signal. ( this is a clickable link)
For motion sensors, The 2016/2017 version of the SmartThings brand motion sensor has gotten a number of complaints in the forums and was demonstrably less responsive than the previous generation. But there’s a brand new generation that just came out last month, and it seems to be somewhat better. But it hasn’t been out long enough to really tell.
Why don’t you take a look at the device class features FAQ, and it will give you an idea of what features to look for in motion sensors:
Then after you read those two FAQs, we can talk more if you still have any questions.
thansk for your answer.
after reading teh other threads im pretty sure i wont need a repeater since my leviton zwave plus switches will act as repeaters (if im reading things right) .
Between the 2 ive already added that will put me within 30 feet of where i want to install the fan switch/motion detector.
now i just need to narrow down teh motion sensor part
I’m assuming your Leviton switches are Z wave? (They also make zigbee models, but those are usually only sold through installers.)
If so, remember that Z wave repeats only for Z wave, and zigbee repeats only for Zigbee.
All the smartthings branded sensors are zigbee, so the Leviton zwave switches can’t help with those.
There’s a good discussion of zwave motion sensors in the device class features FAQ that I previously linked to, so that should give you an idea of what your options might be.
