I’m hoping someone can help a newbie out, and please forgive me if this question has been answered recently… the posts i have seen are about a year old… so - as a new user to ST and this forum - here goes my question.
I am trying to get 2 outdoor floodlights (front yard / back yard) that will are set to be “armed” from dusk til dawn. And I want to be notified anytime they get activated. They two would operate independently from each other.
As i have read… The simple solution would be to get a (zwave) motion sensor and put the light on a (zwave) switch. However - as I read more and more about sensors, I am hear that they are unreliable, does not stand up to the elements, battery operated.
Upon reading more, someone suggested getting a “traditional” motion activated floodlight (and traditional bulbs) with a zwave light switch (so it can be turned on when dark). The reason for the tradition motion activated light is that the motion sensor quality (overall) is better. (maybe because it is integrated into the light and powered)? However, this would not solve my notification requirement.
Does anyone have a good solution to this? or know a product(s) that would do what i want?
Is my only solution to just mount a zwave sensor into a zwave switch controlled (traditional) flood light?
One thing that comes to mind would be to use the “traditional” motion activated floodlight, and have it powered through a device that reports power usage. A SmartApp could be written that monitors the power usage to report when the light is turned on. This would be based solely on the power consumption, without actually being involved with turning the lights on/off. That smart device could also be used to limit when the lights can come on.
Your ideas as to why a “traditional” motion activated floodlight is best are right on.
EDITED TO ADD:
The ST SmartSense Power Outlet is such a power reporting device. I have an example app that pushes a notification when the power exceeds a threshold. See below:
