I’ve tried three different variants. I have an ecolink, a ST gen2, and two fibaros. The Ecolink is a good sensor at a good price. It seems to not be sensitive enough to detect someone sitting watching tv. Therefore it’s better suited for the laundry room, kitchen, garage, places where someone will be moving around.
The ST sensor is more expensive but includes a temperature sensor. It is extremely sensitive. I’ve never had it turn off the lights on us while we’re watching TV. Also it’s design makes it suitable for mouning on the ceiling making it useable for small rooms and areas. However because it’s so sensitive and not adjustable it would be difficult to use for outdoor applications. It also has a very short reset time. This is also not adjustable, and will populate your activity logs with motion was detected/stopped every 30 seconds while someone is in the room.
The Fibaro motion detectors cost 10 dollars more than the ST sensor, but has a temperature sensor, light sensor, and vibration sensor. It works well in most applications. They are not for the faint of heart though. Prepare to modify the ST device type to get the most out of the sensor. You will need to tweak different parameters to get light reporting to work. Also to get the sensor sensitive enough to detect someone watching TV you will also need to tweak some parameters, mainly the PIR blind time.
2 Likes