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I went through our house and installed motion controlled light switches in a few key places. Specifically places like a walk-in closet, the pantry, the utility

I went through our house and installed motion controlled light switches in a few key places. Specifically places like a walk-in closet, the pantry, the utility room, the storage room under the staircase. There was, I believe, no need to leave the light on when there is no motion. (I hesitated on adding a motion-activated light to the bathroom because, for example, taking a shower might cause it to time-out and you would be showering in the dark.) In any event I did not use any kind of networked device — just your standard $15 Lutron motion sensor light switch you can get from Lowe's or Home Despot. I mention what is probably obvious because a use case in the article was to activate a light when it senses motion. No need to over engineer that.

andrewinardeer 2y ago
I replaced motion sensors with human presence sensors which solved the shower timeout issue.
- rootusrootus 2y ago
  Which presence sensor are you using? One of the mmWave devices? I've had an Aqara FP2 for a while but haven't really found a killer use for it. Maybe the bathroom is that case.
  - theshrike79 2y ago
    mmWave stuff is great when you have rooms that need to have lights when people are there, but not moving. Toilets, hallways, entrances etc. work just fine with IR motion sensors. See motion -> turn light on for X minutes. Optionally reset timer to X every time you see motion. But for places like offices where you might be sitting relatively still for 30+ minutes, mmWave is better. It knows you're there and won't turn off the lights even if you don't wave your arms around :) The price difference isn't that big though. You can get a HA compatible mmWave device in a nice case for ~50€. The official Philips Hue motion sensors (IR) are around 40-ish €, the really cheap ones like Shelly you can get for around 20€.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
ramses0 2y ago
There's a few others: humidity sensor switches (bathroom/laundry fans), and the "auto-timer-off" button light switches (for the front entryway/exterior lights). _back_ that with an additional "Shelly" dongle (wifi control that is installed _behind_ the switch-plate), and you get both direct switch control, as well as direct WiFi control. AFAIK the switch will override on/off when you hit it from the wall, and the WiFi will override whatever the current switch setting is. You never lose control from the wall-plate, and only gain control via WiFi.
- baq 2y ago
  You can configure Shellies in basically every possible useful way - switch, button or detached (wifi independent of the switch). The two gang variant (2PM) can control blinds or garage doors.

andrewinardeer 2y ago

I replaced motion sensors with human presence sensors which solved the shower timeout issue.

rootusrootus 2y ago
Which presence sensor are you using? One of the mmWave devices? I've had an Aqara FP2 for a while but haven't really found a killer use for it. Maybe the bathroom is that case.
- theshrike79 2y ago
  mmWave stuff is great when you have rooms that need to have lights when people are there, but not moving. Toilets, hallways, entrances etc. work just fine with IR motion sensors. See motion -> turn light on for X minutes. Optionally reset timer to X every time you see motion. But for places like offices where you might be sitting relatively still for 30+ minutes, mmWave is better. It knows you're there and won't turn off the lights even if you don't wave your arms around :) The price difference isn't that big though. You can get a HA compatible mmWave device in a nice case for ~50€. The official Philips Hue motion sensors (IR) are around 40-ish €, the really cheap ones like Shelly you can get for around 20€.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

ramses0 2y ago

There's a few others: humidity sensor switches (bathroom/laundry fans), and the "auto-timer-off" button light switches (for the front entryway/exterior lights). _back_ that with an additional "Shelly" dongle (wifi control that is installed _behind_ the switch-plate), and you get both direct switch control, as well as direct WiFi control. AFAIK the switch will override on/off when you hit it from the wall, and the WiFi will override whatever the current switch setting is. You never lose control from the wall-plate, and only gain control via WiFi.

baq 2y ago
You can configure Shellies in basically every possible useful way - switch, button or detached (wifi independent of the switch). The two gang variant (2PM) can control blinds or garage doors.