Home automation-oriented devices are very useful for making our daily lives easier, but also for notifying us if there is any type of intrusion in our home. Today there are devices that allow us to notify us if they detect movement, thanks to this, we can know if there is movement in a room, in the garage and even in the garden, because many of these devices are designed to be placed in outdoor environments. Today in this article we are going to talk about WiFi motion detectors and what you should keep in mind.
What should I keep in mind before buying?
Before buying one of these devices, you should take a good look at its technical characteristics and also the possibilities of its software, below, you can see a list of options that it must have so that the user experience is perfect:
- WiFi connectivity with HUB or without it? : there are motion detectors that connect directly to the wireless network of our home, so we do not have to buy any type of HUB or concentrator where the device is connected. It is recommended that you connect directly to the WiFi network, however, there are interesting and quite cheap models that require a hub to work through the Internet.
- Detector action range : it is very important to know what detection range the device has, both the angle and also the distance.
- Built-in battery : Almost all WiFi motion detectors are completely wireless, that is, they have a battery inside the device. It is very important that this battery has a high autonomy, so that we do not have to be recharging continuously.
- Support with home automation systems : it is very important that you buy devices that allow us to integrate them into home automation, for example, that are compatible with Samsung SmartThings, Home Assistant or Apple HomeKIT among others.
Now that you know what to take into account before buying one of these devices, we are going to recommend some very interesting models.
Recommended motion detectors
The first motion detector that we are going to recommend is the Shelly motion sensor , a small device with a 6,500mAh rechargeable battery with autonomy for a whole year, it connects directly to the home WiFi network, and it integrates perfectly with the rest of the brand’s devices such as WiFi relays, all through the official app. A very important detail is that this motion sensor is natively integrated into Home Assistant, either through the default protocol or with MQTT, so we are going to have great versatility when it comes to integrating it with the rest of home automation From home.
SwitchBot’s motion sensor is much smaller than the previous one, it incorporates a PIR sensor to detect movements. This equipment is capable of monitoring movement with an angle of 110º horizontally and 55º vertically, in addition, it allows detection at a distance of up to 9 meters. With the built-in battery we can have up to 3 years of autonomy. Unfortunately, this device does not connect directly to the home WiFi network, so we will have to buy the HUB, which “increases” the final price of the device. If you are going to buy several sensors, it will be worth it.
This TUYA motion sensor is one of the cheapest and most recommended, it allows detection of 120º horizontally and with a distance of up to 5 meters. Of course, this device connects directly to the WiFi network, it has a total of three 1.5V batteries that give an autonomy of approximately 6 months. The most remarkable thing about this equipment is its small size, thanks to this small size we can place it anywhere. This device could also be integrated into the home automation of our home, in addition, it is compatible with IFTTT.
HAMA also has an interesting motion detector. It has a very small size, it does not need any hub because it connects directly to the WiFi network, in addition, the detection range reaches up to 10 meters away. This device allows automation to be carried out together with HAMA smart lights, to turn them on in the event of motion detection. Finally, this device is powered by CR123A batteries and an autonomy of about 6 months is estimated.
As you can see, today we have many really interesting models of motion detectors, some with a HUB and others without a HUB.
