Here's the update on the sensors I promised before - better late than never 
I tried 2 different sensors - both using Z-Wave tech. The first was from Aeon Labs and is a 4-in-1 sensor covering motion, temperature, humidity and light level:
It can be powered by 4 x AAA batteries or by 5V mini USB although I have only tried it on battery power thus far. It works ok but the motion sensor doesn't react fast enough for my liking and this is especially a problem in the hallway where I'd only be passing through for a few moments. It can only be mounted on flat surfaces but this includes the ceiling due to its domed shaped sensor. It's rather cool looking also.
I had read some reviews stating the EZMotion Triple Sensor was pretty fast at motion detection so decided to give that a trial next. As it turned out it is indeed quicker than the Aeon Labs sensor and this makes the overall home automation experience much nicer. Like the Aeon Labs sensor, the EZMotion sensor can also be powered by battery or by 5v power, however instead of requiring a mini USB connection for hard-wiring, it just has 2 terminal posts which means you can use regular 2-core cable bought by the reel and cut to the desired length for a neat and inexpensive installation.
Unlike the Aeon Labs sensor, the EZMotion Triple Sensor has no humidity monitoring, although it does have a more useful firmware which allows associated lights to only be activated if both motion is triggered and the light level is over a user-defined threshold. Unfortunately I've had issues with this particular feature after moving from battery power to 5v. My workaround was to add scheduled tasks into my home automation software which associated and disassociated lights with the sensors at particular times of the day and on the activation/deactivation of specific 'scenes'.
The EZMotion sensor has 2 mounting options which you can see below.
Mounted flat against the wall (useful for long hallways):
Mounted in the corner (useful near doorways to main rooms):
The corner mounting option near the door was particularly useful as it could detect a person the instant they walked through the doorway without detecting motion of someone simply walking past the open doorway.
As you may have guessed, I decided to go with the EZMotion Sensor in the end and have it corner mounted in 4 rooms and flat mounted for my long hallway. I have also hard wired all 5 of the EZMotion sensors, terminating them in my hallway cupboard as you can see below.
I terminated each of the 2-core cables into 2 Wago connectors so all the blacks went into one and all the reds into the other. I hid the Wago connectors in a pattress box and sealed it with a blanking plate. Before fixing on the blanking plate, I drilled a hole for the 5v power cable to be passed in and terminated into the Wago connectors:
Power is provided from a 5v Raspberry Pi power supply. Oddly my 2 Pi Hut Raspberry PSUs look different to each other:
This is my favourite part of my home automation system so far i.e. the bits which work completely autonomously.
In the next update I'll hopefully be able to show the progress I've made with the mobile app.
I tried 2 different sensors - both using Z-Wave tech. The first was from Aeon Labs and is a 4-in-1 sensor covering motion, temperature, humidity and light level:
It can be powered by 4 x AAA batteries or by 5V mini USB although I have only tried it on battery power thus far. It works ok but the motion sensor doesn't react fast enough for my liking and this is especially a problem in the hallway where I'd only be passing through for a few moments. It can only be mounted on flat surfaces but this includes the ceiling due to its domed shaped sensor. It's rather cool looking also.
I had read some reviews stating the EZMotion Triple Sensor was pretty fast at motion detection so decided to give that a trial next. As it turned out it is indeed quicker than the Aeon Labs sensor and this makes the overall home automation experience much nicer. Like the Aeon Labs sensor, the EZMotion sensor can also be powered by battery or by 5v power, however instead of requiring a mini USB connection for hard-wiring, it just has 2 terminal posts which means you can use regular 2-core cable bought by the reel and cut to the desired length for a neat and inexpensive installation.
Unlike the Aeon Labs sensor, the EZMotion Triple Sensor has no humidity monitoring, although it does have a more useful firmware which allows associated lights to only be activated if both motion is triggered and the light level is over a user-defined threshold. Unfortunately I've had issues with this particular feature after moving from battery power to 5v. My workaround was to add scheduled tasks into my home automation software which associated and disassociated lights with the sensors at particular times of the day and on the activation/deactivation of specific 'scenes'.
The EZMotion sensor has 2 mounting options which you can see below.
Mounted flat against the wall (useful for long hallways):
Mounted in the corner (useful near doorways to main rooms):
The corner mounting option near the door was particularly useful as it could detect a person the instant they walked through the doorway without detecting motion of someone simply walking past the open doorway.
As you may have guessed, I decided to go with the EZMotion Sensor in the end and have it corner mounted in 4 rooms and flat mounted for my long hallway. I have also hard wired all 5 of the EZMotion sensors, terminating them in my hallway cupboard as you can see below.
I terminated each of the 2-core cables into 2 Wago connectors so all the blacks went into one and all the reds into the other. I hid the Wago connectors in a pattress box and sealed it with a blanking plate. Before fixing on the blanking plate, I drilled a hole for the 5v power cable to be passed in and terminated into the Wago connectors:
Power is provided from a 5v Raspberry Pi power supply. Oddly my 2 Pi Hut Raspberry PSUs look different to each other:
This is my favourite part of my home automation system so far i.e. the bits which work completely autonomously.
In the next update I'll hopefully be able to show the progress I've made with the mobile app.
