Don Cohen Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 I have a DS2-Mini at my front door, and have configured its Motion Sensor to email me with a snapshot when someone comes to the front door (whether they ring the bell or not). This works great for Amazon deliveries and such. But because it is based on lighting changes within the small area I've configured, there are often many false positives. So when the day is partly cloudy, and the sun is coming and going, there can be very many false alarm emails sent. So I'm wanting to add a Motion Sensor for this function, preferably battery powered to make installation easier. There are roof eaves above it, so there is some protection, but there would still be rain exposure with wind, temperature fluctuations, etc. I've found one by Nyce which would fit the bill, but they said it's not designed for outdoor use, and likely wouldn't last as long as it would indoors. I found one by Axxess, but they said the same thing about outdoor use. I found a CardAccess device, but it doesn't appear that this is a current product, and it's outdoor suitability isn't clear. Can anyone recommend a Motion Sensor, preferably battery operated, smallish, not conspicuous, but most importantly, which can be installed outdoors (and configurable within Control4)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopedogg88 Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 there aren't any that are rated for outdoor use that I'm aware of. I would go with a NYCE as they are least expensive and easiest to get ahold of, and work well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 Thanks for the reply. This is a bit surprising, though - it seems like something that many homeowners would want. Then again, it looks like the Ring Doorbell has this built-in, which I imagine contributes to their popularity. I have to say, with all the Control4 gear we've installed, and as much as I'm enjoying the system, I continue to be underwhelmed with the DS2-Mini. If it were better integrated with Control4, I think I might opt for the Ring. I may just try the Nyce. Interestingly, the Axxess people suggested using some Silicone sealant to weather proof it, acknowledging that battery change would be a bit more cumbersome, and require a re-sealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahn Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 Oh yes there is Use the Phillips Outdoor motion with the UnilogIQ driver - works like a champ. I prefer the indoor motions by Phillips too btw. They are small, low battery consumption, and sense light level as well as temperature!! All that for $39 a motion. IMO, that's an unbeatable combo. Don Cohen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAV Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 If there's any wiring access, you might consider a hardwired sensor to a Zigbee IO. We prefer using beam triggers instead of motion for outdoors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAV Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 3 minutes ago, Kahn said: Oh yes there is Use the Phillips Outdoor motion with the UnilogIQ driver - works like a champ. I prefer the indoor motions by Phillips too btw. They are small, low battery consumption, and sense light level as well as temperature!! All that for $39 a motion. IMO, that's an unbeatable combo. Nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 20 minutes ago, Kahn said: Oh yes there is Use the Phillips Outdoor motion with the UnilogIQ driver - works like a champ. I prefer the indoor motions by Phillips too btw. They are small, low battery consumption, and sense light level as well as temperature!! All that for $39 a motion. IMO, that's an unbeatable combo. Many thanks for this - seems to be exactly what I'm looking for! Ironically, also looks like the Driver costs more than the Sensor! I'll get in touch with them, to see how I do this from the U.S., since in my case, I am both the end-user, and Dealer, through my employment with a Home Integrator. [EDIT]: do I also need to get a Hue Hub for this? The Amazon description implies this would be needed only to work with Hue Bulbs, but want to make sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahn Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 You do need the Hue Bridge, yes. Investing in the Hue driver / environment is well worth the expense. Once the motion is added, you can do things like: Turn on/off lights (doesn't matter if it's C4 or Hue) Turn on fans based on temp (C4 only) Dim/brighten lights based on ambient light Just about anything you can dream up programming wise.... Additionally, there's a free Hue driver for the Hue bridge AND individual Hue lights. They are Group white Group color Single white Single color These work great if (I remember correctly these used to be an Extra Veg driver). Hue lights are expensive, but well worth the effort entirely. Black Friday usually has the starter kit on sale pretty cheap. Only Dealers can buy the driver for the Hue motions currently. It's a little taxing to setup - just follow the directions and you will be fine. Don Cohen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 10 minutes ago, Kahn said: You do need the Hue Bridge, yes. Investing in the Hue driver / environment is well worth the expense. Once the motion is added, you can do things like: Turn on/off lights (doesn't matter if it's C4 or Hue) Turn on fans based on temp (C4 only) Dim/brighten lights based on ambient light Just about anything you can dream up programming wise.... Additionally, there's a free Hue driver for the Hue bridge AND individual Hue lights. They are Group white Group color Single white Single color These work great if (I remember correctly these used to be an Extra Veg driver). Hue lights are expensive, but well worth the effort entirely. Black Friday usually has the starter kit on sale pretty cheap. Only Dealers can buy the driver for the Hue motions currently. It's a little taxing to setup - just follow the directions and you will be fine. Thanks again for a very helpful reply. I already have most of the house with Control4 Dimmers and Switches, so the Hue Lighting aspect is not really useful to me. But it looks like I can get the Bridge by itself, so it's all good. In my case, as I work for a Home Integrator, I am both the Dealer and End-user, and just contacted UnilogIQ about what I need to do to get this Driver. But to confirm, the complete list if what I'd need would be the Motion Sensor, Hue Bridge, and the Control4 Driver, correct? No other missing pieces? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahn Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 That's correct. Hue Bridge Driver (free) Hue Motion Driver (paid) - one driver for site Hue Motion ($39/$49) indoor or outdoor PS - I've got an indoor motion hidden in my liquor cabinet - when the door is opened I get a notification. My 15 year old was "just looking" the other day. - he has no idea how I knew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 3 minutes ago, Kahn said: That's correct. Hue Bridge Driver (free) Hue Motion Driver (paid) - one driver for site Hue Motion ($39/$49) indoor or outdoor PS - I've got an indoor motion hidden in my liquor cabinet - when the door is opened I get a notification. My 15 year old was "just looking" the other day. - he has no idea how I knew. Perfect. I guess I need the Hue Bridge Driver regardless of whether I'm using Hue Lighting - looks like that's directly available through Control4, which is great. And very creative use of your indoor motion sensor!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 https://www.axxind.com/smarthome/motion-sensor/ Not officially outdoor rated. Been on the outside of my house for years, temp ranges from -35C to +35C, snow, wind, rain, sleet, hail, freezing rain you name it. Still going strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 7 minutes ago, Cyknight said: https://www.axxind.com/smarthome/motion-sensor/ Not officially outdoor rated. Been on the outside of my house for years, temp ranges from -35C to +35C, snow, wind, rain, sleet, hail, freezing rain you name it. Still going strong. Thanks. That's actually one of the ones I posted above. They were the ones who suggested using Silicone to seal it. But the fact that you've been using it like this, without any silicone or other modification, is quite encouraging. That would be a much 'cleaner' solution than the Hue suggested above (although I appreciate his posting about that option): one device, one (free) driver. Does yours have any indirect protection from rain/snow (like eaves above, or other structure)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 9 minutes ago, Don Cohen said: Thanks. That's actually one of the ones I posted above. They were the ones who suggested using Silicone to seal it. But the fact that you've been using it like this, without any silicone or other modification, is quite encouraging. That would be a much 'cleaner' solution than the Hue suggested above (although I appreciate his posting about that option): one device, one (free) driver. Does yours have any indirect protection from rain/snow (like eaves above, or other structure)? I suppose it's technically ever so slightly covered in that it's got a ~10inch overhang about 4 feet above it. Then again it's north facing, so the WORST weather is gunning straight at it. As mentioned, it's not officially rated as such, and it's at your own risk and mileage may vary - I'm just relating how I've personally used it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 Anoter option of course is to get a standard wired outdoor rated security motion, and wire it to a zigbee contact that you can get to (ie drill a small hole into a garage and wire straight through) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 Appreciate both replies, Cyknight. I like to keep things as simple as I can, and feel reasonably confident giving the Axxess device a try. Your personal use experience is extremely helpful. Plus, it's not a huge expense, so if it fails after a few years, it's not that big a deal. Thanks for your help. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crustyloafer Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 This will do exactly what you want and is completely wireless. We've use them for very similar purposes in the past. They are IP65 rated and offer 500m transmission range to the receiver unit. For every detector PIR unit, the receiver unit then has relay outputs for detection/alarm, tamper, low battery and loss of signal. All you need to do is wire the desired relay outputs to contact inputs on a controller, IO Extender or even wireless Z2IO. https://www.gjd.co.uk/products/wireless-detectors/d-tect-x-mkiii-range https://www.gjd.co.uk/products/wireless-detectors/d-tect-x-receiver-gjd392 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 7 minutes ago, Crustyloafer said: This will do exactly what you want and is completely wireless. We've use them for very similar purposes in the past. They are IP65 rates and offer 500m transmission range to the receiver unit. For every detector PIR unit, the receiver unit then has relay outputs for detection/alarm, tamper, low battery and loss of signal. All you need to do is wire the desired relay outputs to contact inputs on a controller, IO Extender or ever wireless Z2IO. https://www.gjd.co.uk/products/wireless-detectors/d-tect-x-mkiii-range https://www.gjd.co.uk/products/wireless-detectors/d-tect-x-receiver-gjd392 Appreciate the reply and links. I had a quick look, and this seems like a very robust system. Will dig into this a bit more. Thanks. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crustyloafer Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 Just now, Don Cohen said: Appreciate the reply and links. I had a quick look, and this seems like a very robust system. Will dig into this a bit more. Thanks. Don Everything by GJD is super robust, top quality kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsuryan Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 I'm not needing motion, but outdoor sun sensor for shades that doesn't look like crap. Front of house faces west outdoor and indoor shades all on west side, Somfy SDN inside and Somfy RTS out. Client is super sensitive about aesthetics on front of house. Doesn't like the look of Sunis outdoor sensor for the RTS on the front of the house. Doesn't want bulky sensors in the indoor window sills. The Somfy Animeo could maybe work, but way overkill. Don't really want battery powered sensors. Client wants different shade groups to close when direct sun is at those groups. Would rather control it through C4. The Hue sensor only comes in black house is white, so that won't fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Use BlueIris and configure the motion settings there. You can fine tune it. $70 for the software and you’ll benefit in tons of other ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil12011 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 I used a Nyce motion sensor outdoors near my garage for a couple of years. It was baked in the sun and rained on. Never failed. Don Cohen and chopedogg88 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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