In the last article, temperature and humidity sensors from Zemismart Tuya and Xiaomi were compared. This time it was the turn of motion sensors.
Briefly about compatibility and brands
As I already wrote in the last article, when building a smart home network based on a Zigbee universal router, it is better to take Xiaomi sensors, since they are usually smaller in size, cheaper and sometimes display more indicators (such as the Aqara temperature sensor, which is also pressure can be measured at a lower cost).
If you use the standard MiHome or Tuya Smart applications, then there is not much choice and you need to buy sensors from the manufacturer whose application you are using. What I like about Tuya is the instantaneous operation of their servers and stable connection. At MiHome, everything freezes very often, especially in the evening. In the English region, everything seems to be working more or less stably, but most of the devices are for the Chinese market. So you have to choose. By the way, it was with Tuya that I realized how convenient it is when everything flies and you don’t have to wait 1-3-… seconds before the light is turned on by the sensor. The next stage of “growing up” is the creation of a smart home based on something universal, like Home Assistant.
Zemismart Tuya motion sensor delivery set
Judging by the Tuya logo on the box, this sensor was produced directly by the company itself without intermediaries, as was the case with the temperature sensor. The plus is that in official production, the sensor supports firmware updates and bug fixes. When the sensor is produced by an intermediary, in 99% of cases you can forget about correcting errors, but not everything is so bad: most often they take as a basis a stable firmware that has been tested for years and there should not be any problems. These sensors have been in production for a long time.
Included is a sensor on a removable turntable, 2 adhesive tapes for fastening (this is a rarity for arborvitae, Xiaomi, on the contrary, always puts a spare one). Reset needle, insctions. The motion detection radius of this sensor is 5 meters, for Xiaomi this figure is 7 meters. From experience I will say that 5 meters is enough with the head, the greater the distance, the more false positives. The viewing angle is 150 degrees, Xiaomi has 170. This indicator is very important for large rooms, although I will say from experience that 150 degrees is enough for almost all scenarios, if this is not enough, then you can put the sensor at an angle and cover a large area.
Power supply – CR2450 battery, which, according to reviews, lasts almost 2 years, when working indoors (with a temperature> 10 degrees). The turntable is removable, which allows you to install the sensor without it, directly on the wall or ceiling.
The sensor has a hole for resetting and reconnecting. There is no separate indicator on the case, but one is hidden under the sensor platform itself.
Comparison of Zemismart Tuya and Xiaomi Mijia sensor
The difference in size is just huge. At Xiaomi everything is neat, at Tuya, on the contrary, it is clumsy. In Mijia, the platform is attached with adhesive tape, in Tuya with a plastic mount. Both can be installed without a turntable. Both sensors work from CR2450, not CR2032, as motion sensors consume more than temperature/door sensors, etc.
Connecting to Zigbee2MQTT
Usually the sensors fly in instantly, but this one went through the “interview” process for about a minute. What this is connected with is not known. Defined as Tuya RH3040. The picture is clearly from Xiaomi.
Data sent over the air
Battery – battery charge in%. Usually in new sensors it is 100%, this one has clearly already lain down for a long time. Occupancy – shows if there is movement. The “cooling down” time (when, in the absence of movement, the sensor changes the value to “Nobody is present”) is 1 minute. This is done to conserve battery life. There is a separate parameter Battery Low, which indicates the replacement of the battery (critical level). The Temper parameter is an indication of the sensor being hacked. What it is, I did not understand. Maybe if you change the firmware to a third-party? Linkquality – the level of connection between the sensor and the router from 0 to 255, where more is better.
Connecting to Home Assistant
If the sensor is connected to Zigbee2MQTT, then it will automatically get into the Home Assistant. The parameters are determined by themselves and the corresponding indicators appear (the door is closed / open, etc.) For example, all the parameters are displayed, but it is much more convenient to put all the battery indicators on a separate screen and set up a notification for them. Names should also be changed to more understandable ones.
According to the “Movement” parameter, there is a schedule of events. Where you can see when motion was detected. It is important to set up saving statistics for a sufficiently long period, since this is very important and accurate information (for example, it can be useful to find the right video from a surveillance camera at the exact time or something else).
Test version of automation
Home Assistant has 2 options for creating automations. In fact, there are more of them, but third-party applications are needed. In the Home Assistant itself, you can either write automation in code, or create it through a graphical interface (it appeared recently). If the automations are simple, then obviously you should not be driven by the code. In a couple of clicks, you can set everything up with the mouse.
This simple script turns the light on and off after 10 seconds. This is the simplest option, but in practice it is much more convenient to create more complex options for the view: turn it off when there is no movement or N minutes have passed. It is impossible to create a universal scenario here, since everyone has different tasks.
Demonstration of work
In the same video, I have one bulb turned on by the door sensor and turned off after it was closed. The second light turns on by movement and goes out after 10 seconds.
Conclusion
The conclusion is basically the same as with the temperature sensor. If you do not use the Tuya app, then definitely take Xiaomi – they are cheaper, smaller and have better performance.
Buy ZEMISMART TUYA Motion sensor
Xiaomi motion sensor
