Philips Hue Motion Sensor Review

Transforming your house into a smart home would make your life more comfortable and would make house tasks easier. Making your home into smart home could involve security system, motion sensor lights, smart motion integrated with smart home platform and many more. These are just some of the basic ways you could automate your home.

Motion sensors are the basic necessity of a smart home and security system. They have the ability to detect someone in your home. An example product of a motion sensor is the Philips Hue Motion Sensor. As it name indicates, this one is designed by Philips and it is actually made to work with the Philips Hue Smart Lights. You could run it on the ZigBee communications protocol which would definitely make it more compact, fast and have a longer battery life. It is wireless as well. The only downside with the Philips Hue Motion Sensor is that you will need to pair it with Philips Hue Bridge.

Through the Philip Hue Motion Sensor, you will be able to automate your smart lights. It is convenient and it is an excellent choice as well. It could easily be installed and it is also easy to adjust its settings.

Philips Hue Motion Sensor Overview

Key Features

• Runs on ZigBee
• Broad smart home compatibility
• Compact design
• Magnetic mount
• Standard AAA batteries
• Temperature and light sensor

The device itself is tiny which makes it one of the smallest wireless motion sensors. In fact it is only about 2″ or 5 cm in width and height and its depth is half of that. It comes with a magnetic mount which comes in a simple design. Its magnet is strong and it attaches well to its sensor. Its soft silicon allows you to position your sensor on the mount and allows you to choose which ever angle you would like to position your sensor to. It is very elegant and yet very effective. It is easy to change its batteries which are two standard AAA batteries.

This sensor could last up to two years before you would need to replace its batteries. This is made possible due to the low power requirements of the ZigBee. Keep in mind, however, that if you plan to use NiMH batteries, the battery life could be lesser. Though that is the case, it would definitely save you more money in the longer term.

This sensor comes with passive infra-red motion sensors and other couple bonus sensors. It has an ambient light sensor as well. It has a temperature sensor and it is smart to handle lighting automation.

Pros:

• Long battery life
• Extra Sensors
• Easy to control

Cons:

• Needs a Hue Bridge
• A bit on the expensive side
• Temperature not available in all platforms

Configuration Options

Setting up your motion sensor into the Hue System is pretty much easy and straightforward. All you have to do is follow the steps below.

• On your Philip Hue app, select settings
• Select Accessories
• Tap add accessory
• Follow the on-screen instructions for you to be able to auto-detect your new sensor

You would not have to assign the sensor to your room. You will be asked this instead and you will select which room the sensor take effect. You will be able to assign up to a maximum of three rooms with each having the option of having different effects for both Night and Day. Through the sensor, you will be able to assign and specify start time for each room. You will also be able to set up a scene for each room and activate it through motion or if you wish you could also set it to no motion detection for a specific adjustable period of time.

This sensor offer two important adjustments and they are motion sensitivity and daylight sensitivity. The motion sensitivity affects on when the sensor would detect a motion and send the message. Daylight sensitivity on the other hand would limit smart lights will be turned on.

The mentioned settings could be adjusted through a simple slider. Moreover, with the app, you will be able to get real time feedback which would definitely help you find which level you would need for your settings according to your specific needs.

Motion Sensor Performance

Upon testing, we could say that the performance of the sensors are highly amazing in terms of motion detection. It is highly robust with its housing and mounting system which is perfect for outdoor use as well. Its light sensor is simple and has the ability to identify is lights need to be turned off when not needed.

As for its battery life, it has about 2 years and it uses regular alkaline batteries. As for its detection range, we could say that it is very impressive. It could cover any indoor space and though Philips does not say anything about detection angle, its design definitely could provide wide range.

Smart Home Integration

Philips Hue is known for its supporting numerous and different types of smart home and smart security systems through its Philips Hue Bridge. It has the ability to control hue lights and it could also be used with other platforms. It has the ability to control Hue smart lights and at the same time activate automation.

If you do not wish for your sensor to do anything, you could set it to Do Nothing at all times. If your Philips Hue does not detect any motion actions it will dim your lights then eventually will turn it off. but rather it will just turn the lights off.

Furthermore, when you use Philips Hue Motion Sensor, the motion response time is quicker in terms of controlling the Hue smart lights. However, if you wish to control specific lights then, we suggest that you do not use the Hue app. Though you will be able to turn on a single light and set others, you will not be able to change the current state of other lights if you use the Philips Hue Motion Sensor.

Examples where you could use your Philips sensor

Bedroom- you could use a Hue light strip and mount it around the bottom of your bed. It will be able to provide you some light at night but not too bright. It will help you avoid tripping over anything. The Philips Hue Motion Sensor will trigger the light to turn on through HomeKit automation.

Dining Room – you could use standard Hue scenes which are triggered by your Philips Hue Motion Sensor. Its light sensor could be configured wherein the lights would turn off during the daytime.

Pool Area Lighting – Hue outdoor motion sensor could be used to control Hue lights around the pool area through HomeKit automations. You could use the triggering of lights with the pool gate contact sensor as well.

Pool Temperature Sensor – you could create your own waterproof box and use your Philips Hue Motion Sensor in your pool area.

Alternatives

Treatlife Motion Sensor

Specifications:

• Supports Alexa and Google Assistant
• Runs on ZigBee for long life
• Compact design
• Light sensor included

This one is a great alternative. It is made by smart home brand, Treatlife which runs on ZigBee. It has a light sensor which could be used for automations. It is cheaper and more affordable than Philips Hue but it has limited integration features.

Switchbot Motion Sensor

Specifications:

• Supports Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri shortcuts
• Runs on Bluetooth for long life
• Has compact design
• Magnetic mount
• Light sensor included

This one is another perfect alternative. It comes with useful smart home devices such as curtain motors, cameras and motion sensor. They use Bluetooth for communication and it does not need any hub. It allows you to create your own automation rules as well. Its battery is powered by AAA cells.

Eve Motion

Specifications:

• Supports Homekit
• Runs on Bluetooth for long life
• No bridge required
• Adjustable motion trigger duration
• Keyhole mount

The Eve Motion provides a reliable motion sensor. It is a simple device and it comes with PIR motion sensor. It has a narrower detection angle and it has an IPx3 weather resistance rating which means you could use it outdoors. It also has great battery life with its standard AA batteries.

Conclusion

We hope that through this article we were able to provide you useful information about Philips Hue Motion Sensor.