Ultimate Guide to Smart Home Sensors + ideas

There are a lot of indoor smart home sensors out there, but this video will help you sort through the mess and find the best ones for you. Plus I’ll share lots of sensor ideas along the way.

Links (affiliate):
--Contact Sensors--

--Motion Sensors--

--Less Recommended Sensors--

MORE INFO on connecting the sensors to SmartThings:

Then hold down on the sensor button 3 seconds to put it into pairing mode. Scan for nearby devices and it will add it.

2- Linkind: Push the pin button for 3 to 5 seconds to put it into pairing mode. Then scan for nearby devices.
Change the device type to SmartSense Open/Closed Sensor
Then you have to remove the device and re-add it using the pin button. After that it will work.

0:00 Intro
0:31 Contact Sensors
3:53 Motion Sensors
5:22 Advanced Motion Sensors
8:39 Less Recommended Sensors
9:55 Favorites
11:32 Sensor Tips
12:04 It’s getting hot in here

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MY SETUP & GEAR
See the list of everything I use in my smart home and other favorites:

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MUSIC

The End by EVA

Disclaimer: Smart Home Solver was sent HomeSeer and Inovelli 4 in 1 sensors for unbiased reviews. As always, our opinions are 100% our own and not influenced.

[IndiaRoverMayank]

Can you please make a 2023 version of this video. I am sure everyone would love this.

[liammcgarrigle]

For the UV sensor not working, it might be because it's pointed at a modern window. Modern windows have 2 or 3 panes with an e coating, which does a good job of blocking UV and heat radiation. I'd give it a try through an open window before writing it off.

That being said, i have a few of those sensors and i have found everything other than motion is a bit unreliable. My favorite part of the aeotec sensor is the recessed mounting plate and that it can be hardwired, which is a must for me because I'm and never want to change batteries

[reidcardwell]

Perfect timing on this video. I'm tearing out a lot of the one-off devices I have and trying to consolidate on fewer brands just to make things easier. Sensors is one area that I was not looking forward to researching, so thanks for doing all of this for us!

[davidharraway]

Thanks for the great review and especially the real world examples of what you can set these up to do. I work with people with disabilities and there are so many useful applications that sensors can be used for to improve quality of life and safety.

[SmartHomeSolver]

Thanks for watching! Links to all the sensors and SmartThings device handlers are in the description. Let me know what you’re using.

**UPDATE:** Thanks for all the comments about the UV light. I did some more tests with it today to see if my window was filtering UV light. I opened the window on a bright sunny Arizona day and it still read 0. Then I tested it in direct sunlight with the window both open and closed. With the window open it was 3 out of 255, and closed it was 2 out of 255. So yes the window does filter out some UV rays, but unless the sensor is in direct sunlight it might not pick anything up. There maybe some use cases for the UV sensor, but for me it’s not sensitive enough.

[derekl_]

I have been looking at sensors lately so this is definitely a timely video. As for your sensor pointed out the window not seeing a change in UV when the blinds open, windows have a UV filter either baked into the glass or applied as a film over it (or both). Move the sensor outside as a test and you should see a change.

[WarpedFlayme]

7:55 The UV won't change because your window is filtering it. Otherwise you'd get a sunburn just having your blinds open. Maybe you could use that as an alternative to a contact sensor to tell if windows or doors are open?

[tpchckyourtch]

You are like the Jedi of smart home tech. Great video

[OtakuDYT]

The range of products your review is exceptional, much more useful for making informed decisions, thank you!

[lincolnviniciustaparosky]

I recently bought qingping motion and light sensor and some Mijia temperature and humidity sensors. Both use bluetooth, but they work great on Home Assistant.
Love your videos!

[Homerunhittergirl]

Yay!! Thank you! I’ve been wanting this video for a while!! You da best!!

[jaymolina]

Hey Reed, thank you for this breakdown on sensors. I have the ring security system with contact and motion sensors throughout the house. Please come up with a video on how we can properly use ring security with Alexa and ideas on how we can further advance our home automation. Thank you for your great content

[Jonathan-pzzb]

Thank you for doing these excellent videos!! VERY helpful. I love that you keep it straight to the point.

[lance]

I literally just thought about what am I going to do when I want another contact multi-purpose sensor now that smart things doesn't sell it thank you for this video and hopefully aotech gets their act together

[apwelsh]

I have been through a lot of motion sensors, and the Hue motion/light sensor is my favorite. It is reliable over the course of a year. The Aeotec are good when you need humidity, but for the price, they really eat through battery life quickly.. and they fail to accurately report battery life when using lithium batteries. For door sensors, I prefer the Aeotec recessed door sensor. It's very quick/responsive, and have exceptional battery life (on the 700 series model).

[kareshare]

Great job on covering most of the common sensors, you may want to consider including a water/leak sensor which is bery important to prevent leaks.

[RiceEater]

I'm super late to this but I want to advocate for Yolink sensors. Both their door and motion sensors are great. They have great range, fast reactions, and most importantly they're cheap. Highly recommended for those on a budget who while still being high quality. And they work with Alexa to set up routines so I have several around my home to turn on different thing at different times of the day.

[kirstenbakker]

I have good experience with Aqara motion sensors in my SmartThings system.
They detect motion (2 minutes cool down) and light intensity, plus they're quite cheap. They are pretty cute looking and they come with a tiny adjustable bracket.

I use them in my house to automatically switch on the hallway lights when motion is detected.
But only when the light intensity in that space is below the 30 lux threshold I set.
This way the light only switches on when needed at night, or during daytime in our dark dark winter months.
Works like a charm!

[michaelmcelrath]

Visonic sensors have always been my favorite. They are TINY, no logo, super easy to pair, they can be modified to be water sensors, and they were only $10 each. The price eventually went up to $15 (still great) and they eventually sold out. Can barely find them anymore now :(

[ThePrimeMinisterOfTheBlock]

Thanks friend, with so many sensors out there this helps narrow down what to buy