I’m very new to Home Assistant and to date have mostly done my home automation through other means (namely wifi devices, magic home, google home and IFTTT).
As I am about to start my home reno, I am looking at a revamp of what I had so far and going for smart switches instead of smart bulbs, smart sockets, and everything else you can think of.
I have the opportunity to wire most if not all stuff at the same time and managed to find a smart smoke alarm and a few smart sensors that don’t work on battery.
I am struggling to find wired PIR though. I would like a few in areas that do not have direct sunlight like walk in robe, toilet and walk in bathroom. And also in our room with the view to have it used at night only. Ideally they can be “hidden” in the ceiling. Also mentioning we have a cat so good human detection for one in the bedroom may well be a key criteria.
There are a couple of old topics around PIR and read about the possible use of 433mhz dumb ones connected through extra electrical hardware (sounds complicated and not really cheaper) and pretty much nothing otherwise.
So here is my question: Should I go down the route of wired PIR (my preference)? If yes, please recommend what I should go for. If not, what battery PIR should I consider for the use mentionned above (I’d prefer rechargable battery and not button if possible, I am concious of the dispolal of dead button batteries). Or should I go hybrid? I have seen (very few) usb and battery operated ones. Are they any good?
Thank you very much for your help!
Depending on what you want, these can be tied into an alarm system or a digital input sensor to provide presence detection or motion detection for security. If you are doing security as the priority, do everything wired that you can, it is surprisingly easy to foil wireless security systems.
I believe the RCR can actually be mounted behind drywall if you use it in radar only mode. That mode can also allow you to use it in rooms with heat sources that would constantly trigger a PIR only sensor.
There is still a distance limit, and once it hits the 2nd and 3rd layer of drywall the range drops to a point where that is not a concern if positioned strategically inside a room of the right size. Since it is 5.8GHz radar a wall is fairly opaque. And the range setting is adjustable for smaller rooms
I had one in a hallway that kept triggering when moving in an adjacent room. Just something to be aware of that I thought was worth mentioning (particularly if disabling the AND logic with the PIR sensor).
Thanks very much guys.
The solution you suggest Tom seems very daunting tbh. Looks like there’s a lot of soldering and electrical stuff to build, let alone setting up 2 pi + Home assistant.
Are there any easier way to connect dumb wired PIR to HA?
Anyone in the forum who experienced with USB powered smart ones?
Hi @nocrack , I’m in a similar situation with the chance to hardwire sensors as we renovate and I see the benefits of reliability and longevity. Did you find a good solution and would you mind sharing? Also, what did you use for the other hardwired sensors (I’m in Australia too)?
I went down the easier route of USB powered PIR. They are standard smart ones with a rechargeable battery and have USB too. They are connected to a USB port in the ceilling so it’s a very clean look.
THe only issue with the ones I chose are that there is about a 4-5 sec delay between a movement is detected and an activity happen. That can be annoying depending on where and how it is used.
THey are tuya based and don’t know if flashing them with a firmware that keep trafic local would help but haven’t had a chance to try yet.
I’ve gone with these:
I’m testing with some 12v general PIR sensors. But what I have noticed is that when you start the sensor by giving it 12 volt, the NC contact of the PIR:
will be for a few seconds closed
then a long time the sensor is giving an alarm (so contact is open)
after that the sensor is ready and the contact is closed
