I’ve been on a quest to create a motion-based system that activates various devices like light switches and appliances by detecting movement in the appropriate room. After trying a couple of motion sensor options, I found that most devices only detect when motion starts but don’t continue to monitor it or notify when motion is no longer detected. My goal was to use motion detection to turn everything on, but since some devices are lights, I didn’t want to rely on a timer that might shut them off if someone was still in the room. I needed a way to continuously check for movement to figure out when everyone has left the room and then set a short timer to turn things off a minute or so after they leave.
I’ve tried devices like WeMo and D-Link, but they were only effective for turning things on and took so long before looking for motion again that creating an effective timer to turn things off shortly after everyone leaves was impossible. I decided to explore the SmartThings family of devices and was pleasantly surprised by their capabilities. The SmartThings Motion Sensor, in combination with the SmartThings Hub, provided the continuous monitoring I needed. It detects motion and continues to monitor it, notifying when motion stops. This allowed me to set up a system where lights stay on as long as someone is in the room and turn off a short time after the last motion is detected.
The setup was straightforward using the SmartThings app. I configured the motion sensor to trigger the lights and set up a timer to turn them off after a period of inactivity. The system has been working perfectly, and I no longer worry about lights staying on unnecessarily or turning off too early. The integration with other SmartThings devices has also been seamless, allowing me to expand the system as needed.
I’d like to thank the SmartThings community for their support and the wealth of information available online. It’s been a great experience, and I’m excited to continue exploring the possibilities with SmartThings. If anyone has questions or needs help setting up a similar system, feel free to reach out!