Alright, so I used to be that person who thought motion sensors were just fancy light switches. You walk in, light goes on. Nothing special, right? Man, was I wrong.
Got my first Aqara motion sensor about 6 months ago, just to try it out. Fast forward to now and these little guys are all over my house—and I’m doing things I never thought possible.
Some cool things I’ve figured out:
- I’ve got one facing my stairway, it triggers dim lights after 10pm so I’m not blinded doing midnight snack runs.
- My bathroom fan turns on automatically if someone’s in there for more than 3 mins (you do the math).
- I’ve even set one up near the front door to notify me if someone’s loitering outside for longer than 15 seconds. Game-changer.
Biggest tip? Don’t just slap them on walls randomly. Angle and placement make ALL the difference. Also, combine them with other devices for next-level automations. Pair with door sensors, time conditions, or even weather triggers for smarter scenes.
I started as a complete rookie, but messing with these things is actually fun once you get the hang of it. Anyone else got unique ways you’re using motion sensors? Need some inspo for my garage setup next!
10 Likes
@HubHacker Thank you for sharing your journey from a motion sensor novice to a smart home pro! Your experiences with the Aqara motion sensors are truly inspiring and demonstrate the transformative potential these devices have in a smart home setup. From optimizing your lighting for those late-night snack runs to enhancing security with your front door sensor, you’ve highlighted some creative ways to use these sensors effectively.
Your tip about strategic placement and angling is spot-on. It really does make a significant difference in functionality and effectiveness. Pairing them with other devices like door sensors and setting up conditions for automation takes your smart home setup to a whole new level.
As for your garage setup, consider using an Aqara Motion Sensor P1 or FP2 for its wide range and integration capabilities with various ecosystems like HomeKit and Alexa. You might automate your garage lights or even integrate it with a security system for added protection.
Keep experimenting and sharing your insights! Your experience is invaluable to the community, and it’s always exciting to see what innovative setups others come up with.
3 Likes
Great topic. I have a nifty one in my a spare bedroom. A normal sensor will just trigger if someone is on the room, fine, until they go to bed. Any movement in the night and the light turns on.
So what I did was pop it behind a TV on the wall that basically looks at the bedroom door, that way it doesn’t bother movement in the room
3 Likes
Hello, I’ll tell you another trick, you can turn the sensor upside down and radically change the range of the sensitivity zone (the movement of pets in the house is no longer a problem) 
And automation 2.0 allows (using a sequence, I call vector motion) the condition of motion1 + motion2 along the corridor to instantly turn off the lamp behind you. I described this in lesson 5. Automation 2.0, Lesson 5, vector lighting control by sensors
3 Likes
I have one, but I still don’t get much use out of it.
1 Like
I absolutely love all three of those, defiantly cool and I will be stealing the ideas and palming them off as my own greatness (to my household) so thank you for the inspiration
Paul
1 Like
Great topic!
I currently have an FP2 presence sensor in my workshop, but planning on fitting the new ones throughout my home.
Here’s some of the automations I’ve currently got running from the one in my workshop:
- If someone walks in, turn the room light and the lighting behind my work machines on.
- If everyone leaves the room, and the room stays empty for 10 seconds, turn all the lights off (10 seconds helps prevent the light flicking off and on if I was walking out then doubled back because I forgot something)
- If I walk up to my 3D printer filament storage wall the lighting turns on so I can easily see it. If I walk away from it, it’ll turn off a few seconds later
- If I walk up to my work desk, after 5 seconds of standing there the work desk lighting will turn on (the delay is because I regularly walk past the work desk so it prevents the light turning on when I’m just passing)
- I have an iPad mounted to a peg board by my computer set in Kiosk mode so it only displays Home Assistant. I’ve got the iPad to turn the screen off every 5 minutes. With the presence sensor, if I’m stood within 2 meters of the iPad, it sends a notification to the iPad. As the iPad is in kiosk mode, the notification isn’t displayed, but it wakes the screen up. It then sends a notification every 5 minutes I remain in that space. So the iPad screen is always on and displaying Home Assistant any time I’m near enough to read it or touch it, but turns off to rest the screen and save power any other time.
And the Piste de Résistance:
Every morning when I enter the room (detected by the presence sensor), it will have a Google Nest speaker in the room greet me (with a time appropriate greeting, Good morning, Good afternoon, etc.) then read out my remaining calendar entries for the day.
It will only do this once per day and only between the hours of 8am and 5pm.
If I enter the room before 8am it won’t trigger, but then will trigger the next time I enter the room after 8. If I don’t enter the room before 5pm, it won’t trigger that day.
This is all running via Home Assistant, and when going into some of the other smart home gadgettry in the room (much of which is Aqara) there’s even more automations I’ve set with the presence sensor
2 Likes