While I am always drawn to new, shiny home automation products, I’m also really motivated by products that actually have cool features that makes sense. I want my automated products to improve my life, and to impact my every day. A motion sensor that controls my lights is definitely up my alley! We use lights every single day; they are in all of our rooms and they are vital to helping clumsy people like me avoid injury. There are already all sorts of ways that lights can be controlled, but they all involve some sort of action being taken. You either have to trigger them using your smartphone, set them on a timer, or set up an IFTTT system to trigger them based on another action.
Well, it turns out, simply walking past a motion sensor can trigger the lights for you – no other action required.
The Insteon Motion Sensor, when used with the Insteon Hub, can help your house automatically react to your motions. Each sensor costs about $35, so it’s pretty affordable. The motion sensor also controls more than lights, but that is the main thing that I use it for.
Here are some of the coolest features of the Insteon Motion Sensor:
Indoor and Outdoor Monitoring
The Insteon Motion Sensor works indoors and outdoors, so it can be used in detached garages and laundry rooms. Indoors, it is great for hallways, closets, and other areas that are typically dark.
Senses Occupancy
Once you set up your lights to run with your Insteon Hub, you can pair it with a motion sensor so that the lights for a room can automatically turn on when you enter, and off when you leave, based on occupancy sensing.
Alerts
Insteon can be set up to send alerts to anyone in the household. So, if a motion sensor goes off when no one is supposed to be home, you can be alerted that something might be wrong. If there are areas of the home that your roommate, kids, babysitter, or cleaning service aren’t supposed to enter, you can be alerted if those areas are occupied.
Energy Saving
The sensor can also react to natural light, so you can have your outdoor lights turn on at dusk, and off at dawn, so that you are saving energy, and household costs.
The Insteon Motion Sensor will allow you to remotely control up to 400 other Insteon devices, through the hub. You can also customize your setup so that your lights turn off a minute after you leave, and so that they don’t react to motion during the day. You also have flexibility in your sensor placement thanks to two features: adjustable sensitivity and excellent range.
When you purchase a sensor, you’ll get the device, mounting brackets and screws, a battery, and a quick start guide. You can also find several documents online, including Documentation available online; Motion Sensor Setup, Automatically turn lights on and off with sensors, Motion sensor – quick start guide, Motion sensor – owner’s manual.
