Presence sensor that actually works?
Discussion
I'm trying to automate the lighting in the kitchen/diner, using Home Assistant.
I've already got the lights in the hallways and bathroom automated, using Tapo motion sensors. These work great in areas that you pass through, but are rubbish if you stand or sit relatively still. The detection times out, and it rakes exaggerated movements to trigger again.
I bought an Aquara FP2 0resence sensor, and spent several hours setting up the room boundaries, furniture, exit points, etc.
It copes quite well with just one person in the room, during daylight.
With 2 people, it starts seeing "ghosts", detecting extra "people". The "off" state doesn't trigger, as it thinks there's still someone in an empty room after the real people exit.
Gets worse at night, possibly more reflections from windows when it's dark outside? Can easily see 5 or 6 people when there are only 2.
Does anyone make a sensor that actually works in a fairly reflective environment?
I've already got the lights in the hallways and bathroom automated, using Tapo motion sensors. These work great in areas that you pass through, but are rubbish if you stand or sit relatively still. The detection times out, and it rakes exaggerated movements to trigger again.
I bought an Aquara FP2 0resence sensor, and spent several hours setting up the room boundaries, furniture, exit points, etc.
It copes quite well with just one person in the room, during daylight.
With 2 people, it starts seeing "ghosts", detecting extra "people". The "off" state doesn't trigger, as it thinks there's still someone in an empty room after the real people exit.
Gets worse at night, possibly more reflections from windows when it's dark outside? Can easily see 5 or 6 people when there are only 2.
Does anyone make a sensor that actually works in a fairly reflective environment?
If 100% reliable presence sensors aren't "a thing", would it be possible to do using motion sensors at the entry point?
Maybe 2 sensors, so HA can tell the difference between entering and exiting, based on which sensor gets triggered first?
The entry point to the kitchen/diner is effectively a short corridor, could have 2 sensors scanning across the corridor.
I've found the Tapo motion sensors to be 100% for triggering motion when walking past, but completely useless at detecting the small chages when seated or standing relatively still.
Maybe 2 sensors, so HA can tell the difference between entering and exiting, based on which sensor gets triggered first?
The entry point to the kitchen/diner is effectively a short corridor, could have 2 sensors scanning across the corridor.
I've found the Tapo motion sensors to be 100% for triggering motion when walking past, but completely useless at detecting the small chages when seated or standing relatively still.
Trustmeimadoctor said:
Try the everything presence sensors they are basically the best you can get
Reading some reviews, comparing this one to the Aquara sensors, it seems to suffer the same problems with "ghosts". It adds a normal motion sensor, but can't do "zones".It's really quite annoying, as the Aquara works perfectly in detecting when someone enters the room, but seems to lose track if they become stationary for more than a few seconds, and registers them as a new person when they move again. Now there are 2 or more "people" in the room, so when the real person is detected correctly leaving, there's still a "ghost" presence in the room. "Off" automations fail.
I tried it again this afternoon, two people going in and out of the kitchen, often nobody actually n the room for multiple minutes.
At one point, there were 5 people shown as being in the room.
At no point during a four hour test period was the room shown as empty.
Come into the room, switch on the kettle or coffee machine, leave a "ghost" standing there. Sit down at the table with your cuppa, leave a "ghost" sitting there when you get up again.
This is despite mapping the room edges, adding the furniture, marking the exit points, running the AI learning multiple times, etc.
I have been using these for years with esphome.
https://www.hlktech.net/index.php?id=1095
They do not easily do zones, but you can do distance which I find is fine for my needs. They take a fair amount of tuning but once set I have very few issues at all. They detect quick enough to not cause any issues, they do not have false detections or ghosts.
I just connect them to my esphome BLE proxies.
https://www.hlktech.net/index.php?id=1095
They do not easily do zones, but you can do distance which I find is fine for my needs. They take a fair amount of tuning but once set I have very few issues at all. They detect quick enough to not cause any issues, they do not have false detections or ghosts.
I just connect them to my esphome BLE proxies.
I'm not too keen on the DIY approach.
I've got a tablet on the dining room windowsill which I use as a HA dashboard, running Fully Kiosk.
It does a very good job of switching on when someone enters the room, and off again when the room is empty.
No "ghosts", so it always works.
I wondered if I could use this as a trigger in HA to turn the lights on and off. I can see a couple of sensors in the tablet under the HA "Mobile App" integration - motion and proximity. Unfortunately these don't appear to change state at all.
Got me thinking, maybe the motion detector feature of a surveillance camera would be an option?
I've got a tablet on the dining room windowsill which I use as a HA dashboard, running Fully Kiosk.
It does a very good job of switching on when someone enters the room, and off again when the room is empty.
No "ghosts", so it always works.
I wondered if I could use this as a trigger in HA to turn the lights on and off. I can see a couple of sensors in the tablet under the HA "Mobile App" integration - motion and proximity. Unfortunately these don't appear to change state at all.
Got me thinking, maybe the motion detector feature of a surveillance camera would be an option?
I use these, perfect for turning lights on and off, and keeping them on when your presence is still detected.
on AliExpress: ?13.63 | Tuya Zigbee/WiFi Smart Human Presence Sensor MmWave Radar Detection Luminance/Distance Detection For Z2M Support Home Assistant
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EyWi9vI
on AliExpress: ?13.63 | Tuya Zigbee/WiFi Smart Human Presence Sensor MmWave Radar Detection Luminance/Distance Detection For Z2M Support Home Assistant
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EyWi9vI
ARH said:
Does the fully kiosk integration not tell you when the screen is on?
I am guessing the HA app will do it though.
Reading the installation notes for the Fully Kiosk integration, I can't see anything that shows screen state or motion. Looks like it's mostly for controlling the tablet remotely.I am guessing the HA app will do it though.
The tablet "device" shows things that look like they should work, but they never change state in HA.
Googling using cameras as presence sensors, lag seems to be a major drawback
Somebody said:
I was about to suggest various flavours of UWB, but the above probably is a pretty good place to start for not much money. This article is worth reading: https://smarthomescene.com/blog/best-and-worst-pre...
For me I have found Apollo to be very good, then Aquara FP300 and then Everything Presence dual sensor
For me I have found Apollo to be very good, then Aquara FP300 and then Everything Presence dual sensor
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