In this post we’re sharing our top pick in the sensor category, the Philips Hue Motion Sensor. Since we are huge fans of the Philips Hue Smart Lights, it follows that their sensor is a great companion for your existing Philips Hue smart home devices. It’s fairly small and comes with an optional mount you can use to place it anywhere in the room you want.
You can install the reasonably priced $40 sensors in multiple rooms in your home so walking into the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc will turn the lights on automatically for you – no more fumbling around in the dark for a switch! On the other hand, lights will automatically turn off if no motion is detected, which will save you energy and money on your electric bill.
The Philips Hue Motion Sensor is wireless and requires (and comes with) 2 AAA batteries – you’ll get 2-3 years of use out of the batteries. You will also need a Philips Hue Smart Bridge to operate this sensor, as with any of the other Philips Hue products. Connection is easy once you have your bridge and Philips Hue app – just pair it up with the app according to the app’s prompts and you’re ready to go.
The app allows you to have different settings for day and night – for example, in the night you might want the lights to turn on to a dim level when motion is detected, rather than a brighter setting for daytime. You can also specify how long you would like the lights to stay on, and how long after motion is detected they should turn off again.
Another cool feature on the Philips Hue Motion Sensor is an ambient light sensor that can detect how bright the room is to determine how much light is needed. You can adjust the sensitivity according to your preferences through the app. Speaking of sensitivity, you can also adjust it for motion detection, so if you have a dog or a cat you won’t have to worry about them setting it off all day.
The Philips Hue Motion Sensor is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Samsung Smartthings hubs, but not with Apple Homekit, which could be a downside for some. It does also connect with your Nest Smart Thermostat, which is a huge plus in our opinion.
Definitely check out the Philips Hue Motion Sensor as a great option for home automation!
