Linptech/Moes Human Presence Sensor Product Review

Introduction

Human presence sensors have a great little addition to my Smart Home. I have now purchased 4 of these devices and will likely pick up some more in the future. I found them to be superior to motion sensors, and their dual capability as presence and illuminance sensor has allowed me to create better automations. I also no longer need to manually control my lights, even by voice.

If you trust my judgement and are ready to buy, here is a link to the Linptech Human Presence Sensor. There is an identical Moes branded version as well. Sometimes you can get a better discount or coupon on one or the other, so check them both.

If you need more convincing, then read on.

The Good Stuff

Responsive

This device responds quickly upon entering (or leaving) the room. I found that it is faster than my other Zigbee motions sensors.

Sensitive

Because they are so sensitive, these devices will stay on if a person is in the room, even if the person is not moving. This means that I can be more confident that if the device is not detecting motion, there is likely nobody in the room and I can turn off the light.

Radar Technology

Radar allows these devices to see through objects, like doors and walls. This means you can hide the device behind something, and it will still work –assuming you don’t mind losing the luminance capability. You do need to be careful about placement though, so you don’t pick up activity in an adjacent room.

Zigbee Repeater

This device will act as a repeater for other Zigbee devices, expanding your coverage and strengthening your mesh network.

Shortcomings

Overactive

There are some complaints that the device is too ‘chatty’ with the Zigbee hub. This means it can create a lot of noise in your event logs, so you will probably want to disable logging for standard use.

Too Sensitive

These devices are known to trigger motion events even when you might not expect them to. Even small movements from something like your HVAC can be a problem. Most notoriously, they never stop sensing motion when there is a ceiling fan in their view.

Bright Led

There is an LED indicator that blinks when the device is detecting motion. During the day it is not a problem, but at night it can be obnoxious. Covering the LED with tape will also block the illuminance sensor. There may be a firmware update that allows you to turn off the LED, but it is not currently available for Hubitat.

How I Use It

My favorite place to add presence sensors has been in bedrooms. My children are notorious for leaving their lights on when they leave their room, and this has solved that problem. The included illuminance sensor allows me to only turn on the lights when the room is dim. I have additional automations to prevent the lights from turning on accidentally at night — like if someone rolls over in bed.

The basic automation is pretty simple. If there is motion and the illuminance is below a certain level, turn on the light. Otherwise, turn off the light.

For Hubitat, I recommend using this custom driver instead of the built in driver. It will give you more control over the device and allow you to set the sensitivity using automations. In my case that means making them less sensitive at night, for example.