Reddit reviews ZOOZ Z-Wave Plus 4-in-1 Sensor ZSE40 VER. 2.0 (motion / light / temperature / humidity)

I have recently gone down the road of automating my home. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Try not to lock yourself into an eco-system.
   
2. Google Home and Amazon Echo have similar capabilities, if you already have an Amazon, echo and if you like it go with more Alexa devices. As /u/TwiceBakedTomato already mentioned, Google Home or Amazon Alexa are only going to be voice-control part of your home automation. Also, if you already have a pixel phone, you can check out google's home skills, by using the google assistant.
   
3. Do not overlook Zwave. You can get a USB Zwave hub like this, and you won't have a bunch of bulbs and switches crowding your wifi network.
   
4. Check out Home Assistant. It is not really a works out-of-the-box solution (I can't speak for hass.io), but it is not hard to setup and has a lot of resources online. The possibilities with it are quite endless. The kind of automations you can have are only limited by the inputs/components you have configured and your imagination :)
   You can check all the components Home Assistant supports here. I have it configured with my TP-Link bulbs, switches, LIFX Bulbs, ZWave sensors, Zwave switches, Schalge Smart Lock, Roomba, NAS, Nest Cameras, Thermostat, etc...
   
5. For the doorbell, I would suggest going with the Nest Doorbell, Keep in mind there is an extra $50/yr (or $30/yr for each extra Nest cam) for Nest to save 24x7 video feed. It has however performed better than my older Ring doorbell which kept failing. Make sure your apartment doorbell is wired.
   
6. If you are getting more cameras, there are 2 options, going for a solution like Nest or Arlo, where the video feed storage, notification, etc is all handled by an external company; or getting cheaper IP/ONVIF Cameras and using your own surveillance/storage solution. I personally have a mix of both. I have a few nest cameras and a few cheaper IP cameras that record to my NAS. This gives me the peace of mind that in case someone breaks into my home and steals my NAS as well, I can still depend on Nest to have the break-in recorded and stored on their servers. I can also see the feed from all my cameras in a single place in Home Assistant.
   
   
   Miscellaneous thoughts:
   
   
7. Replacing wall switches are really easy, so don't restrict yourself to using only smart plugs. Just keep the older switches and put them back when you're moving out of your rental. (Obviously take appropriate safety precautions when working with live electric wires). They are also better when you have a multi-bulb lamp (like a chandelier), instead of getting 3-5 smart bulbs to make the chandelier smart, you can just get a single smart-switch which controls it.
   
8. Look into a smart lock, they are easy to install and are great! I currently have this one.
   
9. You can setup Home Assistant in something as small as a raspberry pi. Or if you have a older laptop lying around you can easily install Home Assistant, an MQTT server, Grafana, etc on docker containers on the same system
   
10. If you like DIY stuff, instead of getting a $35-$60 multi sensor like this, you can easily put together one with a ESP8266 and sensors which would cost about $8-$10 in total.
    
11. Make sure you set a budget. It's very easy to start buying stuff and a lot of approx. $30 stuff will add up quickly :)
    
    Hope this wall of text helps you. Happy Automating!
    
    e: spelling

Replace the timer switch with a Z-Wave switch like this one: https://www.amazon.com/GE-Repeater-Extender-SmartThings-14291/dp/B01M1AHC3R

Then you can set up a timer in the Smart Lighting app so that whenever that switch if physically pressed, it will stay on for a certain amount of time.

Set up a sensor that monitors humidity like this one: https://www.amazon.com/ZOOZ-Z-Wave-Sensor-Temperature-Humidity/dp/B01AKSO80O

You'll also create a separate automation that activates the fan when that sensor reads above a certain humidity, and turns off when the humidity drops back down. That one is a little more complicated to setup, but not impossible.

I’ve been using the Zooz 4 in 1 zwave sensor (amazon link). It was a bit of a pain to get it connected to my network for some reason, but once I got it connected it’s been working great. Maybe a 1 to 1.5 second delay from walking into the room to triggering an automation. Not great but not bad.

It also has ambient light, temp, and humidity sensors. Not sure how accurate that is as I haven’t used it but it seems to be consistent so I’d expect with some trial and error it would work if needed.

As a Canadian, I opted for Dome and Zooz Z-wave products instead. Dome's door sensors pair with ST and work fine out of the box. For the Zooz motion sensors you'll need to get a device handler for the full feature set. But I prefer Z-wave over Zigbee.

I currently use some GoControl/Linear motion sensors. They're ugly and slow (1-4 seconds), so I'm also looking around for an alternative. I found these two on Amazon. Anyone know if they are worth the price?

https://www.amazon.com/ZOOZ-Z-Wave-Sensor-Temperature-Humidity/dp/B01AKSO80O/

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-TriSensor-Temperature-Automation-Security/dp/B07GP3ZCYD/

I use this in my daughter's bedroom to control the thermostat for the best temp in her room at bedtime.

ZOOZ Z-Wave Plus 4-in-1 Sensor... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AKSO80O?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

How inexpensive? $38 ?
ZOOZ Z-Wave Plus 4-in-1 Sensor ZSE40 VER. 2.0 (motion / light / temperature / humidity) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AKSO80O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_tubjDb34F1HJ1

EDIT sorry may not work with Google home out of the box. I have a Smartthings hub.

I have this, works well with my Smarthings but battery needs replacement after 6 months. ZOOZ Z-Wave 4-in-1 Sensor ZSE40 (motion / light / temperature / humidity) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AKSO80O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rs3Zzb6B8GN8J

I am in the middle of returning my monoprice sensor. Mine was constantly detecting motion in a closed bathroom. I own the zooz 4 in 1 sensor and have been quite happy with it and only bought the other to save a few dollars. I now own two of the zooz and am happy with both of them. I have the aeotec zwave gen 5 stick running with home Assistant. I originally thought that the monoprice was a knock off of the original but found either that to be not true it their software to be much worse. Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AKSO80O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_9NlOAbT8EG6GF

You could go all smart things but I went with smart things for the hub and these sensors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AKSO80O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_secEybHE1J6W7
They were on sale for ~$25 a piece when I bought them. Also if you lose power or wifi the smartthings servers alerts you, doesn't help with the heating issue, but at least you know to check on things.