In this review part of our Hive Special Series of reviews, we are looking at the Hive Motion Sensor and the Hive Window or Door Sensor. These sensors can be used for part of your home security via the Hive HomeShield or they can alert you when someone is in the house and can work with your hive actions settings which will work with other hive products and trigger lights to switch on or devices to switch on such as your kettle if your heading into the kitchen.
What is the difference between Hive Motion Sensor & Window & Door Sensor?
The difference is the Hive window/door sensor are installed on windows or doors and will indicate if opened or closed where the Hive motion sensor detects surrounding motion in the house. The Sensors make part of the Hive ecosystem meaning one well-placed sensor could open a variety of smart home solutions all managed via the Hive Hub 360.
The sensors can all be managed via the Hive App and create actions so for example if you trigger a motion sensor then it will do a task using the other hive devices creating simplicity to smart living.
The sensors are available from the Hive site and Amazon for £29 for each sensor (Hive Site Price). Set up of the motion sensor is easier than the Window & Door Sensor which we will discuss later in this review.
The Hive Motion Sensor
The Motion sensor comes with sticky strips which you place on the back of the device and we found the best position was to have it in the top corner of the living room. Make sure it’s no higher than 3m from the floor as you may leave blind spots below the positioning of the monitor. Also when considering the sensors take into account the following which might trigger an alert:
- Direct Sunlight hitting the sensor.
- Having a window in view due to outside movement.
- Having a heat Source in view.
- Lots of post coming through a letterbox that is in view.
Moving back to the set-up like the Active Plug you need to set the sensors up via the app. Open the app, Tap the menu and install devices. You will notice the LED light on the front will flash amber until your Hub 360 connects with the sensor then you will get a green light indicating it’s paired and ready to use. Just like other Hive Devices best to name the sensor location on the app so it’s easy to custom controls for the sensor.
You can set up the motion sensor to give you alerts via your smartphone, Apple Watch or Inbox whatever way you feel is best for you. Having the Motion sensor does work well and picks up notifications of when someone in the house you get a push notification. This issue with this is if you just have a notification you might not be able to tell who in the house at that time. A way to solve this is to pair the motion sensor with a Hive View indoor camera so you can see who has caused the alert.
As mentioned in the Active Plug review the motion sensors also work in sync with Hive actions which allows you to automate your home. For example, is motion is triggered the response is switch on a light or any other device that you may have within the Active Plug. There are many actions you can set so get creative! I found if the motion sensor picks me up between 6 am to 8 am the action would be to switch the kettle on or if you enter the house at 10 pm to 11 pm it will switch on the living room light are just a few examples of them in action.
The Hive Motion sensor can detect motion up to 5m away and has a 94-degree field of view when vertical.
The Hive Window & Door Sensor
The Window & Door sensor are very similar in how they work but this sensor comes with 2 parts one you put on the window or door and the other part of the sensor to the fame of the window or door. What you could do is use the actions feature so when you open a door & light will pop on and when you close that door the light goes off which if you about saving electricity it’s a nice option to have. If you use this sensor on a window it will alert you if you leave a window open and go out. The alert handy if you’re in a rash you can make sure your house is secure at all times and goes towards building a smart home for you to enjoy.
An issue you might come up against is the window & door sensor both parts need to be flush alongside each other with no further than a 10mm gap between them. If you have a PVC door you might find this difficult to set up.
Once you have a good place for the window and door sensor you will find it works really well but they only really work alongside other Hive products due to the action feature. If you are thinking of just buying the sensors on their own don’t! They are part of the Hive smart home infrastructure you need other Hive products along with your purchase then everything will communicate and make life just a tad easier especially when getting an alert that you have left a window open as no one wants to welcome a burglar.
Verdict
Would I buy the Motion Sensor & Window & Door Sensor for sure as not only do they add to your overall Smart home set up they provide security notifications and the motion sensor can also be energy efficient and as a result save you money on your energy bills.
Product Rating:
Overall Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
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