The bottom lineTiny, fast, and cheap motion sensor with a built-in light meter. The light meter works great, but only if you mount it where it can see daylight.
What we like
- Fast motion detection for hallway and kitchen lights
- Built-in illuminance (lux) sensor lets lights skip turning on in daylight
- Runs locally in Home Assistant with no Aqara hub
What we don't
- The lux reading depends heavily on placement. One of ours can't tell day from night
- Battery device, so it doesn't strengthen the mesh
The light sensor is the real feature
Motion lights are easy. The hard part is not turning lights on when the room is already bright. These sensors report lux, so an automation can say “only if it’s dark.” We logged a few days of readings from each one, and placement turned out to matter more than anything else:
| Sensor | Night | Day | Usable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laundry room | 0–2 lx | 47–810 lx | Yes, perfect separation |
| Kitchen | 14–18 lx | 35–353 lx | Yes |
| Living room | up to 55 lx (lamps on) | peaks at 68 lx | No, day and night overlap |
The living room sensor sits where it barely sees the window, so a lamp at night reads about the same as noon. The fix isn’t a better sensor. It’s moving this one, or gating that room on sun position instead.
Tip
Before you write a “turn on if dark” automation, chart a few days of your sensor’s lux history in Home Assistant. It takes five minutes and saves weeks of “why didn’t the light come on.” Full walkthrough in our lux calibration note.
Ready to buy?