What’s a good sensor for motion, humidity, temperature and light for the smart home?

There are plenty of single or dual-purpose sensors available for smart homes, but what if you want to know just about everything that’s going on inside a room and even automate your home based on that information? That’s the latest question we received on the IoT Podcast Hotline from Scott. He wants a device that can track motion, temperature, humidity and even light.

Your best bet in our opinion is the Aeotec 6-in-1 Z-Wave sensor (shown above), which costs around $60. Not only does it support the four measurements Scott is looking for, but it also adds support for detecting UV light levels and vibrations. Stacey has tried this sensor and thought it performed really well. The sensor has mainly good reviews on Amazon, can be mounted in a well and works with Fibaro, HomeSeer, Indigo 7, openHAB, SmartThings, and Vera. Note that you may need a custom device handler for some of the features.

A less expensive option is a similar sensor from Monoprice at around $30. However, reviews are very mixed on this sensor unit, so be wary of potential issues. It does meet Scott’s requirements of motion, humidity, temperature, and light, but omits UV measurement and vibration detection offered by the Aeotec option. Like the Aeotec unit, this uses a Z-Wave radio and requires a hub of some kind.

The cost of outfitting an entire home with either of these sensors in every room will add up quickly, so it may make sense to consider if you need all of these data points in a room first. Perhaps a lower-cost motion and temperature sensor will suffice in some rooms. And before deciding on either of the above two options, consider buying one of each for testing. Then you can decide which will best meet your smarthome needs, return the other one and buy more of the product that works best for your home.

To hear Scott’s question in full, along with our discussion, tune in to the IoT Podcast below: