I have a closet where I stuff photography gear, blog ideas, reams of paper and Christmas gifts I’ve hidden yet forgot to give to my wife. It's lit by a single bulb operated by a pull chain. The closet door is in my line of sight, and every time I walk in to my office, the bulb is on. I’m not sure if I just leave it on, or if the pull chain is being pulled by ghosts determined to watch my electric bill climb. I'm not using the closet nearly enough to be burning the bulb 24/7.
As a blog writer with access to everything Z-Wave, I got my hands on the GE 34193 Z-Wave Plus Tabletop Smart Motion Sensor as well as the Enbrighten 35931 Z-Wave Plus Smart LED Bulb, Dimmable, (60w equivalent).
The 34193 was a bit smaller than I expected out of a device advertised as a ‘tabletop unit,’ but felt solid. Not related to your user experience, but I'm not crazy about the tagline, "Use any mobile device!". While OUR customers would never see it on a shelf, I've already gotten an earful (or keyboard-full) from disgruntled users who purchased this from their local box store and were misled.
THESE DEVICES REQUIRE A Z-WAVE HUB! Regardless, both devices were packaged well and had a good feel and even some directions.
I used the motion sensor's included mounting bracket, screws and anchors, and installed it just above the transom of the closet door, so it will trigger as soon as I stick my head in to look for something.
I paired this and the 35931 bulb (a simple screw-in installation) with my Fibaro Home Center Lite, which took only a few minutes with no drama. I used the Magic Scene wizard to create two scenes: turn on the Enbrighten LED when the motion sensor detects motion, and turn off the Enbrighten LED when the motion sensor doesn’t detect motion for 4 minutes. So far, 3 days since I set this up, the LED bulb is off, and responds quickly when I need something. This inexpensive and easy solution automated my office closet to save energy and money. Granted, it would take approximately 1 year to recoup the $70 cost of this project (A 60 watt bulb costs $0.0071/hour x 24 hours 365 days =$62.34/year) but the convenience of the automation and never walking into a dark closet gives value as well.
Take a look and see if a quick automation project like this will work for you. As always, please feel free to send me a message using the link in the bottom right corner, or ask our team at Ask An Expert