I think if we are honest with ourselves, most of us would admit that smart home tech falls into one of two categories. First, there is the genuinely useful. Second, there’s the stuff we do just because we can, and it is to some degree cool.
I think I’ve now discovered a third category: things that really aren’t worth all of the time and effort they take …
‘Upgrading’ to a presence sensor
In my previous home, I used several different Philips Hue motion sensors. The main one was in the kitchen, switching on the under-cabinet light strips whenever anyone walked into the kitchen, and switching them off again when no movement was detected for two minutes. I’ve replicated that in my new home.
A motion sensor proved less effective in my previous bathroom. As the name suggests, a motion sensor only detects someone when they are actually moving. If you were having a leisurely bath, then there was no movement to detect, and the timeout would then switch off the bathroom lights while the room was still occupied.
