Zooz Z-Wave Long Range Q Sensor ZSE11 800LR | Motion, Temperature, Humidity, Light (Hub Required)

Works great, but needs a driver update on Hubitat
I bought this sensor with a bit of hesitation after reading all the reviews. Thanks to Techie Buyer, whos review was the only one, which outweighed all the negatives.Initially I had issues with getting a motion sensor to work, but after replacing a stock Hubitat driver for this sensor with a community driver, everything started working like a charm.I don’t think Amazon allows external links in the reviews, but if you Google search for “Zooz SZE11 800 hubitat driver”, the top result will be a link to “How to Access Advanced Settings for ZSE11 Q Sensor on Hubitat”, and it will have a link to the driver that works.Needless to mention that I’m powering the sensor with USB power, and that’s a feature that’s worth more than anything. Who likes to replace batteries, no matter how infrequently?

Disappointing accuracy and limited utility – BAD LIGHT SENSING
I have two of these sensors and was hopeful they would meet my objectives. Unfortunately, the majority of the measurements suffer from poor accuracy and limited resolution.Motion:Motion detection is the most reliable of the ZSE11 features and works quickly and with good range and vertical and horizontal field of view. With ST device type handlers installed, there are options to raise/lower sensitivity as well as enable/disable an LED indicator light when motion is detected. I rate the motion detection solid 5/5. It’s as good or better than several other z-wave motion detectors I have.Temperature:Out of the box, my sensors’ temperature readings were consistently 3-4 degrees above actual air temperature. This in itself is minor and correctable by applying temperature offsets in the settings. But another limitation is that the frequency of the measurements is limited to 1 hour intervals or temperature changes of at least 1 full degree. Consequently, the data collection will not reflect temperature readings with high resolution. This is surprising given that temps are reported with precision to 1 decimal point. If actual temperature fluctuates +/- several fractions of a degree several times within a 1 hour period but never exceeds a net 1 degree change, then the ZSE11 will record NO change in temperature during the 1 hour period. Every other z-wave device I’ve owned for years is able to gather temperature changes at a much finer frequency/resolution. So it’s shocking that the ZSE11 is so limited. Rated 3/5.Humidity:The out of box humidity readings for my two sensors were a stunning 15% above actual humidity. This was observed in a variety of settings within my home from the basement to the second story floor. The ZSE11 would even report humidity readings that were *higher than the outdoor ambient humidity* (during Summer which should be impossible) all while my home was being continuously air conditioned. Likewise, in a closed room with a 500W dehumidifier running, the ZSE11 would report higher humidity levels than other sensors reported in adjacent non-dehumidified rooms. To its credit, the sensor would detect actual changes in humidity seemingly fine, but it’s just very disappointing that the accuracy of the measurements was so incorrect. No factory-new measurement instrument should ever be 15% off calibration. Also, as with the temperature readings, humidity measurements are only reported at 1 hour intervals or for changes of at least a full 1%. So again, humidity is measured to 1 decimal place, but the granularity of the readings is very limited. As with temperature, I find the ZSE11 to perform below average in measuring and reporting humidity as compared to other z-wave products. Rated 3/5.Illuminance:Of all the functions I wanted the ZSE11 to perform, this was the most anticipated but sadly most disappointing. The range of light detection is apparently from 0 to 100,000 lux. The light reporting threshold can be set from as low as 1 lux to as high as 30,000 lux. And the light measurement can be offset anywhere between -20,000 lux and +20,000 lux. I want to draw attention to the scale reaching into the tens of thousands of lux. Because I can’t understand what type of use case or environment would involve such absurd levels. In case it’s not obvious, I’m deeply frustrated by the poor performance of the light sensing capability of the ZSE11. It seems to be designed to monitor stadium lights, nuclear explosions, or solar output, things that would possibly involve thousands upon thousands of lux. HOWEVER , THIS SENSOR IS NOT ABLE TO DETECT SMALL LEVELS OF LIGHTING. More specifically, it cannot detect when a completely dark room transitions to a dimly lit room when natural sunlight arrives during the day. In fact, it consistently under-reports light levels even with normal artificial lighting fully turned on. Rooms with light levels well above 100 lux according to light sensors on various phones and cameras all produce lux levels below half their actual values when measured with the ZSE11. Most significantly, any low light levels which would normally register at or below ~40 lux are reported as 0 by the ZSE11s. This renders the light sensors nearly useless for any kind of illuminance-based automation (i.e. “activate lights only if room is too dark”). A little research will show that it’s not unusual for homes to have areas with lux levels ranging from 50 lux to 300 lux. So it stands to reason that these sensors should be calibrated to handle light levels in those low ranges, rather than in the tens of thousands of lux. Also, unlike with the temperature and humidity issues, the light level inaccuracy CANNOT BE CORRECTED with an offset setting. This is because the sensor physically cannot differentiate below a certain level. Any offset adjustment will simply result in that value being falsely reported as the new minimum value (e.g. an offset of 50 lux will cause pitch black rooms to appear as being lit to 50 lux). I had such high hopes for the light sensing capability of the ZSE11, but I cannot imagine there are any worse performing z-wave light sensors available. Rated 1/5.Other:Despite the above criticism, the ZSE11 does offer some redeeming qualities. The support for micro-USB power is especially welcome as it eliminates the chore and annoyance of replacing sensor batteries. For me, this on its own justifies keeping the sensors as replacements for battery-powered motion sensors. Additionally, the ZSE11 will act as a z-wave repeater when configured with USB power. Setup went very smoothly for me although I have extensive experience with z-wave and ST device type handlers, so other users may form a different opinion.

Integrates with Hubitat Elevation C7 Easily!
Paired with a Hubitat Elevation C7 hub via Z Wave very quickly. Performs fast. Powered by USB! Drives a couple Intertek Innr Lighting SP234 smart plugs, and with accurate, granular luminance sensing, allows me to turn lights off (One, connected to the aforementioned smart plugs.), if the sensor detects additional light (From a window, or in my use case, ceiling fan lighting.).The manufacturer site says they are making design provisions for the firmware framework used by Hubitat, which is exciting news, for those of us who do not wish to buy a hub for each manufacturer, simply to update firmware on a device. Big bonus, thanks you, Zooz!

Work great, a little sensitive, but can work around. Use with Hubitat hub.

I had previously purchased a Zooz ZSE40 4-in-1 sensor, and it has been operating very well for close to 5 years. I required adding 4 additional Zwave motion sensors to my smart home, so decided to get the newer Q Sensor. The sensors all paired with my smart home (HomeSeer) controller very easily, just as the ZSE40 had done. However, once the sensor devices were being monitored, I noticed that the temperature readings that they were providing were significantly off, as well as the humidity readings. I searched for information on how to calibrate them, and found nothing. In addition, which was even more frustrating, was that the motion sensors would simply not detect motion from time to time. I use the sensors to automatically turn on lights when someone enters a space/room, and I expected them to always detect motion. I had the sensitivity set to 8 (maximum), and still they missed an incoming person about 25% of the time. I double checked everything, and even took the time to remove them from my system and re-add them to my Zwave network. I probably spent 6-7 hours messing about with these sensors, and after reaching out to Zooz customer support (which was very close to useless), have decided to return the four sensors to Amazon, and will look at similar sensors from other vendors.Although, I don’t know the subtle differences between the Q sensors and my ZSe40 4-in-1 sensor, I do know that the sensitivity and reading accuracy has suffered significantly. I would have expected them to work better, as they are newer and able to leverage better technology, but this was not the case. It may been more that Zooz decided to use inferior (less expensive) components in order to increase their profit margin on these devices.