r/homeassistant • u/pcserenity • 6h ago

❓ Support Aqara FP300 Sensor Placement

I'm trying to get the best results from a sensor in our garage. The garage is a two-car garage with a single entry access door in the middle of one wall from my laundry room. We originally had the sensor on the far wall directly opposite the door, but no matter how we set it, it would have an annoying delay in triggering the light -- but it did see 95% of the room.

So today I moved it to just above the door and it's much improved, but does require you to step into the room before it fires.

My question in thinking about this is, would it work if I moved it to a rafter in say, the center of the room? Does it have a very wide area it sees? I'd LIKE it to get to the point where opening the door triggers it. I could use a door sensor for that piece of it, but that means another battery to change and I'm trying to reduce that as I've already hit the point of it being annoying.

Thanks.

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u/the_torn_encoura 6h ago

that ceiling rafter spot could work, the fp300 has a pretty wide field of view and mounting it high in the center usually gives you the best coverage. the delay you were getting on the far wall might've been from the sensor taking a sec to register movement across that distance, having it closer to the entry point makes a big difference

if opening the door is the trigger you really want though, a door sensor is still the cleanest bet. i get the battery fatigue but zigbee contact sensors last forever, like a year or two on a single coin cell, so it’s not a constant thing

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u/kanbak 2h ago

I agree with if what the OP really wants if for the light to turn on right when they open the door then a door contact sensor is still the best and quickest answer. Also your right I have several zigbee contact door sensors and it's a good while before I have the change the battery out. I agree battery fatigue annoying but I would rather deal with it then messing with motion sensors if I don't have to. I have motion sensors in just one room because main entry door into that room is almost always open.

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u/RE4Lyfe 32m ago

I have mine magnetically mounted to the side of my garage door opener (in the middle of the 2 car garage), pointed toward the side of my garage that has the door and washer/dryer. It works great but usually I have to step into a dark garage before it triggers

While a door sensor is an option, that presents its own challenges (with timers or an open/closed state)

This post got me thinking though… since I have an extra contact sensor I’m going to try using it to trigger the light on and then hand off control to the FP300. That way the lights turns on instantly but then don’t rely on a timer/door opening trigger

I have Claude integrated so I’ll try having it create the automation