Smart homes can be fantastic places to reside if configured properly. There are countless ways to input data for platforms like Home Assistant to collate numbers and other information to trigger specific conditions. If done properly, you could pull up to your automatic gate in your vehicle, have it open without you reaching for a fob, to then be met by all the lights and HVAC system turning on. The ability to accurately detect motion and presence and become almost required.

The first port of call will undoubtedly be motion sensors and while they are great at what they do, they shouldn't be the only solution used. They're not perfect and relying on motion sensors alone can lead to inaccurate detection, false flags, and frustration as your 28 Days Later army base flood light setup causes planes to divert the local airport for your garden each night. That's where other technologies come into play. Fusing it all together can create the ultimate smart home setup.

Motion sensors are unreliable

It's not always an indicator of something there

The primary issue with motion sensors is in the name. They detect motion. But what if you're sat almost perfectly still? Let's say you set your office lights to remain on so long as the motion detector senses something for five minutes but you've been still for that time. Now you're in total darkness. Waving a hand will solve this, but it's annoying and no one wants to be waving to themselves every so often. The same goes for watching TV and other activities. Then there's the case of owning pets.

Motion sensors are incredibly sensitive, even though that goes against my prior argument of one of their flaws. This sensitivity means they'll pick up motion for most moving objects. That's great until it starts reporting movement from a dog wandering through the room or a curtain blowing in the wind. So long as something moves within its field of vision, it will trigger a movement alert. Then there's the fact they may not work in low light or specific scenarios. Relying on motion sensors as the backbone of your smart home could cause issues.

Thankfully, there's a better way to detect presence and movement and it's not through outright replacing your existing movement sensor setup. These are still great for specific conditions, but we could bolster the setup with additions such as infrared sensors, floor sensors, cameras with AI-backed object detection, Bluetooth beacons, and even sound detection to listen out for footsteps and other noise caused by movement across the floor. Combine these together and you'll have the ultimate solution.

Providing motion sensors some backup

Bolster your smart home with advanced tech

My first recommendation (and something I've already ordered in) is to pick up some infrared sensors. Thermal sensing is more accurate for detecting people and other live animals due to sensing heat signatures. And because pets, humans, and inanimate objects all produce different levels of heat, these handy sensors can differentiate between them all, creating more accurate input for Home Assistant and automations. This alone will reduce false positives triggered by simple motion sensors.

The best part of infrared is you're still giving off heat while sat still, which the sensor will continue to detect, providing the motion detector much-needed support. So while the motion sensor alone has certain drawbacks, these are almost eliminated with an accompanying infrared sensor. But what if you were using a home security system with IP cameras? These can be used instead, taking advantage of vision and AI to help reduce false positives.

Running a custom setup through Frigate, I can enjoy using a system that can not only detect motion but also recognize specific individuals, monitor activity patterns, and even identify which parts of the house are currently being used. There's even the possibility of using facial recognition, providing more granular control over smart home settings. A network-attached storage (NAS) device running Frigate can differentiate between a person entering a room and a pet walking past.

Use the one possession most people have

The trusty smartphone

ID cards are a heated topic for many, but almost everyone has something that can be tracked glued to their body for more than half the day and that's the smartphone. This personal device has become almost part of our fabric and it can prove invaluable for creating a more accurate smart home. Remember that example I provided for arriving home and automation kicking in? Use a Bluetooth beacon (or a few) and you can then adjust the automation depending on who's just arrived home.

I part on the right-hand side in our garage and the wife on the left, and the corresponding door can open depending on which smartphone is detected. But the smartphone can do much more, allowing beacons to be placed around the home, automatically adjusting data and automations based on proximity. Doors can be locked/unlocks, lights toggled, and heating adjusted on the fly. It's particularly useful in our older cottage where we rely exclusively on electric radiators.

Before we eventually get round to installing a heat pump and some air conditioning units, electric oil-filled radiators are our primary heating source, which is fine when coupled with a battery and solar solution. But simply controlling them through schedules and manual activation isn't convenient enough for some, which is where Bluetooth beacons can change the game by automatically turning on the heating when you enter a room and the temperature reading is below a threshold.

A multi-layered approach is the way

Setting up and using Home Assistant is awesome, but it's only as useful as the data available as input. This varies greatly depending on what devices you have available for detecting movement, presence, and more. A multi-layered approach allows for more accurate and reliable detection, reducing false positives and negatives. We'll be transitioning from motion sensors to a multi-layered setup with infrared and cameras all integrated for data to be pooled and executed on.

The best part is using Bluetooth from smartphones as everyone has one, even guests who visit and everything can be configured quickly.