UPDATE: Since publishing this video, there is now a Home Assistant add-on that makes it much easier to create detection zones. Nice work @EverythingSmartHome! Learn more here: everythingsmarthome.github.io/everything-presence-lite/Home%20Assistant/creating-zones.html
Thanks for the review of the Everything Presence Lite and glad to hear you are enjoying it! Couple of points I'd like to mention: 1. I think I said before in your previous video but you are absolutely right regarding the EP1 case - we are currently finalising the injection moulded case for the EP1 and should be available soon to address the issues you mentioned, we will also make it available to those who have the original. 2. Zone setup can definitely be easier I agree. We are working on the docs for this, but its worth noting that the phone app you mention is also compatible with the Lite. 3. You did a pretty job at comparing both sensors, but I would add that the One and the Lite compliment each other well and serve slightly different purposes. The One is designed to be the absolute best presence sensor for static presence i.e detecting you when you are very still like sleeping or watching TV. The Lite on the other hand isn't as good at static presence (still very good) but is much better at tracking and of course zone movements, better for spaces where you may move around or sit in different locations in a room and want to be able to automate from that. Thanks again for taking the time to review. Feel free to hit me up about the issue you have with the One case and I'll send you a replacement
Hey everyone who sees this in the future, we just released a brand new add-on for HA to help visually setup zones for the Lite, you will find a guide in the documentation! Would love to hear the feedback, I'm really happy with the new visual configurator
Everything Presence One does not have multi-zone support, so that would be specific to Everything Presence Lite.
3 місяці тому+5
I wish this video had been available when I set up my own Lite, which I received about a week ago. In fact, I may reset it and start all over because I feel like I have a much better understanding now of what needs to be done to get accurate zoning results! Thanks for the information and walk through.
Just to follow up on this, we release a brand new visual configuration tool for zones which you can find in the user guide under the Home Assistant section - let me know how it goes!
I already have motion detection, so I bought presence sensors to assist with places where we're sitting for long periods of time: board game room, office, dining room, etc. Surprisingly, I haven't had issues with bathrooms turning off the light even with just a single Philips Hue motion sensor. One issue with mmWave sensors is they cause the room's occupancy to never change. Because of that, my triggers to turn on lights have issues. For instance, if you turn off the lights manually, the motion detectors should start passing through a condition, but since Occupancy's state never changed, lights don't come on again until I leave and come back.
You can change the unit of measurement by going to the device in Home Assistant, clicking one of the entities, clicking the settings or gear icon, and then selecting the unit of measurement. I think by default it was using the metric system, and I manually changed some of the entities to the imperial system (inches) since that was easier for me since I live in in the US. Hope that clarifies, and thanks for watching.
Question i just got the everything lite and when I leave the zone it takes 30 seconds before it triggers the action. the automation is a simple setup. Not sure what's the delay. Can someone help?
Assume this is only natively built for Home Assistant? I’m looking to use them with Hubitat and can see someone has coded the drivers, but can’t see that it’s officially supported?
Hey man, thanks for the video! Do you happen to have the CO2 sensor add-on with it? If so, any chance you could do a video or give some instructions on how to add it to the EP lite? I tried following Lewis' instructions but have not been able to get it working, even with his direct help. Thanks!
I do not have the CO2 sensor add-on for the EP Lite, but I do have it for Apollo Automation sensors that I have separate videos on, but doesn’t sound like that will help you.
Here's a video topic suggestion for you. I have been wanting to find some type of presence detection but I've been concerned about getting false positives when the dog or cat walks by. Maybe have some friends bring their furry friends (of various sizes) over and have the pets walk by one at a time. See which ones cause the sensor to trigger. Do this test with the sensor at various heights and angles. If and when I get sensors, I envision needing to place some of them near the ceiling and others on a table.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm allergic to dogs and cats so probably won't be doing that test. But someone else shared this with me that you might find useful: They put a mmWave sensor inside a 1 gang electrical box behind a blank plate with some aluminum foil below the sensor (this was with the Everything Presence One). They put that box up at 5' above the floor and set the distance to 80% of the hallway width. So now when a person walks into the hallway all the hallway lights turn on, but when their large Golden Retriever goes in the hallway it does not trigger it (the aluminum foil made that possible). They mocked it up for 3 months to perfect it before they cut holes in the wall. They said it's about 90% reliable.
Nice video, I've been really thinking about whether I should get this or Apollo MSR2. But I guess I have to give the EPL the upper hand since it does presence and zones. Just wondering but how long did it take to ship to you? I see 3-17 days as the estimate on their website. 17 is very long and would almost make me not consider them lol. I'm in the US East coast BTW.
I would compare the Everything Presence Lite to the Apollo Automation MTR-1, not the MSR-2. I have all of these devices (and the Everything Presence One), and made videos about all of them on my channel if it helps you. You can watch them here: ua-cam.com/play/PLfKQZkv5PtxrZ1B8H-gVRakerpVHNtILb.html. In brief, the EP One is my favorite all-around sensor, but the EP One can be used in combination with the EP Lite, just as the MSR-2 can be used in combination with the MTR-1. You can do the same across the brands. The EP One and MSR-2 both offer great still presence detection, whereas the EP Lite and MTR-1 offer multi-target and multi-zone tracking. All four are fantastic sensors in my experience. I'm also on the East Coast, and pretty sure it got to me quickly.
I'm here from your blog (and at about 3'00 above), where you say "To get started, plug the Everything Presence Lite into a computer using the included USB cable. ..." Do you mean this has to be connected by USB to a computer in order to work? That seems rather limiting, especially when it's not a USB-C input.
If your Home Assistant server has Bluetooth enabled, it should auto discover the EP Lite and allow you to connect it to your WiFi network. I like to plug it in via USB to ensure I’m on the latest firmware as I set it up initially.
@@michaelsleen It doesn't, but I have now set up an EPL so I understand the process - although I am still not sure (instructions don't seem to say) at what point you detach it from your computer and move it to where it is going to operate.
As I recall, I left it plugged into my computer during firmware update, WiFi setup, and adding to Home Assistant. Once that was completed, I unplugged and moved to the desired location in my home.
@@michaelsleen I've watched those too :). Nevertheless it is a little difficult to clearly navigate the differences between the Apollo and EP (and Aqara etc) sensors, so a video covering it would be really useful
To use this device for multiple zone detection it seems that the zones need to be rectangular and the sensor mounted in the middle of a wall? I have an aqara FP2 that I corner mount and setup zones based on a corner mount. I do that as it only requires 90 degrees view to see the whole room in corner mount, otherwise wall mount misses two corners of the room rather than just one seeing the limited fov. I am in no way an aqara loyal fan, and would prefer to buy more of the devices in your video seeing they are cheaper, aimed at direct home assistant install (rather than homekit into home assistant) and seems like the developer is active in the home assistant community which is a bonus. However not being able to corner mount with zones may hold me back buying these.
I don't believe you are more restricted with this device than the FP2 in terms of mounting locations. In general mmWave sensors are best positioned higher up vs. down low, but I would not view the EP Lite as less flexible than the FP2 in terms of where you mount it. Thanks for watching!
@@michaelsleen how would I set the zones though, as it seems that they need to be corner to corner perpendicular/parallel to the sensor which is the challenge.. On the fp2 (before they gave corner mount as an option) I choose multiple small squares to make a larger (somewhat) rectangle zone for the lounges that was 45 degrees to the sensor. Home assistant seems to be one large rectangle only for each zone. I was wondering if a roof mount may give the full room (not kiss two corners) although I suspect there's a reason they suggest wall mount other than ease of mounting. I've looked for this info a little, but I guess what I'm asking isn't a common request so this isn't important to others. Maybe need to search further. I'd like to buy one of these, just without 180 degree fov (no mmwave device has this) then I'd prefer corner mount to get all but one corner covered.
I believe you can think of a zone as any size square or rectangle that you want it to be. Not sure I fully understand the corner mount predicament you are facing. I know of people who ceiling mount mmWave sensors. In my house, I have some wall-mounted 6.5 feet off the ground, and some on a cabinet 3 feet off the ground. Placement is important and all comes down to what works in your particular environment.
UPDATE: Since publishing this video, there is now a Home Assistant add-on that makes it much easier to create detection zones. Nice work @EverythingSmartHome! Learn more here: everythingsmarthome.github.io/everything-presence-lite/Home%20Assistant/creating-zones.html
@@michaelsleen I wish I'd seen this!
Thanks for the review of the Everything Presence Lite and glad to hear you are enjoying it!
Couple of points I'd like to mention:
1. I think I said before in your previous video but you are absolutely right regarding the EP1 case - we are currently finalising the injection moulded case for the EP1 and should be available soon to address the issues you mentioned, we will also make it available to those who have the original.
2. Zone setup can definitely be easier I agree. We are working on the docs for this, but its worth noting that the phone app you mention is also compatible with the Lite.
3. You did a pretty job at comparing both sensors, but I would add that the One and the Lite compliment each other well and serve slightly different purposes. The One is designed to be the absolute best presence sensor for static presence i.e detecting you when you are very still like sleeping or watching TV. The Lite on the other hand isn't as good at static presence (still very good) but is much better at tracking and of course zone movements, better for spaces where you may move around or sit in different locations in a room and want to be able to automate from that.
Thanks again for taking the time to review. Feel free to hit me up about the issue you have with the One case and I'll send you a replacement
Thanks, Lewis, for taking the time to watch and to leave your thoughts!
Hey everyone who sees this in the future, we just released a brand new add-on for HA to help visually setup zones for the Lite, you will find a guide in the documentation! Would love to hear the feedback, I'm really happy with the new visual configurator
@@EverythingSmartHomeDoes the app also work for the one or is that a different app?
Everything Presence One does not have multi-zone support, so that would be specific to Everything Presence Lite.
I wish this video had been available when I set up my own Lite, which I received about a week ago. In fact, I may reset it and start all over because I feel like I have a much better understanding now of what needs to be done to get accurate zoning results! Thanks for the information and walk through.
Glad it was helpful!
Just to follow up on this, we release a brand new visual configuration tool for zones which you can find in the user guide under the Home Assistant section - let me know how it goes!
I already have motion detection, so I bought presence sensors to assist with places where we're sitting for long periods of time: board game room, office, dining room, etc. Surprisingly, I haven't had issues with bathrooms turning off the light even with just a single Philips Hue motion sensor.
One issue with mmWave sensors is they cause the room's occupancy to never change. Because of that, my triggers to turn on lights have issues. For instance, if you turn off the lights manually, the motion detectors should start passing through a condition, but since Occupancy's state never changed, lights don't come on again until I leave and come back.
Thanks for sharing. I use motion to turn lights on and mmWave to turn lights off, and do not have the issue you described.
I have both. but only use the Everything Presence One. I may have another go thanks to this video.
Great video but I'm still confused on the distance setup. Why does the readings show (IN) and the area you enter shows (MM). Any help would be great!
You can change the unit of measurement by going to the device in Home Assistant, clicking one of the entities, clicking the settings or gear icon, and then selecting the unit of measurement. I think by default it was using the metric system, and I manually changed some of the entities to the imperial system (inches) since that was easier for me since I live in in the US. Hope that clarifies, and thanks for watching.
@@michaelsleen I found it! Thank you for your help.
Question i just got the everything lite and when I leave the zone it takes 30 seconds before it triggers the action. the automation is a simple setup. Not sure what's the delay. Can someone help?
It should trigger right away. Double check the distance and zone settings to ensure it’s covering the intended area.
what is the name of the app you were using for the Apollo sensor?
HLKRadarTool
Assume this is only natively built for Home Assistant?
I’m looking to use them with Hubitat and can see someone has coded the drivers, but can’t see that it’s officially supported?
My understanding is that it is officially supported for use with Home Assistant.
Hey man, thanks for the video! Do you happen to have the CO2 sensor add-on with it? If so, any chance you could do a video or give some instructions on how to add it to the EP lite? I tried following Lewis' instructions but have not been able to get it working, even with his direct help. Thanks!
I do not have the CO2 sensor add-on for the EP Lite, but I do have it for Apollo Automation sensors that I have separate videos on, but doesn’t sound like that will help you.
@@michaelsleen okay, no worries. Thanks again!
Here's a video topic suggestion for you. I have been wanting to find some type of presence detection but I've been concerned about getting false positives when the dog or cat walks by.
Maybe have some friends bring their furry friends (of various sizes) over and have the pets walk by one at a time. See which ones cause the sensor to trigger. Do this test with the sensor at various heights and angles. If and when I get sensors, I envision needing to place some of them near the ceiling and others on a table.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm allergic to dogs and cats so probably won't be doing that test. But someone else shared this with me that you might find useful: They put a mmWave sensor inside a 1 gang electrical box behind a blank plate with some aluminum foil below the sensor (this was with the Everything Presence One). They put that box up at 5' above the floor and set the distance to 80% of the hallway width. So now when a person walks into the hallway all the hallway lights turn on, but when their large Golden Retriever goes in the hallway it does not trigger it (the aluminum foil made that possible). They mocked it up for 3 months to perfect it before they cut holes in the wall. They said it's about 90% reliable.
@michaelsleen thanks. Sorry to hear about the allergies.
Nice video, I've been really thinking about whether I should get this or Apollo MSR2. But I guess I have to give the EPL the upper hand since it does presence and zones. Just wondering but how long did it take to ship to you? I see 3-17 days as the estimate on their website. 17 is very long and would almost make me not consider them lol. I'm in the US East coast BTW.
I would compare the Everything Presence Lite to the Apollo Automation MTR-1, not the MSR-2. I have all of these devices (and the Everything Presence One), and made videos about all of them on my channel if it helps you. You can watch them here: ua-cam.com/play/PLfKQZkv5PtxrZ1B8H-gVRakerpVHNtILb.html. In brief, the EP One is my favorite all-around sensor, but the EP One can be used in combination with the EP Lite, just as the MSR-2 can be used in combination with the MTR-1. You can do the same across the brands. The EP One and MSR-2 both offer great still presence detection, whereas the EP Lite and MTR-1 offer multi-target and multi-zone tracking. All four are fantastic sensors in my experience. I'm also on the East Coast, and pretty sure it got to me quickly.
I'm here from your blog (and at about 3'00 above), where you say "To get started, plug the Everything Presence Lite into a computer using the included USB cable. ..." Do you mean this has to be connected by USB to a computer in order to work? That seems rather limiting, especially when it's not a USB-C input.
If your Home Assistant server has Bluetooth enabled, it should auto discover the EP Lite and allow you to connect it to your WiFi network. I like to plug it in via USB to ensure I’m on the latest firmware as I set it up initially.
@@michaelsleen It doesn't, but I have now set up an EPL so I understand the process - although I am still not sure (instructions don't seem to say) at what point you detach it from your computer and move it to where it is going to operate.
As I recall, I left it plugged into my computer during firmware update, WiFi setup, and adding to Home Assistant. Once that was completed, I unplugged and moved to the desired location in my home.
👉 Let me know how you’re using multi-target or multi-zone tracking in your smart home, or any interesting ways that you might.
A comparison to the Apollo would be cool
Thinking about that for a future video! I do have videos on Apollo sensors on my channel.
@@michaelsleen I've watched those too :). Nevertheless it is a little difficult to clearly navigate the differences between the Apollo and EP (and Aqara etc) sensors, so a video covering it would be really useful
To use this device for multiple zone detection it seems that the zones need to be rectangular and the sensor mounted in the middle of a wall? I have an aqara FP2 that I corner mount and setup zones based on a corner mount. I do that as it only requires 90 degrees view to see the whole room in corner mount, otherwise wall mount misses two corners of the room rather than just one seeing the limited fov.
I am in no way an aqara loyal fan, and would prefer to buy more of the devices in your video seeing they are cheaper, aimed at direct home assistant install (rather than homekit into home assistant) and seems like the developer is active in the home assistant community which is a bonus. However not being able to corner mount with zones may hold me back buying these.
I don't believe you are more restricted with this device than the FP2 in terms of mounting locations. In general mmWave sensors are best positioned higher up vs. down low, but I would not view the EP Lite as less flexible than the FP2 in terms of where you mount it. Thanks for watching!
@@michaelsleen how would I set the zones though, as it seems that they need to be corner to corner perpendicular/parallel to the sensor which is the challenge.. On the fp2 (before they gave corner mount as an option) I choose multiple small squares to make a larger (somewhat) rectangle zone for the lounges that was 45 degrees to the sensor. Home assistant seems to be one large rectangle only for each zone.
I was wondering if a roof mount may give the full room (not kiss two corners) although I suspect there's a reason they suggest wall mount other than ease of mounting.
I've looked for this info a little, but I guess what I'm asking isn't a common request so this isn't important to others. Maybe need to search further. I'd like to buy one of these, just without 180 degree fov (no mmwave device has this) then I'd prefer corner mount to get all but one corner covered.
I believe you can think of a zone as any size square or rectangle that you want it to be. Not sure I fully understand the corner mount predicament you are facing. I know of people who ceiling mount mmWave sensors. In my house, I have some wall-mounted 6.5 feet off the ground, and some on a cabinet 3 feet off the ground. Placement is important and all comes down to what works in your particular environment.
I get a 404 on the Everything Presence Lite Kit link
Fixed, thanks!
Really nice video! The outtake though. 🤌😆The best part.