With a wide range of Z-Wave sensors available, it can be quite difficult to choose the best, most suitable one for your needs.
For this post, I'm going to take a look at the new Vision Door/Window sensor and Motion detector, comparing them with the similarly priced Everspring products.
Generally, the Vision products have a better specification than Everspring, and some of these details are well worth considering as they can make a big difference in the sensor's performance.
Extra Features
Neither of the Vision sensors I'm looking at can be described as 'standard' devices for their kind. The Vision Motion Detector includes an integrated temperature sensor, making it it ideal to control a room's temperature as well as detecting movement. The Vision Door/Window sensor includes terminals so that it can be wired to an external switch such as a security sensor or even a door bell. Additional features are either not available in the Everspring devices, or you need to look at the more expensive versions.
Battery Power
All the Vision sensors use Lithium batteries. This may not sound like much, but Lithium batteries can last up to 3 times longer than other batteries regularly used in Z-Wave sensors. The more expensive Everspring sensors use Lithium batteries, but the entry level SP103/SP814 motion sensors use standard AA batteries.
Latest Z-Wave Specification
The Vision sensors are all based on the latest v4.5 Z-Wave specification, whereas the Everspring devices use the older v5.x specification (don't ask me why the latest spec. is a lower version number). This means that the Vision devices have a higher degree of compatibility and have support for the latest Z-Wave features and commands.
High Quality
The Vision products are all produced in Vision Security's Taiwan manufacturing plants, and as you can see in their name, Vision produce a lot of security products as well as the Z-Wave sensors. This means their quality levels are consistently high and in-field failures very low.
Conclusion
As you can see, the Vision sensors have some really nice features that make them a serious contender for your next sensor selection. They're well worth trying and if you're looking for new sensors, checkout next week's Vesternet Mondays event.
Mark