Setup:

Pairing the ZOOZ ZSE29 with SmartThings was easy enough, and the device came in to the app as a motion detector. There is a third party device handler available that adds additional functionality, but I am just interested in the motion sensing and will leave it as is.



I initially connected the device indoors, at my desk, and it stayed there a while as I waited for the time and a nice day this winter to go set it up outside. Waiting "a while" turned in to almost 3 months and all the while it was monitoring motion as I simply worked at my desk. In the screenshots above we can see that as of early February the battery level was still bouncing between 90% and 100%, so I definitely won't complain about that.

In Use:

I had made my own observations about the adequacy of the design to be used outdoors, but I did a bit of digging to see what the manufacturer had to say about it (a step best taken earlier in the process). The product page at The Smartest House states...

To mount the unit find a sheltered area, without direct sunshine or exposure to rain, within range of your Z-Wave hub (some drizzle is fine).

Additionally, the manual states...

Do not install the device in a place with direct sun exposure, high temperature, or humidity.

So, you need to keep this outdoor device away from many things you can't control outdoors... heat, sunlight, humidity, wetness. I intended to install it under an eave, which will keep the direct sunlight and driving rain off, but it will get damp and it will possibly get hot and humid. So, we'll have to come back later to see how this holds up longer term.

My first tests were with the device in its default state, testing mode, where a red LED lights up when it senses motion. This gave me the confidence that the sensor was working well with the field of view I was looking to cover (front walkway and stairs), and that it was resetting fairly quickly to be ready to trigger again. After a bit of test positioning I turned the screws to get it out of testing mode and initially just put each screw in the middle of their range. The red LED kept blinking, indicating it was still in testing mode. I saw some online consumer reviews stating they had the same problem and they were told by ZOOZ to push harder on the screw while turning. Not really a confidence inspiring answer, but it worked for me. Out of testing mode now, and the setting for reset is as expected. The lux trigger setting is harder to gauge as you adjust it, but it triggers consistently as I want it, so I am happy.