Best Door and Window Sensors for Apple HomeKit
- jul
- 19
Whether you're sleeping soundly at home or out and about, you can use these HomeKit-enabled door and window sensors to monitor areas of ingress within your home.
A HomeKit-enabled door and window sensor is going to give you an easy way to keep an eye on your property regardless of your location. You can use sensors to get a notification that a door or window has been opened while you're away from home or past a certain hour (no sneaking out past curfew!). You can also use them to create automations, such as a HomeKit-enabled thermostat programmed to turn off when you open a window or HomeKit-enabled lights set to turn on when you open the front door. You can use these HomeKit-enabled door and window sensors to make that happen.
Elgato Eve Door & Window
The $40 Elgato Eve Door & Window sensor is a small, unassuming contact sensor that can help you keep track of the state of your doors and windows.
The two-piece device easily attaches to any surface you choose. Simply peel away the protective coating on the back and fasten the two pieces to your door and door frame or window and window frame. It does have a replaceable battery (1 1/2 AA battery), but it connects to your HomeKit-enabled setup using Bluetooth Low Energy, so you won't be replacing that battery very often.
Using the Elgato Eve app, you can keep track of a whole lot more than just whether or not your door is open at any given time. The app keeps track of the time and duration of when your door or window was open and closed. You can quickly see when your door or window was last opened and how many times it's been opened.
Most importantly, though, you can use the sensor's HomeKit integration to set up automations. One example: When my Eve Door & Window sensor detects the front door is open, turn on the entryway lights.
Fibaro Door / Window Sensor
The $60 Fibaro Door / Window sensor is another svelte, unassuming contact sensor for your doors and windows. This one, however, packs in a few more features and a few more colors.
You can get the Fibaro sensor in white, gray, black, tan, orange, red, and brown, meaning it will be ready to match or blend in with any of your decors. Along with offering the standard contact sensor features, the device touts built-in sensors for both tamper protection and temperature. That means you'll know the state of your doors and windows as well as the temperature of the rooms you've put them in. Thanks to the sensor's HomeKit integration, you'll be able to create those automations for both temperature and contact sensing. As for the tamper protection, the sensor will send you a push notification if it detects an attempt to remove the sensor or open its case.
The Fibaro Door / Window sensor also uses Bluetooth Low Energy to connect to your HomeKit setup. When it comes time to change the battery —Fibaro says you can expect about two years of battery life — you'll need to pop in a 1/2 AA battery.
If you want a little more than a simple contact sensor, Fibaro's Door / Window sensor is a great choice.
Koogeek Door & Window Sensor
Koogeek's $32 door and window sensor is simple, inexpensive, and — like the others on this list — unassuming. You can fasten the device to doors, windows, and their respective frames without worrying about it sticking out too much.
Koogeek's sensor also uses Bluetooth Low Energy to connect to your HomeKit setup, so you can count on about one year of battery life with the included CR2450 button battery.
Along with the customary notifications of open doors and windows, you can use the device's HomeKit integration to set up automations. If you forget to turn off the lights when you leave the house, consider using the sensor to help you out. When the Koogeek Door & Window Sensor detects my garage door closing while there's no one in the house, turn off my living room lights.
If you're looking for an inexpensive way to add an extra layer of security or automation to your HomeKit setup, check out Koogeek's sensor.
Thoughts?
Do you have one of these HomeKit-enabled door and window sensors? Are you thinking about getting some for your house? Be sure to leave your thoughts and questions in the comments or send a mention my way over on Twitter!
