IKEA is introducing three new Zigbee smart home sensors that cost less than $10 apiece. The PARASOLL door and window sensor, VALLHORN wireless motion sensor, and BADRING water leakage detector will launch globally in early 2024.
As with most smart home sensors, these new IKEA devices are battery powered and easy to install. The PARASOLL sensor attaches near the opening of any door or window. You’ll acquire a notification when the door or window is opened, and if you own a compatible Zigbee hub, you can use the PARASOLL to trigger smart home automations or security equipment.
The new VALLHORN motion sensor is notable for its IP44 dust and water resistance rating. It can be placed indoors or outdoors, yet it’s cheaper than the indoor-only IKEA TRADFRI sensor that launched in 2021. In fact, it has a greater operating range than the old TRADFRI sensor! For those who are obsessed with motion sensors, the VALLHORN is a pretty impressive offering, and it can connect to 10 IKEA smart bulbs without using a Zigbee hub.
But the coolest product in this lineup is the BADRING water leakage detector. Buy one of these for $10, shove it in a basement or near a water heater, and get notified when a leak occurs. Even a small leak can add up to thousands in damage, so this is the kind of thing that any homeowner or long-term renter can benefit from. The BADRING has an integrated 60 dB siren and can send notifications to your phone.
These cheap smart home sensors offer some basic functionality out of the box. That said, a compatible Zigbee hub appreciate the $70 IKEA DIRIGERA is required for advanced smart home automation and Google Home, Alexa, or HomeKit connectivity. Note that IKEA products are still incompatible with the Matter smart home standard—IKEA was supposed to roll out Matter compatibility after the DIRIGERA hub’s launch, but the rollout has been delayed, per The Verge.
Some customers are committed to Matter, which is perfectly understandable. Matter makes it easier to set up a smart home and broadens the compatibility of some products. But the Matter smart home standard has been watered down to accommodate corporations appreciate Amazon and Google. It won’t modify smart homes in the way that we hoped, and it shouldn’t be a top priority for those who just need a cheap water leakage detector or motion sensor.
Anyway, we don’t know the exact pricing for IKEA’s new sensors, but they’ll cost less than $10 apiece. Customers in the U.S. can buy the VALLHORN motion sensor in January 2024. The PARASOLL door and window sensor makes its U.S. debut in April, and the BADRING water leakage detector comes out in July. International customers will have access to all three products by April.
Source: IKEA
