It’s easy to be wary of claims of long-lasting battery life, as so many products out there promise reliable and worry-free battery power and then fail to deliver. So when the Sensative Strips Door/Window Sensor arrived to the market – a sensor thinner than two credit cards stacked together, and featuring a brand-new kind of battery that lasts for 10 years – some of us were skeptical.
Sensative recently turned to Sony to put their product’s power consumption to the test with the help of Otii – a new energy-optimization tool that measures and analyzes the power consumption behaviors of battery-powered devices. Of its many useful features, it allows the user to pinpoint the cause of a draining battery by syncing the software’s debug output with its power readings. Otii’s findings confirmed that the battery in Strips can last much longer than 10 years with optimal configuration and network conditions.
Key Facts:
1. The 3mm thick custom-built battery has a capacity of 480 mAh.
2. A strong coating and reliable build make Strips weatherproof and efficient in changing temperatures.
3. In a small house with a single-hop setup (no range extenders), more than 50% of the battery’s capacity remains after 10 years.
4. In a normal-sized house with a dual-hop setup (one range extender), more than 33% of the battery’s capacity remains after 10 years.
5. Strips is equipped with a battery booster that engages battery voltage in very low temperatures and towards the end of battery life.
Take a look at the infographic below and let us know if you’re still having second thoughts!
If you’ve ever tried shopping for smart switches, you already know how quickly things can spiral. What starts as “I just want a smart dimmer for my kitchen” somehow turns into reading about 3-way wiring, traveler wires, load ratings, relay switches, neutral wires, smart bulb mode, and whether your exhaust fan will explode if you accidentally install the wrong dimmer.
And honestly, we get it. Once you open up a switch box and start Googling terms like “single pole vs multi-way” or “line and load,” things can feel overwhelming fast. Instead of forcing you to compare every switch model and decipher electrical terminology on your own, our new guide walks you through the decision process step by step so you can narrow down the right switch for your setup without second guessing yourself.
If you love a good DIY project and a touch of smart home magic, you’ll be blown away by what YouTuber DIY With Vinny pulled off. His YouTube tutorial transforms a simple closet into a fully automated, jaw-droppingly smart space, from leak detection to mood lighting and robot-friendly automation.
The best part? It’s powered by some seriously smart Zooz Z-Wave gear that makes everything run seamlessly behind the scenes. All of the Zooz devices featured here support the new Z-Wave Long Range protocol, so your smart home stays connected and responsive, even across floors, garages, or detached spaces.
Let’s take a tour of this build and peek at how you can recreate it in your own home.
Smart home tech isn’t just for indoors anymore—it’s transforming yard care too. While we’re used to voice assistants and smart thermostats, outdoor tools like sprinkler systems are catching up. Instead of wasting water on rigid schedules, smart systems adapt to the weather, skip rainy days, and keep your lawn healthy with minimal effort.
Smart sprinkler control makes it easy to upgrade your existing irrigation system with a device like the Zooz ZEN17 Universal Relay. Compatible with SmartThings, Hubitat, Z-Box, Home Assistant, and HomeSeer, it fits into most smart home setups without locking you into one platform. This post covers the benefits of automating your sprinklers, how to set up the ZEN17, control options, and real user tips to help you get the most from your system.
wim L
February 01, 2023
real world test: 3 strips, placed in an appartment on doors and windows:
strip 1 (9/2018) just hit 25%. (so 5 years = 75%)
strip 2+3 (03/2020) have been @ 75% for around a year now
Real life expectancy appears to be betweeen 6-8 years, in a good, single hop network setup.