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Motion sensor buying guide: lamp, hub, or chime

Updated: 20.10.2026

A motion sensor buying guide for a UK house starts with the job, not the star rating. You might want a porch lamp, a battery puck for a hub you already own, or a chime for the drive. Those are three products. On amazon.co.uk this set runs from about £10.96 to £44.95 on 19 October 2026. Prices and stars are listing figures, not a lab test. The rows sit on the [motion sensor comparison](/hub/burglar-protection/motion-sensor). Once the system is chosen, the conditional picks are on [best motion sensor](/hub/burglar-protection/motion-sensor/sub/motion-sensor-best).

A motion sensor buying guide for a UK house starts with the job, not the star rating. You might want a porch lamp, a battery puck for a hub you already own, or a chime for the drive. Those are three products.

Our top picks

Philips Hue Philips Hue indoor motion sensor

Best overall

Philips Hue Philips Hue indoor motion sensor
9.6/10about £37.99
View offer
Maclean Maclean MCE468 B

Best value

Maclean Maclean MCE468 B
9.2/10about £10.96
View offer
BeiLan BeiLan PIR chime

Alternative

BeiLan BeiLan PIR chime
8.6/10about £15.89
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three motion sensors, not one
  2. 2.The IP code is the outdoor decision
  3. 3.Hub, load, and a person who stands still
  4. 4.What to check before you order

Three motion sensors, not one

A mains PIR such as the Maclean or a SEBSON head switches a lamp and needs no hub. SONOFF, Tapo, Hue, and Eve only report movement to a named hub or Thread border router. The BeiLan kit at £15.89 is a plug-in chime with 38 tones and no lamp load. A renter should stay with a battery sensor or the chime. A porch replacement should stay with a mains PIR. The fork is PIR vs smart motion sensor.

The IP code is the outdoor decision

The flush SEBSON IR_ES_A is IP20. Both outdoor SEBSON wall units are IP44 at £13.99, splash under a porch, not driving rain. The Maclean at £10.96 is IP65, the only jet rating here. Eve is IPX3, spray with no dust digit. KES Lighting, citing BS EN 60529, puts IP44 under cover and IP65 where rain hits the fitting. Weatherproof on the BeiLan title is not a code, and Tapo, SONOFF, and Hue print none. A bathroom zone belongs on how to install a PIR sensor.
Philips Hue Philips Hue indoor motion sensor

Testsieger

Philips Hue Philips Hue indoor motion sensor
9.6/10about £37.99
View offer

Hub, load, and a person who stands still

Tapo needs an H100 or H200, SONOFF needs Zigbee 3.0, Hue needs a Bridge, and Eve needs a Thread border router from the named Apple, SmartThings, Echo, eero, or Nest list. None works on Wi-Fi alone. Hub prices were not on these ASINs. BeiLan needs three AAA cells, not in the box. Outdoor SEBSON units allow 400 W LED, the IR_ES_A 600 W energy-saving, the 8 m IR_ES_EA 1,000 W LED, and the Maclean line 1,200 W resistive. Several mains listings print 60 Hz and leave voltage blank. A PIR goes quiet when you sit still.

What to check before you order

Name the job, match the printed IP code, and treat a missing code as indoor. Confirm the hub is one you already own, then check LED wattage. A rainy side path with a three-core cable and no hub fails the IP44 SEBSON and passes the Maclean. A hallway of Hue bulbs on an existing bridge passes the Hue sensor at £37.99 and 5 m. Nuisance triggers after a correct fit are not a reason to reorder the same head.

Common questions

Do I need a hub?
You need a hub only for the battery smart sensors, and only the hub that listing names. Tapo needs an H100 or H200. SONOFF needs Zigbee 3.0. Hue needs a Bridge. Eve needs a Thread border router. A mains PIR, and the BeiLan chime, do not. Buying the puck first and hoping it joins ordinary Wi-Fi leaves you with a sensor that never pairs.
What is IPX3?
IPX3 means a spray test, with no dust digit, which is what the X stands for. Eve Motion prints IPX3, at £44.95, with 9 m and 120°. It is not a jet rating and it is not waterproof. The listing still requires a Thread border router, and reviewers report the radio failing in a garden or through an outside wall. Do not read IPX3 as the same claim as the Maclean IP65.
Will a PIR keep the light on while I sit still?
No. These sensors see heat moving across the lens. When you stop, the timer ends and the lamp or the automation goes off. Hue reviewers describe that in a room they are still using. A presence sensor is a different product, and this set does not include one. Set the on-time for the walk you make, not for an evening in a chair.
What LED wattage can a mains sensor switch?
Use the LED or energy-saving column. Outdoor SEBSON units allow 400 W LED. The flush IR_ES_A allows 600 W energy-saving. The 8 m IR_ES_EA allows 1,000 W LED. The Maclean line says 1,200 W resistive, and the title also prints 600/1,200 W. Hue, Tapo, SONOFF, and Eve do not switch that load themselves. They tell another device to switch, and only after their own hub is present.
Is weatherproof an IP rating?
No. Weatherproof is a title word. BeiLan uses it and prints no IP code, and a UK review says the sensor is not waterproof. Eve’s IPX3, the SEBSON IP44, the Maclean IP65, and the indoor IP20 are the codes you can compare. If the listing prints nothing, a driveway photograph does not promote the product to an open wall.
Why do some listings say 60 Hz?
Maclean and several SEBSON mains listings print 60 Hz and leave voltage blank. UK mains are 50 Hz at 230 V. Treat 60 Hz as a catalogue error next to a missing voltage, not as the supply the sensor expects. It is a reason to read load and IP code carefully before you trust the title. It is not, by itself, a reason to reject a head whose other lines are clear.

Related pages

PIR sensor false alarms

Motion sensor

Best motion sensor UK: one top pick, and who skips

How to install a PIR sensor on an existing UK cable

PIR vs smart motion sensor: a lamp tonight, or a hub

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings kept on 19 October 2026.

  1. Electrical Safety First, outdoor lighting (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  2. Approved Document P (GOV.UK PDF) (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  3. legislation.gov.uk, SI 2012/3119 regulation 6 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  4. GOV.UK, when approval is not needed (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  5. KES Lighting, IP65 vs IP44 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  6. Professional Electrician / Ovia, PIR and microwave sensors (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  7. DCC Electrics, PIR security lighting (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  8. Voltimum UK, motion-sensor interference (retrieved 19.10.2026)