Hi all,
I just installed OH on my Raspberry PI. I’d like to have an outdoor motion sensor turn on an indoor light. Any suggestions for hardware to purchase for this? I’d like to keep costs down and ideally avoid purchasing a hub. -Mike
If you have wires running to your Pi, you could setup some more-or-less DIY components, but in the long run, you won’t get along without a radio based system and a hub or hub-like device to transmit radio commands anyway.
Home automation is a costly hobby, sorry 
But trying to save on money at this point will make things even worse (more costly) in the future.
I suggest you get a zwave “hub” such as the RaZberry daughterboard or the Aeon Gen 5 USB stick, and Fibaro FGMS-001 or Aeotec Multisensor 6 motion detector. Plus you need a zwave relay. Depends on your situation: if you can put them into the wall, go for a Fibaro FGS-222 relay (or FGD-212, if you want dimming capabilities), or, if applicable, deploy an Everspring AN 154.
Thanks Markus,
I appreciate your recommendations. I’m new at home automation (although I’ve used X10 for many years). I’d say my goal is to make home automation 20% hobby and 80% practical. I thought about waiting until the home automation dust settles and prices come down. But I got the Raspberry Pi for Father’s Day and have a couple ideas I want to try. Thanks for the recommendations. (I’ve run across a few of them in my searches)
Mike
I don’t think dust will settle anytime soon. Prices will come down a little but not all that much, maybe 20%.
Using zwave, you are not limited to a vendor (like say Insteon) or application set (like say Hue lamps) on the HW side (and each system requires its own hub). And openHAB is the best choice to not run into limitations on the SW side.
Take your time playing with the system, and once you feel confident enough to expand, you can select the cheapest or most appropriate zwave device for the next job in line.