mmWave Presence Sensors: Planning a Room Occupancy Routine
Presence sensing can be useful when a simple motion timeout does not suit a room. It still needs evaluation in the actual space: placement, sensitivity, movement outside the intended area, and room contents can affect the result.
Choose a sensor for occupancy
The Athom Human Presence Sensor has an ESPHome configuration maintained by its manufacturer. Check that configuration against the hardware revision you buy rather than assuming a particular radar module, range, or zone feature applies to every revision.
Apollo AIR-1 is an air-quality monitor. It should not appear as an mmWave occupancy recommendation. CO2 or other environmental readings are not a direct measurement of how many people are present.
Start with a reversible lighting routine
Place the sensor according to its documentation, then observe its state before connecting it to actions. Check sitting still, entering, leaving, an empty room, and movement near the room. Adjust one setting at a time and keep notes about missed or unwanted detections.
Begin with a lighting action and an accessible manual override. A delay may make a routine more comfortable, but there is no universal timeout that works for every room.
Know what the reading does not prove
An occupancy state does not necessarily identify a person, count people, or establish that a property is secure. Do not make it the sole input for unlocking doors, disarming an alarm, or a life-safety function. We have not conducted comparative detection or false-alarm tests on these sensors.
Sources and scope
This guide is based on the linked documentation, checked September 23, 2026. It is not an in-house product test or a prediction of service life.