How to connect the SK630 Pressure Mat to a Z-wave sensor

We’ve seen lots of discussion and received several questions about a Z-Wave or Zigbee enabled version of our SK630 pressure mat for smart home integration. We can’t offer an integrated version for sale, but the good news is that it’s quite simple to do yourself!

The SK630 Pressure Mat Alarm with Chime is a simple contact type of device. The connector jack to the alarm unit can be cut off, exposing the two wires that complete the circuit. These can then be connected to a different device. Any device with wire terminals will work, just find a Z-wave device that has terminals for external inputs. Screw-type header connections will be easier than terminals that require soldering.

Required Equipment

All you need are:

  • SK630 Pressure Mat
  • Z-Wave or Zigbee contact sensor with wire terminals (we use the Ecolink Z-Wave Plus Door & Window Sensor, DWZWAVE2.5-ECO)
  • Flat-head screwdriver
  • Scissors or wire cutters

Step by step instructions

The instructions here are for the Ecolink DWZWAVE2.5-ECO, but should work more or less the same for any other sensor you choose.

  1. Cut the connector jack off the end of the wires from the SK630 mat.
  2. Strip off about 1/4 inch of insulation from each the two wires.
  3. Remove the cover from the contact sensor.
  4. Locate the terminal header.
  5. Pass the two wires though a hole near the bottom of the sensor, and lead them towards the header
  6. Insert each wire into one of the headers, then fasten the two screws in the header.
  7. Close the contact sensor.
  8. Connect the sensor to your Z-wave network, test the newly converted mat by stepping on it.

Note that you don’t even need a custom device type handler. You can use the mat in your smart home platform as a regular open/closed sensor using the default device type handler for your chosen sensor.

Applications

There are lots of potential applications for this setup. If you have others, share them in the comments below!

  • Caregivers. Possibly the most common need. Whether you’re caring for an elderly parent, a patient, or a wandering child, you can use this setup to get alerted when someone steps out of bed, leaves their chair, or heads somewhere they shouldn’t be.
  • Health reminders. Worried about spending too long sitting at your desk without moving? Create custom rules to get reminded to move if the sensor has been closed for too long!
  • Trigger scenes. Dim the lights when you sit down to watch a movie. Turn on under-counter lighting when you’re standing at the counter in the kitchen. We saw one example of a super customized set of triggers: Someone turning on quiet jazz and a reading lamp when he on the couch between certain hours and his wife was not at home!
  • Pet care. Get alerted when your dog or cat wants to go out to pee or come inside from the cold.

Compatibility

We’ve only tested this directly with Samsung SmartThings. But essentially it should work with any smart home platform like HomeKit, Wink, or Google Home. As long as you choose a sensor that’s compatible with your hub and has wire terminals, you should be good to go!

Additional Resources

You can find more discussion about this project at some of these sites:


No Comments

To top