I like setups that disappear into the background. A discreet smart home scene can give you useful automation — a light that comes on when you enter a hallway at night, a fan that kicks in when humidity rises, or a notification if a basement door opens — without filling your shelves with hubs or flashing devices. In this guide I’ll walk you through how I build a small, effective scene using a tiny Zigbee hub (or dongle) and just one sensor. The goal is simple: reliable automation that’s compact, affordable, and easy to hide.

Why a tiny Zigbee hub and one sensor?

Zigbee is great for small, low-power sensors: motion, door/window, temperature, humidity. With a compact hub or USB dongle you get local control, low latency, and less dependency on cloud services. I prefer keeping things minimal — one well-placed sensor and a small hub can automate a single useful routine without overcomplicating things.

Advantages I care about:

  • Compact footprint: tiny USB dongles or puck-sized hubs take up little space.
  • Local-first options: Home Assistant with Zigbee2MQTT or deCONZ can run locally.
  • Battery life: Zigbee sensors often last months to years.
  • Privacy: fewer cloud dependencies and fewer always-listening devices.

    • What you’ll need

    Here’s a short list of the components I use in my minimal setups. I keep things interchangeable so you can pick what fits your budget and privacy comfort level.

  • Tiny Zigbee hub or dongle — examples: ConBee II (USB stick, runs with deCONZ), Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus (works with Zigbee2MQTT), or an Aqara Hub M2 if you prefer a small dedicated hub.
  • One Zigbee sensor — motion sensor (Aqara Motion, Philips Hue Motion), door/window contact (Aqara, Tuya), or a combined temp/humidity sensor.
  • A host to run the hub — Raspberry Pi, small NUC, or even a spare computer; some hubs are standalone.
  • A controller — Home Assistant (my go-to), SmartThings, or Aqara Home for simple cloud-focused setups.
  • Optional — small power adapter, USB extension cable for better antenna placement.

    • Choosing the right hub and sensor

    When I pick a hub I think about two things: local control and size. If local control is important, I go with a USB stick (ConBee II or Sonoff Zigbee) and run Zigbee2MQTT or deCONZ on Home Assistant. If I want plug-and-play with an app, I choose an Aqara Hub or a compact SmartThings Hub.

    Hub typeProsCons
    USB dongle (Zigbee2MQTT / deCONZ)Local control, flexible, wide device supportRequires host (Raspberry Pi), slightly more setup
    Standalone mini hub (Aqara, SmartThings)Simple setup, official appsCloud dependency for some features

    For sensors, Aqara devices are compact, battery-efficient, and generally reliable. Philips Hue sensors work well if you’re already in the Hue ecosystem. I often choose a motion sensor for single-scene automations because motion covers more use cases.

    Step-by-step setup: hardware

    Here’s how I physically set things up. I aim to hide the hub or dongle while keeping the antenna unobstructed for range.

  • 1) Plug the USB hub or dongle into your host. If you use a Raspberry Pi, place the dongle on a short USB extension cable and position it near the area you’re automating (hallway ceiling, living room shelf). I avoid hiding the dongle behind thick metal or inside a router cabinet.
  • 2) Power the host and install your chosen controller (for me that’s Home Assistant). If you use a standalone hub, plug it in and proceed to app setup.
  • 3) Install batteries in the sensor and check the little LED indicator to ensure it powers on. Keep the sensor near the hub during pairing (within 1–2 meters) to simplify commissioning.

    • Step-by-step setup: software and pairing

    My preferred stack is Home Assistant with Zigbee2MQTT, but I’ll explain steps that apply broadly.

  • Install the Zigbee integration: in Home Assistant I add Zigbee Home Automation (ZHA) or Zigbee2MQTT. If you’re using a ConBee II, use deCONZ.
  • Put the hub/dongle in pairing mode following the integration guide (in ZHA this is usually “Add Device”).
  • Trigger pairing on the sensor — for Aqara motion I press the little button on the sensor until the LED blinks. The hub should discover the sensor and add it to your device list.
  • Rename the sensor in your interface to something descriptive like “Hall Motion” or “Basement Door”. It makes automations easier to manage later.

    • Create the discreet scene (example: hallway night light)

    I like a scene that’s useful and unobtrusive: motion in the hallway after dark turns on a low-level night light (nesting a soft LED or a Hue bulb set to warm 10%). Here’s my automation in plain terms:

  • Trigger: Motion detected by “Hall Motion.”
  • Condition: Ambient light is below a threshold (or between time windows, e.g., 10pm–6am).
  • Action: Turn on a light to 10% warm white for 2 minutes.

    • In Home Assistant I build this using the Automation editor: pick the motion sensor as the trigger, use a numeric state or light sensor for the condition (or simple time condition), and set the action to control the light entity. If you use the Aqara app or SmartThings, similar rule builders exist.

    Placement and tuning tips

    Placement determines reliability more than anything else. A few things I learned the hard way:

  • Mount motion sensors at 1.8–2.2m for consistent coverage of a doorway or hallway.
  • Avoid pointing the motion sensor directly at heating vents or large windows to reduce false triggers from drafts or sun.
  • Test battery life and Bluetooth/Zigbee signal strength. If your sensor’s at the edge of signal range, add a Zigbee repeater (many smart plugs double as repeaters).

    • Privacy and security

    I prioritize local control: if you want privacy, choose a local stack (Home Assistant + Zigbee2MQTT) and avoid cloud-only hubs. Keep your host updated, use a strong password, and isolate your smart home host on a separate VLAN if you can. For devices that support it, disable any optional cloud features you don’t use.

    Troubleshooting quicks

  • If the sensor won’t pair, bring it closer to the hub and retry with a fresh battery.
  • For flaky connections, add a Zigbee repeater or move the hub to a more central position.
  • If automations aren’t running, check entity names in your automation and the integration logs in Home Assistant or the hub app.

    • Once everything is running I spend a few nights fine-tuning sensitivity and timeout values so the scene feels natural. A single motion sensor and a tiny Zigbee hub can provide surprising convenience while staying nearly invisible — and that’s exactly how I like my smart home: useful without being loud.