As @Brientim stated, EVL-3 is the key here. It is what integrates the panel into just about everything. It will let you receive alerts and carry out self-monitoring thru Eyezon, and it also lets you integrate into Vera so your controller can see all the sensors as devices. This also allows you to get notifications thru Vera. I have chosen to receive all notifications thru Vera so everything comes from one place.
The EVL-3 will allow ANY sensor hooked up to your DSC be recognized as a device on Vera. However, the plug-in only outputs Door, Motion, and Smoke zones, which you must define upon set-up, but this is only determines how the zone is displayed on your dashboard. I will have a driveway sensor, doorbells and CO detectors on my system, none of which have set zone types within the plug-in, so the driveway sensor shows as a motion sensor, doorbells display as door zones and CO detectors as smokes. This means if you did decide to go with glass breaks, the dashboard will only let you define them as one of those 3 types of zones.
1. Can you all recommend me glass breaks for DSC/Vera that they are happy with?
I also agree with Brientim’s point that you should use strategically placed motions in place of glass breaks. This will allow you to use these sensors for occupancy based automation where the glass breaks are only good for intrusion. If you decide they are necessary, as stated above, all of them will work.
There are other apps that also use EVL-3 to access your panel. One in particular for Android lets you access the panel directly and use the device as a keypad. The DSC keypad app is called ‘DSC Security Keypad’. All of the Home Automation Apps access the Vera and all of its devices thru the controller.
2. Can you all recommend me motions that you all are happy with? Hopefully some that will work with a 80lb & 10lb dog.
There are tons of different motions on the market, most of which have a PIR rating of some sort. The devices I have found that have the highest PIR rating is the Visonic line. I tested out the V-pet (also very cost effective) on a 40+ pound pooch with no issues. They are rated to 80 lb. and one PIR detector in their product line is rated for 85 lb.
3. Can you guys recommend must have motion detection architecture for triggering lighting or other scenes?
This will be determined by:
[ul][li]individual behavior[/li]
[li]household layout[/li]
[li]automation goals[/li]
[li]schedule[/li][/ul]
Everyone has ‘cool’ ideas, but they may not pique your interest or be something you may want to do. I would suggest setting up your system so every room is ‘wired’. Put a door sensor on every often used door, and a motion in every often used room. Alarm sensors are much cheaper than Z-wave sensors and extremely reliable, so wire up everything you can. This way, when you dream up some scene that’ll blow your mind, you can make it happen. This would also lead to getting more than just a DSC1616. The cost difference between a 1616 and an 1864 is negligible. I would strongly suggest taking this route.
Audio disty system ??? <- need help here
There are a few plug-in supported systems in Vera. I have researched Russound and Sonos wireless. There is a lot of info on here about both systems and both have merits. I particularly like the voice notifications that have been done successfully thru Sonos, and the fact that they are wireless. They are a little pricey, but by the time you hook speakers and keypads up to a Russound, your committed to spending a few dollars. Russound requires running Cat5/6 to every room, but it appears you have enough cable to wire to the moon. The Russound system only supports serial communication to the Vera, which poses a few challenges to some. Sonos requires no extra cables as it communicates with the speakers via existing Ethernet/wireless.
2x google/apple/roku boxes (which is recco'd?)
I would personally recommend the Google box running XBMC. The Google boxes only require an Ethernet connection and they aren’t restricted to just running XBMC. They run an Android OS so they can run any app. available thru Google, including the home automation apps. This means if you set up your cameras at the front door and have a TV in your room, you can see who just rang the doorbell at 5:30 AM without rolling out of bed and putting pants on. XBMC is an excellent freeware Media Center an is also plug-in supported within Vera, and SONOS has an Android app, opening up another level of possible home automation wizardry. This is the only set-top device that allows this level of versatility. I am a big fan of iOS products, but when it comes to a set top box, you are handcuffed by Apple’s ‘control measures’.
I would like to make the disclaimer that I have only researched all of this myself and I am currently in the planning stage as your are, but I have done countless hours of research and for me, I will be taking the SONOS/XBMC route based on versatility, ease of integration, and level of control. I have spent COUNTLESS hours researching this, and this is what I feel is best suited to my needs.