I am currently testing Vera with some Schlage Link Deadbolts in one building of a resort that I am on the Board Of Directors for. Our security updates were spawned from a rash of break in’s where LCD tv’s were the target. Our units are mostly remote. Most units have only one door and in the past most break-in’s were achived by kicking the door in. I have two questions for those of you that know way more about this stuff than I do.
#1) In the Schlage advertising it states that the locks will detect forced entry. Does anyone know if this is really a feature that was implemented and is there a way to report this somehow through the Vera?
#2) If not (I suspect) then is there a way to use a door sensor and the Schlage Link combination to send an email through Vera if a door is forced open while the deadbolt is still thrown in the locked position? I suspect Vera/The Link Lock know if the lock was opened by the latch on the inside or by code or key and report this in the log? (I have only briefly looked at these as I just got the system up over the weekend).
I realize this isn’t the same as a full blown alarm, and would most likely not catch a thief, but it would alert staff if a unit was compromized right away as opposed to the next time housekeeping or someone noticed an otherwise vacant unit for a week.
As to #1, I’ve read what I believe is just about every manual and brochure concerning Schlage’s LiNK products, and never once saw anything about “detects forced entry”. Somewhere “prevents forced entry” but this was definitely among the marketing bullets, not a statement about any particular function.
As to #2, let me answer in two parts:
2A. Without extra programming: Vera could hypothetically be used to create a Scene in which locking the Schlage causes the Aeon door sensor to be armed. Another Scene could respond to the Schlage being unlocked by disarming the sensor. This way, when the door physically opens while the sensor’s still armed, Vera can respond with yet a third Scene whose trigger Event is “Sensor tripped” and sends you notification. And so on.
PROBLEM: Propagation time. Vera may not deliver the “Disarm sensor” command fast enough to prevent a casual user from opening the door too fast after unlocking it. The result could be false alarms at times when multiple Scenes get triggered.
2B. With programming: Anything goes here, assuming you find someone willing and able to incorporate what you want. Luup (Vera’s lingo) could accommodate any kind of scenario, such as “If the sensor is tripped while the Schlage is locked, send a notification.” as well as “If someone unlocks the door, disarm the sensor.”
Yes, the Schlage deadbolt and handleset send different Events based on whether they were unlocked by a User Code (outside) or inside via the latch (deadbolt) or button (handle). Accordingly, Vera can have Scenes set to be triggered by either or both modes.
NOTE: I’m uncertain whether unlocking by key counts as outside or inside, but my instinct tells me it’s “inside” (e.g. equivalent to latch or button). I have not tested this aspect.
Remember, too, there are motion detectors on the market which could also accomplish the same two-prong scenario you’re thinking of.
Other folks here will surely have even better answers than mine! Good luck.
Also, not to be facetious, but have you considered attaching a contact sensor (e.g. “door open/closed” style Z-Wave device) to the LCD television sets themselves?
(Works best if they are mounted in a relatively fixed location within each unit.)
To be semi-relaible for this application it would have to function as I described it, detecting forced entry (bolt is in locked position and door breaks contact sensor that was previously connected). I suppose this would require some logic to determine that the door contact sensor was opened after being in the connected state while the lock never changing from the bolt being in the locked state.
Using a motion sensor or arming the door contact sensor based off the event of the lock being locked might cause falses because there are situations where the door might be locked behind someone leaving while someone else was still inside the unit (although I guess in that case the door would not be opened without the deadbolt being retracted either from the inside manually or outside by entering a pin code).
I fixed the problem of the TV’s being stolen, I removed all the LCD tv’s from the units and replaced them with the tube TV’s that the LCD’s had originally replaced. Not only were we losing TV’s like crazy, but the expense of new doors and frames and the labor to put them in.
scotthay, I think the best approach is to have a door break sensor, or a motion sensor, and perhaps an IP camera. Then if you have the camera, you can check the sensor and door in the camera settings to have a picture taken every time the sensor is tripped or the door is opened as a permanent archive. Create a scene and attach an event ‘Sensor is tripped’, and attach a Luup script to it. The script should: a) immediately poll the lock, and b) if the deadbolt is in the closed position, fire an alert (which triggers an sms and/or email). We can do the Luup script for you if you want.
I would like to try the door sensor approach first and then maybe add some cameras after that. Problem is, I would have to put the cameras outside to not infringe on guest privacy, are there any exterior cameras that work well with the system right now? Let me know what/where to get the door contact and the Luup script and I will give it a try on my test building of 6 units.
You could create an event in Vera so that once the “Lock” state is detected a z-wave conatct sensor is activated. At that point Vera can send you an SMS or do a number of other things.
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