I’ve read through quite a bit of the Vera wiki information as well as some threads here in the forum and this sounds like what I’m looking for. Basically I’m looking for a do-it-yourself security system that I can not only install myself but I can also monitor myself, WITHOUT relying on a monitoring service and paying monthly fees. Reading through the documentation it looks like the Vera web interface is fully functional if you access it directly on your network (or remotely via VPN, which is what my plan is, so I’m not opening the HTTP/HTTPS ports directly to the Internet). That aside, it’s relatively difficult to find information about Z-wave devices, specifically security sensor type devices. Is it true that I can use any Z-wave sensor (door/window/garage door/motion/etc) with Vera? Are there any caveats I should be aware of? I’m interested in the Schlage door locks but it looks like you can’t lock the doors remotely? Which seems odd if I forgot to lock the doors and don’t realize it until after I’ve left the house. I’ve heard about a Wayne Dalton device that can open and close the garage door but haven’t been able to find it. Does this actually exist? Is the Z-wave wireless reliable? Can I make the system a reliable security system or is it mostly geared toward automation? Oh and the last question is with IP cameras, is anyone recording the streams somewhere other than Vera’s hosted service?
Ok, enough questions for now. Sorry for the long post but it’s my first and I’m very excited about Vera’s possibilities.
Welcome! There is no need to set up your own VPN now that the FindVera.com service is free. You can log-in from anywhere. You should be able to use any Z-Wave sensor that you can find (Vera has the “it just works guarantee”). You can only lock the Schlage handleset remotely, the deadbolt requires a manual operation. There are two schools of thought on this and both have their advantages and disadvantages, but after I waited for the Black and Decker Kwikset lock (with motorized lock) to show up for a year I decided to get the Schlage and I have been happy with it. I haven’t had the need to remotely lock the door, and if you think about it as you leave the house you can easily check status from the car or from bed at night and if you forgot…go and lock it. It is actually pretty rare that you would leave your house unlocked and even if you did you’d at least know it with the Schlage. Also remember that the Kwikset remote motorized lock could report that it is locked, even though a thief has opened the door already (a false sense of security, unless you had sensors and cameras on the door too). I think the Schlage ends up being more secure, but to each his own. I believe the WD Garage Doors cannot be opened via Z-Wave due to FCC regulations (for security), but you can check status of it being open or closed I think. WD has a Z-Wave bridge that is mainly for when you open the garage door via the standard remote clicker, it will trigger scenes inside the house or for exterior lights, etc. The wireless is very reliable when it is setup with enough devices to form the mesh network, and it is affordable. I believe security is viable with Z-Wave and Vera, but you could probably interface a capable wired alarm system with Vera too (with Luup plug-in). There are motion sensors, cameras, door/window sensors, sirens, etc. I’m sure you could easily record you cameras’ output externally, but it would probably require having a PC or Mac running in tandem with Vera.
Good luck, as a new user I can say that I am really satisfied so far (I have lights, thermostat, and lock so far)
Do you know if it would link up with SecureLinc? As far as security systems are concerned it looks like SecureLinc would be best, but I think I still want Vera for the rest of my home automation. SecureLinc does have X-10 capabilities but I doubt it has nearly the same configurability as Vera does. I’m not sure what you mean by Luup plugin. I’ve seen references to Luup but I don’t really know how it would apply here.
A 3rd party security system would need some kind of serial connection to work with Vera. It looks like SecureLinc has RS-232 serial to hook up to its own webserver so that you can monitor it from the internet. At first I would think that it may not make sense to mix Z-Wave radio with SecureLinc’s Radio, but seeing that SecureLinc offers some great options at a reasonable price it could be worth pursuing.
The easiest way right now would be to have both systems exist separately (You’d only need Vera for the lock support and/or other Z-Wave options). In order for there to be some kind of common interface (with SecureLinc controlled through Vera) someone would have to write a driver/plug-in/wrapper for that interaction. This would be done using Luup (a scripting/coding/programming language built off of Lua (programming language)), and chances are MiCasaVerde might be too busy to entertain that right now. So it would be up to you or another user to “code” it yourself.
Maybe someone else has had experience with that SecureLinc system, but the fact that it has RS-232 and a web-server interface is a good sign that it could be a doable integration with Vera…
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