Vera as an Alarm System

Other Devices & Integrations Door Locks & Sensors
41

[quote=“agoodman82, post:40, topic:179001”]sirpinky:

I have a Utilitech Z-wave siren (generic model of the Everspring version from Lowes) so I can’t comment on the Fortrezz not being able to dim so as to do strobe only or strobe + siren (Utilitech is either on or off with siren and strobe) but I can help with the siren or cameras tripping when an armed sensor is tripped.

In the Vera UI (I’m on UI 5) I have two scenes that work together “Armed - Away” and “Siren Activated”. The Armed - Away scene arms all my z-wave sensors at once when I’ve left the house (I have advanced location-based management that does this automatically via the iPhone Locator app and a PLEG). If any of these armed sensors are tripped, the z-wave siren is set to go off. Under the Siren Activated scene you’ll want to manage delays. Immediate will trigger the siren “on” and then after 5 minutes (or whatever time you feel is sufficient) you’ll want to have the siren turn off. The “triggers” in this scene is any armed sensor is tripped. That way the siren will only trigger when a z-wave sensor in the armed state is tripped.

For cameras, I don’t know exactly what type you have but in my foscam camera settings I have it set so that when my armed scene arms the cameras, any motion detected takes snapshots of the motion and archives the photos. You can of course also use Vera to send you text-based alerts for any of these conditions (motion detected, armed sensors tripped etc). Vera is my alarm system and my home automation all in one. I love it.[/quote]

Thanks, it came to me last night at 2am so I did exactly that and it works really nice!
I will figure out the camera thing, for now I have a problem with VistaCam HD - it’s night vision is not working (the IR lights are defective I think) and I also have a foscam for the upstairs and one for the outside.

The siren thing, very strange. I seem many people saying my siren should show up as a dimmable light - I will figure it out with fortrezz support I hope.

42

Glad you figured out the device actions you wanted to fire. With the VistaCam, there are some free camera viewing apps that can manually force the camera into IR mode so you can test to see if the IR lights on the camera are in fact defective. I’ve had no issues with the two foscams I have set up.

For the Fortrezz did you try excluding the siren from your network and then including it again? Maybe something got messed up when it was initially included into your z-wave network. Also Vera support is very good. If you open a support ticket with them and then grant them full tech support access they can often fix these issues for you. I had them do that with a Yale lock one time and now it’s working perfectly.

43

[quote=“agoodman82, post:42, topic:179001”]Glad you figured out the device actions you wanted to fire. With the VistaCam, there are some free camera viewing apps that can manually force the camera into IR mode so you can test to see if the IR lights on the camera are in fact defective. I’ve had no issues with the two foscams I have set up.

For the Fortrezz did you try excluding the siren from your network and then including it again? Maybe something got messed up when it was initially included into your z-wave network. Also Vera support is very good. If you open a support ticket with them and then grant them full tech support access they can often fix these issues for you. I had them do that with a Yale lock one time and now it’s working perfectly.[/quote]

Funny you mention Yale lock. I had problems pairing it, their tech support helped me get it to work and it worked perfect for 10 minutes. after that, it stopped working again. I am not sure what to do with it I will try to paid it again I guess…

Yeah their support is very good. I am loving it so far!

44

[quote=“AgileHumor, post:37, topic:179001”]Has anyone tried this plugin?

Simple Alarm Plugin
http://blog.empuk.host-ed.me/index.php/8-domotique/3-veralite-plugin-simplealarm-en

I saw it on the app store today.[/quote]

I’m trying this out right now. It does provide very good out of the box simple alarm. Aside from the odd lua error on startup, the plugin seems to work so far.

45

What is the latest on Vera as an alarm system? Is it doable or not reliable at this point?
I have a client that wants a basic alarm and I would really hate to install a DSC system for him if he can get away with doing the same thing with Vera.

46

[quote=“Jamr, post:45, topic:179001”]What is the latest on Vera as an alarm system? Is it doable or not reliable at this point?
I have a client that wants a basic alarm and I would really hate to install a DSC system for him if he can get away with doing the same thing with Vera.[/quote]

Depends on how reliable and dependent you want to be. It’s much cheaper to install a Honeywell then it is to install a bunch of z-wave sensors. Alarm kit comes with battery backup already.

Montering, cell service backup. It just much better to install an alarm then wire it to VERA.

47

[quote=“integlikewhoa, post:46, topic:179001”][quote=“Jamr, post:45, topic:179001”]What is the latest on Vera as an alarm system? Is it doable or not reliable at this point?
I have a client that wants a basic alarm and I would really hate to install a DSC system for him if he can get away with doing the same thing with Vera.[/quote]

Depends on how reliable and dependent you want to be. It’s much cheaper to install a Honeywell then it is to install a bunch of z-wave sensors. Alarm kit comes with battery backup already.

Montering, cell service backup. It just much better to install an alarm then wire it to VERA.[/quote]
Which honeywell system are you referring to?
Anyone had any experience with the LYNX L7000?

48

[quote=“Jamr, post:47, topic:179001”][quote=“integlikewhoa, post:46, topic:179001”][quote=“Jamr, post:45, topic:179001”]What is the latest on Vera as an alarm system? Is it doable or not reliable at this point?
I have a client that wants a basic alarm and I would really hate to install a DSC system for him if he can get away with doing the same thing with Vera.[/quote]

Depends on how reliable and dependent you want to be. It’s much cheaper to install a Honeywell then it is to install a bunch of z-wave sensors. Alarm kit comes with battery backup already.

Montering, cell service backup. It just much better to install an alarm then wire it to VERA.[/quote]
Which honeywell system are you referring to?
Anyone had any experience with the LYNX L7000?[/quote]

Vista 20p seems to be most popular. I have Caddx NX8E in two houses. There is really many options and all around the same price. Honeywell wireless sensors seem to be had cheaper on ebay then most. DSC seem to be the most expensive.

I used wired sensors for most of my install. 1.00 each.

49

I have mine for almost 10 months now.
It was a challenge setting it up, but now it is perfect in every way.
It is 101% customizable for my changing needs (school, vacation, changes in routine).

Here is what I have in a nut shell:
1 alarm red light strobe and siren
4 door sensors
2 motion + temperature + light sensors
1 mini ipad stuck on the wall near the entrance (for easy arm/disarm)
3 cameras (2 indoor 1 outdoor)
1 keypad lock
2 garage door openers
2 keyfobs with 4 buttons

I set it up to auto-arm night every night, auto disarm every morning before we leave the house.
Front door keypad lock disarms the alarm if correct pin code entered, and send me alert if incorrect pin code entered. So, if you come home and unlock the door you don’t have to disarm the alarm.
Arm night is set to all door sensors, arm away includes the motion sensors and have a 3 minute delay so you have time to leave the house.
I have extreme temperature alerts if it gets too cold or too hot.
All alerts are sent via push notification to my cell phone (iPhone + windows phone), alarm notifications are also sent via SMS and email.
I will get a reminder if garage door or front door are left open for long periods.

There is more to the system (fountain, flood detector, etc), but this is the core.
After you set it all up and let vera optimize your zwave network (which is a MUST !!! it wasn’t stable before. this takes a few hours, but well worth it!) I’ve had next to no problems.

oh, and its connected to my battery backup ups along with the internet so even power out won’t hurt it. only if you cut the internet cable which in my house is underground.

One last thing about monitored alarms: I had one. They called and said alarm went off, I asked them to send someone. I got there after almost 2 hours and they were still on their way… So now I can just check my camera if it is a false alarm and if it is not I can call the police myself. Me or my wife are always around one of us would surly check it out in real time.

50

[quote=“sirpinky, post:49, topic:179001”]I have mine for almost 10 months now.
It was a challenge setting it up, but now it is perfect in every way.
It is 101% customizable for my changing needs (school, vacation, changes in routine).

Here is what I have in a nut shell:
1 alarm red light strobe and siren
4 door sensors
2 motion + temperature + light sensors
1 mini ipad stuck on the wall near the entrance (for easy arm/disarm)
3 cameras (2 indoor 1 outdoor)
1 keypad lock
2 garage door openers
2 keyfobs with 4 buttons

I set it up to auto-arm night every night, auto disarm every morning before we leave the house.
Front door keypad lock disarms the alarm if correct pin code entered, and send me alert if incorrect pin code entered. So, if you come home and unlock the door you don’t have to disarm the alarm.
Arm night is set to all door sensors, arm away includes the motion sensors and have a 3 minute delay so you have time to leave the house.
I have extreme temperature alerts if it gets too cold or too hot.
All alerts are sent via push notification to my cell phone (iPhone + windows phone), alarm notifications are also sent via SMS and email.
I will get a reminder if garage door or front door are left open for long periods.

There is more to the system (fountain, flood detector, etc), but this is the core.
After you set it all up and let vera optimize your zwave network (which is a MUST !!! it wasn’t stable before. this takes a few hours, but well worth it!) I’ve had next to no problems.

oh, and its connected to my battery backup ups along with the internet so even power out won’t hurt it. only if you cut the internet cable which in my house is underground.

One last thing about monitored alarms: I had one. They called and said alarm went off, I asked them to send someone. I got there after almost 2 hours and they were still on their way… So now I can just check my camera if it is a false alarm and if it is not I can call the police myself. Me or my wife are always around one of us would surly check it out in real time.[/quote]

All of that plus more is an option with a real alarm panel also. One thing I noticed is you have no window sensors and very few doors. With such a small setup there is not likely any or much savings in a real alarm panel. But more options. Sensors are hidden and not scene being one of them.

With garage doors, patio doors, front and rear entry doors, more then 1 window in every room, 6 motions, 8 smoke detectors buying big bulky z-wave sensors would have been costly.

Mini ipad can still be used (I have an ipad 2)

Keyfobs can be used also, but with phones and home away settings I don’t use them. Use the phone to open and closed gate and garage doors.

Bottom line is Alarm panels integrate into VERA so you can do anything you could with z-wave, with and alarm. And the alarm is now handled by a more robust panel that’s dedicated and proven to work for years. VERA is a better bridge for the cameras, and the alarm then it is to run everything soulfully threw it.

51

One comment about windows sensors, I think they are useless.

You have 2 options: magnet sensor on the frame - doesn’t help when someone breaks the glass.
or a glass break sensor - not very reliable if the glass doesn’t make a loud shatter noise.

So, instead I placed the motion sensors covering the areas someone must pass even if he breaks in through the patio door / windows. They are much more reliable IMHO.

Food for thought…

( and here I thought my network was considered large :slight_smile: )

52

[quote=“sirpinky, post:51, topic:179001”]One comment about windows sensors, I think they are useless.

You have 2 options: magnet sensor on the frame - doesn’t help when someone breaks the glass.
or a glass break sensor - not very reliable if the glass doesn’t make a loud shatter noise.

So, instead I placed the motion sensors covering the areas someone must pass even if he breaks in through the patio door / windows. They are much more reliable IMHO.

Food for thought…

( and here I thought my network was considered large :slight_smile: )[/quote]

Could be true, I also use the window sensors to let me know if I (or someone else) have left any open before I leave the house (after all… this is the #1 way houses are broken into) and also along with my a/c to alert me if more then one window is open or if a window or door was left open while the a/c is running.

I use wired and wireless sensors (for the ones that were to hard or to much trouble to get to) in all my double pane vinyl windows. I do run motions in every room and bathrooms, closets mostly do to the lighting (never thought I needed motions in closet if they they pull a mission impossible threw a vent I guess I got them covered there too). Motions were 100.00 for 10 of them. That’s about the price of (2) 4-1 sensors.

The alarm panel with all these sensors leaves my VERA with plenty of overhead room for all the switches and other z-wave actuators.

53

Yup, as @integlikewhoa, I have sensors on all windows for my personal use: I can see in an instant which windows are open; the keypads chime when little people open a window they shouldn’t be opening, etc. Additionally, motion sensors cover the key access areas on the lower levels.

54

I agree. Window sensors in my install area are more for leaving windows open than detecting intruders. Interior rain damage can be expensive.