Just as the title says I am looking for the best functioning alarm panel integration and possible cameras also. What are you guys using that works??
Nobody has made a alarm panel integration work without headaches?? Everyone I see seems to have some issues.
I use Envisalink plugin by cybrimge, great plugin and support. One panel is 12 years old, one is new with 2 partitions. Very happy with this setup.
I use an Elm m1 Gold panel along with the plugin. I have not had any issues yet (fingers crossed) and the panel itself is amazing and full of features. It works with out the vera and can be setup to reboot your vera remotely when the vera poops itself. It has has add-on boards for z-wave to be a secondary controller and have direct access to your z-wave network, but I just use the vera with the plugin.
For cameras I use foscam cameras and just let them handle alarm recordings. I can set them up to backup to my NAS but I have not done so yet. I have the cameras in vera, but they don’t record or do anything, vera just lets me see them. I hear having the cameras actually do things through vera will kill the system. I’ve read a lot of people use Blue Iris to manage eras and every one seems to agree that it’s awesome software, but I have no experience with it.
I’m a little confused. All those panels seem to have to be hard wired to your sensors? Is this the case? Aren’t there any panels that communicate with Vera and then Vera talks to the sensors?
Alarm panels come in wireless or hard wired. Most new panels have new options built in. Wireless uses batteries, slower to respond and cost more money. A wired hidden door sensor is 1 to 2.00 each. Motions wired are 10.00. Going wireless will be around 30 and 60 for each one of those. Your choice.
Then you need an adapter usually USB but could be Ethernet to connect the VERA to the alarm panel. Each panel uses a different adapter.
After that VERA basically acts as another VIRTUAL keypad for the alarm system passing information from the alarm to the VERA telling it which sensors are open or closed and VERA can send a code back to arm or disarm the alarm. With the plugin installed in VERA it will add virtual motions and door sensor and such just as if they were z-wave sensors.
EDIT:
I have also found no HEADACHES with my alarm panel intergration. It is much more solid then z-wave sensors. When vera updates have broken communication with z-wave sensors the panel has always work. When z-wave range is an issue the panel has not been. I think the biggest difference is wired connection vs. wireless. I feel the same about networking. Wired is always better faster and more reliable then wireless.
integlikewhoa summed it up very well.
The sensors I use with my elk are not z-wave sensors, they are hard wired magnetic reed sensors about the size of a pencil eraser. It makes them easy to hide in the windows they are hard wired, react extremely fast, and are reliable. The elk panel does offer a wireless add-on board to add wireless sensors, and other wireless tech (wireless glass break, etc), but my house’s windows and doors were already hard wired so I didn’t need that. And just like integlikewhoa said wireless is much more expensive. I can get a 10 pack of replacement magnetic reed sensors anywhere for about $15.00 USD, the same thing in a wireless model costs about $40.00 USD each. Plus then you have to manage batteries, range, etc. From what I’ve read the wireless ones are much better than they use to be and many people use them, but my house was already wired. I can’t speak for the longevity of wireless, but of my sensors that were installed in 1987 I’ve had to replace at most 5.
The elk plugin has 2 options to communicate with the vera which is nice. The first is as integlikewhoa said with a serial/usb cable. I got the ethernet add-on module and just use my LAN to communicate between the two. I can still see all sensors, sensor statuses, arm, disarm, get alerts, etc. for the alarm panel instantaneously so I’ve never even tried hard wiring them together (if it works perfectly why mess with it 
).
I should throw out there that I’m not trying to sell you on my panel. I’ve read there are several other really good, more simple alarm panels that integrate the same way and are just as reliable. I’m just letting you know from experience that the elk panel works amazingly as a standalone alarm system (again tons and tons of features and add-ons), and as a bonus it can be integrated with vera. This standalone with good integration is the key.
I also Mention that I use GE/Caddx panel in two houses. While I have experience with them now and have no problem using the same in my next house I would say that the Honeywell Vista is probley the most common and universal panel to use and I would probley just push newbies that direction. DSC panels are probley the next most common.
Any of them work and all work around the same and will look the same after its added to VERA. The biggest difference is setup, type of adapter and sensors being used if wireless. Might even come down to cost of the panel and sensors. If your using wireless sensors might come down to which sensors and the price of each season which can add up to alot more then the panel itself.
Adding a question here to the ones that have already the panel integrated. In any of your configurations are the zwave devices triggering the alarm? I already have tons of wireless sensors for the Veralite and I’m trying to integrate an alarm, but I’d like to reuse the same sensors. Or are all options limited to share the panel sensors to the vera?
TIA
[quote=“abarajame, post:9, topic:189187”]Adding a question here to the ones that have already the panel integrated. In any of your configurations are the zwave devices triggering the alarm? I already have tons of wireless sensors for the Veralite and I’m trying to integrate an alarm, but I’d like to reuse the same sensors. Or are all options limited to share the panel sensors to the vera?
TIA[/quote]
The chain is only as good as the weakest link. If you moved z-wave sensor or vera into triggering your alarm panel that would be weak link.
I do not know of even z-wave alarm panels/companies using z-wave sensors as security devices for this reason. They leave the security side to alarm sensors and use the z-wave for lighting, cameras and non critical tasks. I would advise you to do the same.
With that said there if I wanted vera to actually trip my alarm panel I could use a single wired z-wave contact switch wired into my alarm panel and I could have vera trip that zone. But there is not an offical way to have the z-wave sensors show up on the keypad with proper names of each sensor and such like if it was a real alarm sensor.
On Ebay you can get even wireless alarm sensors cheaper then z-wave sensors, batteries last longer, range is like 3 times longer, you might be able to sell your used z-wave sensors and make the switch. Also alarm sensor can me much smaller and hidden unlike 99% of the z-wave sensors.
Actually not for me 8). Visonic PowermaxPro via the “Visonic PowerMax Alarm Panel Plugin” app. Realy works like a charm. No issues at all… Works even better then the Visonic Powerlink solution (ip interface).
Honeywell (Ademco) Vista 20p + EVL3 + Cybrmage’s Plugin … works great for me, no issues
I have a concord 4 panel working with a GE Superbus 2000 automation module. The module communicates with the vera edge through a serial to usb cable. All the concord wireless sensors work within the vera. They show up as motions sensors and can be used to trigger events. Zwave sensors can be used to trigger events within the panel.
I stumbled in to vera from ADT Pulse years ago. I had money invested in the concord panel and zwave sensors so I wanted to utilize them. It works. It is stable. If I started over I would modernize but would still have a formal alarm security system tied in to the home automation. Concord panel is about 4.5 years old. Not even sure they make it anymore. It is a solid panel but I believe there are better options now that are easier to configure and blend with vera. Some of them are mentioned above.
I use vera to control non essential functions and to send me alerts about sensor trips within the panel.