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Which alarm panel integrates best with HS?

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    #16
    anybody have any updated ideas on integrating a Z-Wave security system into my pie HS4 setup?

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      #17
      Originally posted by taylormia View Post
      Here's my "Goodnight" Event that uses the Envisalink plugin for our DSC PC-1864 alarm to turn off all lights and monitors and arm the alarm system. The event can be triggered by an Alexa routine by saying "Alexa, Goodnight" which requires the "Homeseer SmartHome" skill.



      I had a similar event with HS3. now with HS4 it isn't working. What device are you using for VIRTUAL GOOD NIGHT? Alexa only seems to discover devices and not events, so What device are you controlling from Alexa as Virtual Good night. A switch?

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        #18
        "Virtual Goodnight" is a HomeSeer Virtual Device not an Event. Alexa will discover virtual devices. The "Virtual Goodnight" device is used a trigger. When it is turned on with an Alexa voice command, it checks for a condition i.e. if the Alarm is in Ready state....and then performs the actions i.e. turning off lights and arming the Alarm.
        Btw, I have stopped using HomeSeer for the last two years and moved to Home Assistant which is so much more powerful....and is free and open source.

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          #19
          A lot of slightly older(or cheaper) wireless alarm systems actually use 433MHz.
          I accidentally added my old Verisure system to my HS3 setup... Yeah, it was that easy to add. '
          I still have it listed, with the 'Arm Home - Min', 'Arm Away - Max' amd 'Disable' buttons. Never actually tried if they worked, though.
          (Last change is listed as the day I upgraded to a new model)

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            #20
            I've been looking at the Qolsys panel and it has some great features. I have read that it can be setup in HS4 as a secondary controller. Does that mean i could use some of these features (GEO fence, arming, disarming, etc) and be able to pass that status back to HS4 to then act on those? I really like the features of this panel and it would certainly fill some holes in Homeseer. Thank you.

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              #21
              I just happened across this thread and thought I would add another suggestion for the DSC panel. You can do 16, 32, 48 or 64 zones. I have a 64 zone system covering smoke alarms, heat rise sensors, glass break sensors, motion sensors and of course a lot of door and window sensors. The DSC plugin works very well with homeseer but I don't do any voice activation though I see no reason you couldn't. The control panels are touch screen as well and look good. The downside is that it is a professional system and a bit more complex. I also use the EyesOn module for the DSC panel which gives another way to see status and control the alarm panel. Hope this was helpful.

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                #22
                I have a Cytech Comfort II. Initially talking to HS via a plugin but that was limited and the plugin is not going to be developed. Then I moved onto MQTT and it allows two way comms for anything the panel can do. I am now happy!

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                  #23
                  We have a DSC Powerseries 1864. It's an old fashioned system but it doesn't require any subscription and HS supports it natively (except they STILL Rupp rjh have not fixed the issue that you can't track if a zone is secured or open, plain ridiculous). I our case we don't use the DSC panel. Instead, we have some wall mounted tablets that replace the security panels and the thermostat panels. In addition, if you enter the correct code on the door lock it will automatically disarm the security system.

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                    #24
                    Originally posted by Mark S. View Post
                    I went with the ELK, mainly because of all the built in home automation features and event programming. The ELK lighting, relays, inputs and events still work in case HS crashes or if I (or Windows) really mess up my HS files - yes it has happened more times than I care to remember. I have the ELK touchscreens that Monk posted, but they are small - very unobtrusive, but you have to have good eyesight and no sausage fingers. I primarily use HSTouch as my interface, so the ELK touchscreens are only used for disarming and as a backup control interface.
                    Ha! Sausage fingers! Never heard the term before.

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                      #25
                      Originally posted by balpaugh View Post
                      I've been looking at the Qolsys panel and it has some great features. I have read that it can be setup in HS4 as a secondary controller. Does that mean i could use some of these features (GEO fence, arming, disarming, etc) and be able to pass that status back to HS4 to then act on those? I really like the features of this panel and it would certainly fill some holes in Homeseer. Thank you.
                      I haven't seen where the QolSys panel can communicate with HS, and vice versa. Would be great to be able to get the alarm panel status to HS4. I am guessing the 'secondary' aspect of QolSys might involve the use of a separate z-wave network for controlling lights, etc. It does have the option of geo fencing, but I decided to not use that feature, as my cell phone in anyone's pocket would then become like a door key.

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                        #26
                        I went with the DSC system because it doesn't depend on any online service. In other words, there are no monthly fees and you don't depend on an internet connection. The biggest issue I have with it is that HomeSeer (@Rupp @rjh) doesn't bother about very basic functionality like being able to trigger when a zone is bypassed/unbypassed. Besides that rather serious issue that HS doesn't care about, the DSC system is rock solid and you will find a lot of help online in case you should need any help.

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                          #27
                          I'm looking for a way to avoid actually adding more hardware and other components into my security solution. I like the KISS principal and have gotten pretty comfortable with using HS only based security after running it for a good test period. No interfacing to alarm panels required. I understand there are arguments against this but my needs are pretty basic and this so far seems to be working ok. The only real issue is I'd like to interface with a central monitoring service like Alarm Relay, but cant seem to find any solution that would work directly from HS events. These all are meant to be added to an alarm panel unless I've missed something. I'd be happy with internet only comms as my main goal is to get a break on homeowners insurance. It would seem with all the amazing HS plugins developed for interfaces to everything there would be something to send coded messages to a monitoring service. Maybe i'm oversimplifying 🤔.

                          Anyone know of a solution(s)???

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                            #28
                            Maybe have HS dial to 911 and play a WAV file?

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                              #29
                              This thread has some helpful opinions in it. I wanted to see if there are any new updated opinions or info now that HS4 has been out for a bit. Are any of the plugins kept up to date and converted for use with HS4? I think I see all of them in the legacy plugins section.

                              Monk suggested that Elk is better, more capable, but more costly? What can it do that the DSC system can't? A few mentioned the lack of support and attention to bugs fixing the DSC integration. Is the Elk the better way to go because of this?

                              I'm a total newb with both systems, and know very little about them. But here are my main goals:
                              1. Add wireless door, and window sensors to the whole house. (about 20 windows, and 9 doors, maybe more if I do internal doors too)
                              2. Add glass break sensors on about 15 windows
                              3. Add a smart smoke detector (ideally I can just replace one of my smoke detectors since they all communicate)
                              4. I have a detached shop that I'd like to be able to arm/disarm separately from the rest of the house, but have it all be on one alarm system.

                              Will I be able to use the same sensors and hardware on either system?

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                                #30
                                I'm in the process of changing out my alarm system to Elk. I went with Elk mostly because of the excellent plugin by Ultra and the good reputation it has here and at cocoontech.com.

                                There are several people that have HS4 running with Ultra plugin without issues. I still have HS3.

                                When we bought the house there was an old Caddx panel hotwired to Go Control 2GIG panels with a combination of wired and wireless setup. When converting to Elk, I went with the Honeywell wireless transceivers because of the better variety of wireless stuff Honeywell has.

                                You can easily accomplish what you want with Elk. I can't comment about DSC. Elk has several different wireless frequencies you can choose to set up you system. You can even combine more than one type if you are ambitious. Look through their online catalog.

                                I have about 25 hard wired sensors and 40 wireless sensors including smokes. My house is large, so I have 2 recievers as well as a repeater.

                                If this is new construction, you won't have issues. If its a retrofit, then you might have issues running wires. You have to run wires for accessory speaker to the panels which is a quirk IMO since nearly all the alarm panels I looked at have built in speakers except for Elk. Some of the panels I looked at also have built in wireless transceivers, but Elk is separate. I ran into issues on the M1 Gold of not having enough power. It's rated at 1 amp max. I went over, so had to ad an extra power supply. All the extras add up.

                                Cocoontech is the go to place for all Elk info. Unfortunately their site has been down for a few weeks. Not sure if its a temporary thing or the end of them.

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