Keypad lock strategy, including turning auto-lock on/off with a physical switch

[MickeyExplorer]

Hey, everyone. First post as I contemplate an upcoming HomeSeer setup. My wife and I are building a new home and have tried to get as much "right" as possible - prewiring, etc. etc.

Now that the house is getting closer - one critical element for my wife is keypad locks - our old house used lovely keypad locks from Sunnect that had no key slot and would auto-relock based on a magnetic sensor in the door jamb. Even better, they had a physical switch on it to temporarily disable that auto-relock (if you're going in and out 25 times, say). She really, really wants that functionality but Sunnect is out of business. I really want connected/HA-aware locks. So, my job is to make that happen.

So far I'm thinking to replace the pre-wired alarm panel with an ELK, which then gives HS access to the door sensor information. Then put a (motorized) Z-Wave lock on the door (Yale if we want to stay keyless, otherwise Yale or Kwikset or Schlage). To implement the auto-re-lock functionality, i'm imagining a HomeSeer rule (or Elk? But it seems like locks under HS control have more flexibility...) like "if the door is closed and the lock is open, tell the lock to lock."

Then, I also want to be able to do things like "hey, we're securing the house for the night, tell me the locks are all locked" or "show me the status of all my doors," which all seems doable from what i've gathered so far.

Three questions:
1. Is my basic approach sensible, based on everyone's experience?
2. One key thing that would be awesome is a simple switch on the wall or otherwise near the door that could temporarily disable the auto-lock rule of Homeseer for that door. Is there a device that's just a Z-Wave or Insteon switch that doesn't actually control anything, that HS could read or set the status of? Bonus points if it had a status light (red for on). Or can light switches serve this functionality instead of controlling a load?
3. If we end up with a keyless lock, is it possible for my wife to set up key codes from HSTouch type devices or am I doing that from HS directly? I'm imagining "make a keycode for the plumber for daytime tomorrow" type needs.


Thanks so much - excited to be starting this journey!

[mikaluch]

I have Schlage and your plan is realizable. I have an Elk panel but have never put it into service. I won't set off alarms based on wireless sensors and I don't have a burning desire to hard wire everything. I'm pretty much satisfied with motion detectors and cameras notifying me if there is motion while we are out.

I use the lock and a wireless door sensor. The lock itself has a setting to automatically lock itself if left unlocked but that soon results in a door that is left open being shut with the dead bolt extended. Or attempted to be shut. I use a HomeSeer event that triggers when the door sensor changes to closed. If the door sensor changes to closed wait 10 seconds. If the lock is open change the lock to locked. If you want the no-lock switch you would add a virtual device that the switch turns on and off. Add a second condition to check if the virtual switch is on before locking the lock. Maybe even put a motion detector near the door but out of the way and just wave your hand in front of it to keep the door from locking when you are going in and out. Or tell Alexa to keep the front door unlocked for the next 20 minutes.

All QED other than setting temporary codes. I haven't looked into that so I am not sure what is possible.