Comfort II alarm - anybody fitted one? Alternatives?

[VogonPoet]

Hi all

I've just bought a new house and plan to fit an alarm. I'll be installing it myself; I'm a competent DIYer, I've run cable for IT networks and have experience of programming languages/software.

I have been looking at the Comfort II Ultra system from Cytech (http://www.cytech.biz/page.php?page=Overview) as I'm interested in playing around with home automation too at some point. I was wondering if anybody here has any experience with installing and using the Comfort II. If so I'd appreciate hearing your opinions on the system; how difficult is it to install, program and operate? It seems expensive compared to a lot of the other alarms I've seen, is it worth the premium?

I'd also appreciate any suggestions for other, preferably cheaper, systems that do the same sort of thing, i.e. an alarm system that can also be expanded to allow some home automation.

System requirements:

Initially I'm looking at fitting 5 PIRs and 3 door sensors. That will probably expand in the future with some outdoor PIRs and a garage alarm. I'd also like to hook up smoke/heat detectors eventually.

One keypad downstairs to start, maybe another one upstairs later on.

I need to be able to set it so it phones me when the alarm triggers, and calls other people if it can't get through to me.

I'd like to be able to connect the alarm to my computer (preferably over ethernet) so I can set up zones and so on. Conditional logic (If this then do that else do the other) is needed so I can do simple programming stuff like only triggering the alarm if two sensors detect movement within a short time and so on.

It needs to be wired - I can't be bothered changing batteries in PIRs and I don't want to risk the system interfering with my wireless lan.

Nice to have:

An iPad/Android app so I can control the alarm from my sofa or even check the alarm status remotely. Or some sort of network protocol or api so I can write my own app to talk to the controller.

The option to add an SMS module so the alarm can text me updates.

Home automation features. Initially I am thinking about simple stuff like turning the lights on to simulate the house being occupied when I'm out, but may eventually go on to control curtains/blinds and the heating system.

 

[socdesign]

I use the Galaxy Dimension for this myself. Although, like most of the UK professional systems, the home automation part is not as sophisticated as something that was designed for HA from the ground up.

 

[sparkymarka]

Looks American here today. Gone tomorrow with no support.....

 

[socdesign]

Looks American here today. Gone tomorrow with no support.....

American - yes, but I think they're pretty big in the HA arena.

 

[sparkymarka]

Been down that road before,remember radionics panels when upload / download panels started in the early nineties,part owned by PAC/ Stanley, ok at first but when they didn't take off all the support disappeared.....

 

[VogonPoet]

I use the Galaxy Dimension for this myself. Although, like most of the UK professional systems, the home automation part is not as sophisticated as something that was designed for HA from the ground up.

Thanks for your reply. I have been looking at the Honeywell stuff but I'm not sure about how I would go about getting my computer to talk to the controller. I've read about a remote monitoring suite that can communicate with it over IP but that seems pretty expensive. I've also seen a thread where somebody is talking about hooking up his computer to the serial port on the controller, but he ran into problems because Honeywell keeps the protocol for talking to the device secret.

Do you mind me asking how you have integrated HA into your Galaxy Dimension setup? Is all the functionality configured on the controller or is a computer doing some of the work and relaying commands to the alarm to switch relays etc?

Basically I'm trying to get an understanding on how I would get status reports out of a Galaxy Dimension, and send commands in to get it to do stuff.

 

[socdesign]

Do you mind me asking how you have integrated HA into your Galaxy Dimension setup? Is all the functionality configured on the controller or is a computer doing some of the work and relaying commands to the alarm to switch relays etc?

Basically I'm trying to get an understanding on how I would get status reports out of a Galaxy Dimension, and send commands in to get it to do stuff.

It's not currently PC controlled and yes, the protocol is closed. I do have the Ethernet module connected and use a service to receive texts and e-mail. There is a power RIO in the garage and this has outputs hooked up (via high voltage rail mounted octal relays) to the garage internal lighting, external lighting and garage door. The garage also has a keypad which is set to the garage groups.

The main house has lighting control too. The lights are controlled by external PIR's which are linked via panel programmable links to the lighting circuits. The garage door is operated by a door code which can be input on the keypad (also in-car remotes).

I connect to the Ethernet module with my Android phone and an app which gives me a virtual keypad. I can also get the keypad up in a web browser if I want.

As I said, the Dimension doesn't give any sequence based control, so if you want that, then I don't think there are many UK professional panels that will meet all your needs. They say the HCK panels are a bit more advanced as far as this stuff goes, I haven't tried them out yet though!

 

[VogonPoet]

Thanks, that's very helpful; particularly the mention of the Android app and the email/SMS service, I think I've found the site that offers both.

With those capabilities added I think I can do most of what I require with the Galaxy Dimension. Now I just need to cost the two systems out and see if the difference in price is enough to compensate for whatever is lost in flexibility/functionality.