My Smart Alarm journey

[wwwebber]

Hi, last year I moved into 1820s house / cottage where security was non existent - ie limited to some window locks only. I was used to a fully operational / wireless alarm system with keypad & siren box etc. This was a dumb system though so for my current house I looked into setting up a smart wireless alarm that could be controlled by a phone app etc. Here's what I came up with :-

I started off using a Hive based system with motion sensors, door sensors etc. I already had the Hive ecosystem to use for my heating so this I thought was the next step. This turned out to be not too bad, I could be notified of movement to my phone etc even when I'm not in. The sensors were very small and discrete (important in an old house) and the batteries lasted for ages. However, Hive do not sell a siren of any type so I cobbled together an internal siren by wiring up a sounder to a 12v power adaptor which then plugged into a Hive Smart plug which of course I could switch on via Hive in the event of movement etc. This worked ok but with Hive there was no external siren there was no concept of arming / disarming the alarm etc - it all had to be scheduled which is not flexible enough.

I found out that you could use the Hive Zigbee based sensors with the Samsung Smarttings hub which also supports Zwave products which includes sirens !!. Smarttings also have a Smart Home Monitor available in the app which you can use to arm / disarm a motion based alarm system. So I migrated all of my Hive sensors to Smartthings (I still use Hive for my heating) and setup a proper triggered alarm system. For this I purchased a Zwave based internal siren as well as an external one with strobe. I use the internal one to not only sound during an alarm but to also to chirp when the alarm is armed / disarmed within the app. We have a lampost on our drive, and this also lights up in the event the alarm is tripped.

So, we now have a fully operational discreet wireless smart alarm system that can be armed / disarmed locally or remotely without any codes via both of our phones etc. All movement for all 5 sensors is logged and we are both notified directly to our phones if this movement has occurred when it is armed (including out outhouses in the garden). This enables us to take action whether we are in or not. The only downside being that we have no battery back up.

Next steps are to add some Zwave smart smoke sensors to the same system. Normal ones are lifesavers if you are in at the time but who's gonna save your house if you are out ?. Again we will be notified directly in the event of smoke being present - including alerting the neighbours using the external siren etc.

Just thought I would put this out there in case it helps / inspires anyone. Feel free to ask questions - cheers.

 

[jonm01]

That sounds interesting. Do you get any false triggering from the motion sensors ? Are they as sensitive as normal security pir ?
The flexibility and communication options are definite plus points, on balance, do you feel this system as good as / better than the conventional system you had.
Also, it would be relatively straightforward to add maintained back up supplies , in locked cabinet, with the hub, ( might need plastic housing for r. f. ) to keep function if power is lost. I guess that means you'd also need to secure your internet router also.
Interesting posting, thanks.

 

[wwwebber]

Thanks for your reply. Yes these small sensors do not miss a trick so are as good as the large fat ones you normally get. In regards to false alarms - the only one we had was when a spider walked across the sensor so the same as any alarm system I guess - however we are able to watch the sensor activity in the app and if no more movement is detected then we can assume a false alarm and re-arm. We now also arm it overnight when we sleep which we never used to do so all in all we feel better protected and secure. Thanks for the tips regarding power - cheers.

 

[sparkymarka]

All of the above can be done with a normal alarm ... so nothing special ...

 

[wwwebber]

All of the above can be done with a normal alarm ... so nothing special ...

Link to one for me and I will tell you whats missing and how much less I spent for better and more convenient functionality. Otherwise jog on troll.

 

[sparkymarka]

Touchy ....Pyronix enforcer/ texecom elite....ect....ect....etc ...and it has proper siren ( hardwired and wireless ) not some botched up item

 

[Europlex]

Sparky, here is one who doesn't appreciate your knowledge I see.

Don't tell him how long you have been in this business it may, or not impress him.

By the way I fully agree with your "All of the above ..............."

I would suggest that you have forgotten more about alarms than this guy knows.

 

[BIANCO]

First off well done for having a go sounds like a interesting system, I've been keeping my eye on these new bits of kit like the Hive stuff with interest. Definitely can see potential with them.

But like sparkymarka says there are better bits of kits out there that already that just do the job. I personally like the pyronix stuff myself. It can do everything you have described and with a higher level of security.

Battery backup, wireless jamming notification and so on they are designed to meet certain security standers.

 

[wwwebber]

My requirements were - wireless, discreet, smart and integrated. I don't see any Zwave or Zigbee compatible security solutions out there that can integrate into my smart platform (SmarttThings) and thus can all be controlled within a single phone app for ease etc. I'd be pleased to be proved wrong though - I certainly don't know everything.

 

[bernardgreen]

Can the "smart" controller ask a sensor for a status report ? For example when you set the alarm does the "smart" controller check that each and every sensor is present and correct before telling you that the alarm is set. What does the "smart" controller do if one of the sensors does not respond to this check ?

 

[Europlex]

Hope you don't need home insurance with an alarm system fitted.

Apart from the equipment you are using does not comply with insurance requirements, it would also have to be fitted by an approved alarm company, NOT DiY

 

[wwwebber]

Hope you don't need home insurance with an alarm system fitted.

Apart from the equipment you are using does not comply with insurance requirements, it would also have to be fitted by an approved alarm company, NOT DiY

I don't and yes I have told my insurer that I am using an alarm system that is not approved or fitted by an approved installer.

 

[wwwebber]

Can the "smart" controller ask a sensor for a status report ? For example when you set the alarm does the "smart" controller check that each and every sensor is present and correct before telling you that the alarm is set. What does the "smart" controller do if one of the sensors does not respond to this check ?

Basically - no. It's a one way comms thing from the motion sensors to the hub. However, if one does drop out then the log ceases to be updated and this can easily be spotted. Anyway, my off the shelf wireless alarm system at my old address didn't do this either.

Good point though and clearly demonstrates why this is not an approved system which I never claimed it would be.

However, despite all of this - it works and is very reliable.

 

[bernardgreen]

if one does drop out then the log ceases to be updated and this can easily be spotted.

Spotted how ? By manually checking the log when setting the alarm ?

So can the alarm can be set when one ( or more ) sensors are out of action ?.

 

[wwwebber]

Spotted how ? By manually checking the log when setting the alarm ?

So can the alarm can be set when one ( or more ) sensors are out of action ?.

Where exactly are we going with this ?. This system is leaps and bounds better than any other off the shelf alarm system I have ever owned. Its not infallible but at the same time it didn't cost a fortune. As I say it works well and protects me, my family and my home far better than at any time before.