I’m trying to figure out which professional wireless alarm system would be the best for me.
My main criterias are :
Not requiring any subscription with a security company
Reliable alarm system (as much as a wireless system can be)
Local open API over Ethernet, USB, RS323, whatever… that allows to get alarm and sensors status. I don’t need to be able ton control/activate the alarm through API.
No cloud.
Perfectly integrated in Hass : all sensors status must be available and updated without any latency even if the alarm is off ==> very important so that my automation can use very reliable PIR motion sensors and that I don’t have to duplicate all sensors ! Integration in hass should also be very stable and not break after each Hass upgrade…
Has good indoor and outdoor sensors
If possible a brand/model that is commonly available in Europe
I’m a little bit lost. Ajax system looked very very promising, but unfortunately only the global alarm status is available in Hass.
Visonic PowerMaster, Paradox Magellan, DSC Alexor, Honeywell Vista, Vanderbilt SPC, … look to be the main challengers available in Europe at least.
Did i miss some ?
Any recommendation on which one would best fit my needs ?
Hello, I spontaneously think of security systems from Abus, Bosch and Siemens, but direct and simple integration into Home Assistant is not possible with that, I think. There is still Homematic IP, maybe that’s interesting for you, with this a direct integration into HA is possible. I cannot judge which systems are better or less good.
I see a problem with this one. The thing is, the manufacturer can decide any day to just block external access to their system and then there’s nothing you can do about it. People here can tell you what works now, but you need to keep in mind that tomorrow the manufacturer of this system may block it. This shouldnt hold you back, it’s just a warning as to me it sounds like you are looking for something to integrate once into home assistant and then it just works, no matter if HA updates etc.
Sorry, I forgot one essential point in my first message : I’m only interested in alarm system with a local API, it might be over Ethernet, USB, RS232 or any other protocol but local. I’m absolutely not interested by cloud services.
My alarm system will not be connected to Internet, or maybe only for upgrade after a careful read of the changelogs.
The brand/models enumerated in my first message are the best candidates that I’ve identified so far reading this forum. None is really perfect, but I might have missed some.
I assumed so from your criterias, however this doesn’t save you from the manufacturer deciding to disable local access. Take a look at what Logitech Harmony tried to do in December 2018. Luckily thousands of users complained and they reverted the change, but this just happend because there are quite a lot of people using the Logitech Harmony remotes with an external application (such as HA), with a professional alarm system, that probably will not be used by a lot of people with an external third party app you might not be this lucky.
There is a risk for sure. But without Internet connection, and performing updates weeks after they are available or even not upgrading at all I think the risk is minimal.
If the local access would come to not work anymore I would resell this alarm system and buy something else. I kinda like changing things !
But I’m confident. I’ve read most of the Visonic thread yesterday for instance and the local control through their dedicated IP card has been running for over 10 years now.
I have indeed, but it looks like Konnected is mainly focus on wired systems. I’m looking for a professional standalone wireless alarm easy to operate and not a DIY system that I would probably mess-up with !
is contradicting. A very reliable system will always be wired. Wireless is generally less reliable than wired and in addition it’s “easier” to hack into a wireless system, whereas with a wired system the attacker needs physical access to the network.
I have to disagree on that poin, at least partially.
Good wired systems will be more reliable on average than wireless ones, that is a fact. But you can’t say that wireless systems aren’t reliable only because they are wireless. Modern professional wireless systems CAN be very reliable.
Agreed with the fact that wireless are easier to hack but I think this is not a real issue : I’ve never heard of a burglary done after hacking a professional alarm system. It might exist but again 99% of the time, burglars will just totally ignore the alarm or get out when it is triggered.
The most technical equipment a typical burglar might have would be a multi-band jammer. How much? maybe 5% ? All other ones will just use a crowbar and/or a ladder.
Advanced wireless can also detect jamming.
My house is not wired. That was my choice. I don’t want to let wired alarm or wired automation when I will sell it, so I have to do with wireless system! I will update my initial message though to avoid confusion.
My insurance company does not care about alarm system for the moment, but if chose a certified alarm system like the Visonic (NFA2P is the most common certification in France) I might able to get some discount.
Regarding the alarm system I don’t want any DIY, except maybe for the interconnexion with my local network, or directly with my Hass.io host.
Money is no issue… well it is in some way of course, but this spent was planned in the global new house budget. For the alarm system alone (without camera) I’ve planned about 2000€. Good outdoor PIR sensors are very expensive, and for this cost I will save about 600-900€ for 20 additonnal ZWave/Zigbee sensors.
I might even be able to find some second-hand parts for a good price.
POE IP Cameras will be added on a dedicated VLAN with a software NVR. They will not be part of the alarm system.
The Alarm System will essentially be :
4 Reliable PIR Outdoor sensors (dual-technology and dual-beam)
8 Indoor PIR sensor : more reliable than the majority of standard automation PIR sensors
8 Open/close sensors on most of the ground floor doors/windows
==> all these sensors will be used for HA automotion, I don’t want to duplicate sensors between alarm and automotion
and of course box, keypad, indoor and outdoor sirens, remote with alarm status feedback,…
Do you have any complaint about your Magellan Paradox alarm ? and what about its integration in HA using IP150 ? Stable ? Sensor status updated in HA without too much latency ?
Paradox (Magellan or Digiplex / EVO models) is on my short-list. I’m trying to figure out which brand/model would fit most are my criterias.
AFAIK the Paradox has been stable and robust, although I cannot comment on latency as that property of mine is 6000 miles away from where I live…
If you are happy to spend and don’t want to DIY too much (apart from the HA integration side) I would suggest, as a start to have a look at the Alarm components section: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/#alarm
Have a look through there and see which ones matches your requirements.
In my experience, the solid alarm systems are only just getting into the open API space… Also, if it is your property and not rented, I would seriously consider (as soneone else mentioend earlier) to have a look at the wired options as they will not need batteries, will not add to wireless noise, and will generally be more stable, less latency etc…
True.
According to manufacturers, sensor batteries should last between 2years and 6years for normal use. We’ll see !
I would have to change the same number of batteries on Zwave/Zigbee/Wifi modules if I did not have an alarm system integrated in HA, so be it…
Yeah, I know, was just a friendly reminder
Be careful what manufacturers say about battery life, Aeotec for example says that their multisensors last up to two years, but even in a room that is barely used, I never reached more than 1 year of battery life.
