I am building a new house and that will be the time I can pick out any hardwired security system. I read through the threads and it looks like GE DSC and Honeywell were common integration options.
My question to everyone out there, if you could do it all over again, which specific model / setup would you use with ST?
@Exvera
I believe the reason that nobody has responded to your post is that your question is pretty vague. in other words, what are you trying to accomplish?
I donāt know about hardwired security system and ST integration. I think hardwired security systems are slowly becoming a thing of the past as almost all security systems that I know of are going to systems that you can take with you when you leave so that you do not have to pay a high cancellation fee if you move and the system stays at the house and the new owners do not want to take over your account,
If you are looking for a security system that will integrate with Smartthings I believe that AT&T Digital Life, ADT, Simplysafe and possibly others will do that to varying degrees.
You will get as many answers to your question as there are forum members here. I personally purchased a security system that does not integrate with Smartthings and I use my Smartthings system as a backup to the security system and for Home Automation tinkering.
Hope this helps get you in the right direction but you will need to be more specific as to what you are trying to accomplish.
( I retitled this and moved it to the projects category and I hope that will encourage more responses. 
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ST does not integrate well with traditional home alarm systems. Existing integrations (developed by the community) are cumbersome at best and are not for the faint of heart. DSC PowerSeries combined with Envisalink 3 or 4 Ethernet adapter is the best solution, IMO. Unfortunately, thereās no way to integrate it with ST directly. If you want to integrate Smart Home and traditional alarm panel, Iād recommend looking at Vera Plus or Vera Edge which can be integrated with DSC (via Envisalink) pretty easily.
This sums it up. I would look for a modern security system that at least has an IFTTT channel. I use Abode, a rock solid future proof system that doesnāt tie you into long term contracts. I know others use different systems. @Mbhforum I believe is using SimplySafe. To answer to your question, if I were to do it again, I would do the same: Abode as security and ST for HA.
Correct, I use SimpliSafe. The unsupported integration between the two works pretty well, however I am not a huge fan of Simplisafe itself as they do not innovate, only integrate officially with Works with Nest and I have range issues with some of my sensors. Iād go with Abode if I had to do it all over again.
Thanks for sharing about Abode! It is interesting since it can also act as a z-wave hub.
Do you know if it will work with Iris z-wave window sensors / motion detectors?
Or only Adobe?
My thoughts were if I was to do wired it would be a model which is compatible with Envisalink. The rational for a wired system is just for stability since it is wired. However, without knowing how well Envisalink and ST work together I wanted to understand if it made sense just to skip to a system more like Abode which is already smart.
Here is a list of compatible sensors:
Below is their list of supported devices. The advantage of using Abodeās own devices, is that they run on 433mhz, which reduces interference with zwave and zigbee, so one less (security) headacheā¦
Abode is a very interesting low end security system, and it does have an IFTTT channel, but itās important to understand that the home automation features are limited to compared to a number of other systems which put home automation first. Itās not just that the specific models of devices that work with it are limited.
Youāre limited to a total of about 150 devices. That may not seem like a problem, but there are SmartThings members now who have 200 devices or more.
You are also limited to a total of 100 automation rules, even if you are on the premium plan. This may be to help protect the stability and reliability of the home security features.
Finally, the IFTTT channel reflects the same kind of restrictions.
There are very limited set of āifā options for the channel: basically a door opening or closing or a lock being unlocked or locked.
You cannot trigger the IFTTT channel based on a motion sensor or even a switch or light turning on.
So I think abode definitely can be considered as a security system. But while it has some add on home automation options, they really arenāt comparable with the other home automation systems that are out there, including SmartThings or even HomeKit.
Just to add an insider point of view, same limitations apply to Abodeās internal rule builder. But when it comes to security, reliability and stability are very important. To put it into perspective, Iāve had my locks integrated with ST. While it was nice to be able to have complex rules around the locks, oftentimes the lock/unlock events were skipped. With Abode, I may not be able to have the same complexity, but from a security stand point, I care more about knowing when my locks are locked/unlocked. I respect Abodeās efforts to provide a reliable service as much as I enjoy STās flexibility.
The reality is that there are tons of options and news ones every monthā¦ would just recommend you go with what fits your lifestyle and budget. Iāve got friends that have gone with every option under the sun, from new DSC/Honeywell installs, Comcast/AT&T/ADT Home Security, SimpliSafe, Vivint and theyāre all happy with what theyāve got.
I have a Honeywell 20P that came with the houseā¦ probably would not have picked that if I had the choice, but it was already in and wired up. I wanted to add wireless sensors, remote monitoring and control so popped in an Envisalink and connected it to ST. Iāve also got Blink and wired cameras to complete a setup that Iām happy with. Would I do it the same way if I were to start freshā¦ probably not.
If youāre looking for a hardwired security system, go with a DSC/Honeywell panel that gives you want you wantā¦ and imo itās a coin toss between the two.
Is it easy enough to turn on/off the alarm monitoring through the IFTTT channel. Like if I run an ST leave home routine, arm the Abode montoring, and when I run an ST return home routine, disarm the Abode monitoring? Is it reliable? Noticeable IFTTT delay?
I found ST channel to be less reliable. But for the longest time (think several months) I have used mode synchronization between ST and Abode. The lag is noticable but not awful. When it comes to security, I have no tolerance for hiccups. Even if the mode fails to change maybe once a month, that is unacceptable so I no longer use IFTTT to tie ST mode to Abode mode. I do however have a ādoā button on my phone and I use it to set the āawayā mode. As for arm while at home, I use the native Abode scheduler, which is rock solid.
Having just installed our starter Abode kit last night, I second this conclusion. Abode looks good, but not very customizable. ST is a great highly customizable, feature-robust system that is open to many for build-on innovation. Lots of choice, but the trade-off is reliability.
My initial take is that Abode is focusing on the other end of the spectrum, with focus on high reliability in lieu of customizability. Still, Abodeās Amazon Echo and IFTTT integration is nothing to sniff at.
The open/closed trade-off is common in platforms (e.g., Android/iOS) and it depends on what you prioritize. For automation, I think nothing beats SmartThingsā openness, but Iāve gone with Abode for security because it appears to be more reliable.
Install experience with Abode was fairly painless. So far it looks good. But anything would be better than the low-rent, high-fee ADT system Iām replacing.
If you have Nest cams or plan on adding them to Abode, youāll be pleasantly surprised.
How so? And have you tried the (newish) outdoor or just the indoor cameras?
Iād like an ST integration that just arms and disarms based on a presence sensor. Unfortunately I havenāt found one. Even a cloud to cloud integration would work with most alarm systems it seems.
