Dumb door and window sensors (UK)

Hi,

I have a couple of zwave contact sensors but they’re far too expensive to add to every door and window.

Just wondering if there’s a cost effective way to hook up a stack of dumb wired contact sensors and have them usable in Smartthings/webcore etc?

I believe the fibaro implants allow 2 (?) maybe, but that route really isn’t cost effective.

Much appreciated!

Konnected.io is designed for exactly this use case. It’s been quite popular. The developer, @heythisisnate is active in this forum and I’m sure can answer any questions you might have. :sunglasses:

Depending on exactly what you want to do, another alternative might be to add a Wyze system and then use echo routines to create smartthings integration.

You need the $20 starter kit and then each sensor is only six dollars each.

We already had the Wyze camera and liked it and so we added this for some of our least critical use cases where budget was a significant factor.

Again, these will not integrate directly with smartthings in any way. But they can be used to trigger an Alexa routine. :sunglasses:

You can also create an integration using Ifttt if you prefer that method.

Thanks, but

!

I can buy 6 ikea tradfri’s for less than a hundred quid =p

I asked the question out of idle curiosity. Assuming from your replies that this isn’t a cheap fix. Thanks anyway =)

(And don’t fancy adding further points of failure by adding another cloud to cloud)

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I see @heyisnate has responded below with regard to cost breakdowns. :sunglasses:

We are seeing more and more Zigbee sensors at around £18, but nothing in that range for zwave. And that’s still much more expensive than a typical wired sensor would be.

The product description for the aqara devices may say they need their own hub, but they don’t: you can use the smartthings hub instead as long as it’s not the original US V1 version.

Or, as you noted, the IKEA tradfri line is good value if you just want a motion sensor, but I don’t believe they offer a contact sensor yet, do they? Theirs is really intended to turn on lights.

You don’t need Konnected’s Interface kit if you just want to connect dumb sensors. The Interface component is for interfacing with a functional traditional alarm panel. In your case you’d want the Conversion kit, which starts at $99 for 6 zones plus a siren (on sale now for $89 because of backorder)

Sure, but an IKEA Tradfri won’t connect your door sensors.

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I disagree with this. Our most popular kit is the 12-zone kit. 6-zone kit is a close second.

At $15~$20 each for z-wave sensors, plus at least $30 for a siren, the break-even point is more like 3 sensors – and that’s if you just consider cost alone.

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Thanks for the correction, I have updated my post above. :sunglasses:

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Thanks. But the cheapest I can find the conversion kit is about 120 gbp. Looks awesome. But out of budget.

Thanks all. =)

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There are trade offs with every option.

Connected IO - Probably better and simpler if you have existing sensors already wired or an alarm system to integrate with.
Supported Zigbee or Z-wave sensors - Simplest install and arguably most reliable.
Xiaomi Mi/Aqara sensors - Cheapest option, great when working but can be a PIA

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Using a nodemcu and a breakout board, you can DIY a konnected for $20 for 6 zones + siren and add 6 zones + siren for $10 (breakout boards are 3 for $10, nodemcu is $7 each). For the siren ports to work, you need a relay, which is $10 for 2. Use the free konnected flash tool to flash. This is still $30 cheaper than the DIY konnected board and requires little extra work vs the konnected diy. Note that the konnected diy and the konnected conversion kit are different but do the exact same thing in the exact same way.

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Konnected is really reliable and requires no batteries, which is a surprisingly helpful feature. Since there is a security system in my house that I retrofitted using connected but had no use for the console (my fire tablet console had a better place to go), I could use the four wires as three buttons. Added perks like this come when using konnected

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I haven’t done anything like this before… Could you possibly go into a little more detail please? Sounds interesting. Assuming this will somehow allow me to see the open/closed status of door/window sensors via smartthings?

@djh_wolf You buy a nodemcu and a breakout board, you download the konnected flash tool for diy kit (free), you wire up sensors to the breakout board (you could wire them up directly to the nodemcu but it is not recommended). Don’t buy GPIO breakout boards like me, they were a terrible choice. Buy these: WYPH Nano Terminal Adapter Shield Expansion Board for Arduino Nano V3.0 AVR ATMEGA328P-AU Module (Terminal Adapter 3pcs) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K8KM583/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_kUXbFbMR5D16F instead. They have screw terminals instead of GPIO and reduce headaches. Same price. Then use this https://docs.konnected.io/security-alarm-system/wiring/contact-sensors for wiring the devices. You need to give 5-10v (but no more!) to the vin pin and gcc pin next to it to power the nodemcu. It is ok to power by the USB port but not recommended. If you need a siren, then you need to buy a relay (must be 3.3v high-level relay with the screw terminal breakout board!: 1 Channel 3V Relay High Level Driver Module Optocoupler Relay Module for ESP8266 Based Board https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0798CZDR9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_35ZbFbR63F2QJ and a siren power supply (usually 12v). Finally, if you buy new nodemcus for 12 and above zones, then you just wire the power in paralell. It is not as hard as it seems.

I bought a nodemcu from a-z delivery: AZDelivery NodeMcu WiFi Lua Lolin V3 ESP8266 ESP-12E Development Board with CH340 Including Free eBook! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F8759RC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_rZZbFbG8P1FN5. It is high quality, comes with a free coding ebook, and has prime shipping.

If you want to avoid the hassle of choosing parts, konnected sells a $50 package with all this included. But if the idea is to save money, then this will save you $30, enough to get lots of sensors

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If you have reed 2-wire switches (cheap in bulk!) and magnets, you can see the status of all your doors in the smartthings app without a hub (you can do the local konnected if you have a smartthings hub).

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You can get 10 magnetic no-battery switches for 20, so it should be cheap to monitor every door and window in your house.

If you have a security system, you can use its sensors by putting a konnected inside your security system box.

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Righto, thanks for the amazing replies thus far, much appreciated!

To clarify, I can buy this (amazon uk):

…and this… (amazon uk)

Then wire it up as per here:
https://docs.konnected.io/security-alarm-system/wiring/contact-sensors

…and grab the software from here:

…and these contact sensors:

And then, I’m assuming there’s a way of then adding the device to smartthings? Is it a zwave/zigbee device?

That’s the part I’m unclear on. I’d say I’m tech-minded, but I’ve never done anything with the arduino etc (assuming I don’t need an arduino too… and this NodeMCU is a similar equivalent?)

Sorry for the basic questions, I’d rather be sure before taking the plunge =)

First, after flashing and connecting to power, connect to the wifi network called konnected something. In your browser, type 192.168.4.1, input your wifi credentials. Then let the konnected reboot. After that, download the konnected app, make an account, and scan for devices. Click on the device, and hit register. Then add the zones for each sensor. In smartthings, go to add devices, click by brand, and tap konnected. Input your credentials, and the devices should pop up. It will work remotely, even though the konnected app requires the same wifi during setup and management of zones. I do not know how to do the local way with the smartthings hub, but konnected has a guide on their website

Link to flash: https://help.konnected.io/support/solutions/articles/32000023470-flashing-konnected-firmware-software

Cloud to cloud setup: https://help.konnected.io/support/solutions/articles/32000027866-discover-using-the-konnected-mobile-app

Connecting to wifi: https://help.konnected.io/support/solutions/articles/32000022408-connect-to-wifi

You do not need an Arduino. If you have a windows or Mac computer (for flashing), this will work. You do not have to write any code or even touch the smartthings ide.

This device is a wifi device that reports its data to the smartthings cloud. The local version (discontinued but still works) reports the data over wifi to the smartthings hub, which then reports to the cloud.

It’s really simple once the hardware installation is done and never needs maintenance like battery devices. :+1:

Again, thanks. Much appreciated. Great info.

Couple of questions if you don’t mind.

  1. So this is cloud to cloud…? I assume then that if say, a door opens then it will be maybe 10 Secs until smartthings knows about it?

  2. Not clear on whether day to day operation requires WiFi to run and report sensor status to smartthings?

  3. Could you explain/expand on what you said about “local but unsupported”?

  4. Could you please double check the links to the hardware I found on amazon? I’d hate to get the wrong product.

  5. I understand this is seems to be the least expensive way of doing things. Would it be better to go the route of the arduino?

  6. In terms of responsiveness, is this noticeably different (slower) than a standard zwave door Sensor (which seems instantaneous to me).

Ta!