Ive had great stability over the past month with SHM and have been kicking around the idea of integrating an alarm system.
My personal options Im looking at are (in no particular order):
Scout
Simplisafe
ADT Canopy (when available)
SheriffLink
Im looking at these because of their integration capabilities with my existing sensors and devices. Each one has their pros and cons and I understand the feel good of having a dedicated system, separate from HA.
The caveat? Delays. I really REALLY wanted to see this capability baked into SHM by now.
So, from the forum members who have lived through the pain of SHM being a mess; would you feel confident with its current state, to rely on it for legit security?
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
2
Short answer: Wait for the next version of SHM. Without entry/exit Delays, it is too prone to False Alarms (unless you are only alerting on Smoke/CO/Leaks).
I’ve been using Simplisafe with SHM for the past month and it’s worked out pretty well. A couple of times it didn’t arm or disarm my alarm properly but I have a separate Rule Machine rule that monitors when it fails to do so.
But how would that work with someone who doesn’t have a presence sensor, but codes in through the front door. SHM would see the open door as an intrusion immediately. Only AT&T DL would have the delay in this scenario.
Right?
DL was own my radar but after seeing some of the integration steps (tying into notifications to enable/disable SHM…Not sure I like that. Has it changed to a better smart app integration?
You’ve piqued my interest! Why did it not arm/disarm? Presence sensor issue, or SHM, or…? Can you explain a bit more how you have RM monitoring this? Have you converted to using CoRE yet?
You are correct about SHM not having an entry delay if someone without a presence sensor enters. But how would that person disarm SHM? Alarm system keypad?
Here is the link to the Digital Life integration I am using. The controller works like dimmer switch with 0=disarm, 1=stay, 2=away. You can link it to SHM or use a rule app to control it or execute events based on dimmer state.
Yes. Via the alarm panel. ASSuming the alarm delay is initiated as a typical one would: door opens, timer starts. Alarm disarmed within x seconds, alarm dismissed. Throw SHM into it like this:
Someone opens door, SHM is triggered as intrusion along with alarm timer. Alarm code put in, SHM and alarm are both disarmed. All is good, right?
The catch is SHM. With a delay, this would be seamless and almost pointless to pay for another alarm system that doesnt natively integrate.
The community developed smartapp for Simplisafe integration arms and disarms Simplisafe alarm based on your SHM settings. I set SHM status based on presence or sleep mode via Rule Machine.
A couple of times even though my SHM was properly set, it failed to set the proper Simplisafe state which can be attributed to a number of things such as things even on the Simplisafe end. I never really troubleshooted much since it doesn’t happen often and I have monitoring of this process in place. I have Rule Machine monitor the lock state of the Simplisafe device when I am not home or sleeping which the community developer device type allows. Haven’t converted to CoRE since it’s still in Alpha. Overall, it works very well and It’s one of my favorite integrations. I just wish I can get rid of double hardware all over my house
One of the cons of anything that doesnt natively integrate, which is why I’m considering scout or sherifflink. Depending on when ADT Canopy is release…
CoRE is phenomenally stable and in-depth but understandable. @ady624 is a wizard!
Only way I could think of is that you exclude your entry door from AWAY mode and set up a separate rule (CoRE, Rule Machine) for the entrance that is linked to a virtual device. THis virtual device can be included in SHM.
If front door opens, wait 1 min then turn on virtual device (input = on, output = open). This will create an alarm if SHM has not been set to DISARM yet. It’s a work around and not great but it will do the job.
@pizzinini after thinking about this, couldnt I just create one virtual contact sensor and use CoRE to tie all of my contacts to it? Or one for doors and one for windows. The downside is that Id only have that virtual contact in SHM.
Thinking something like(dont have CoRE in front of me for a more precise desc.):
If
any contact sensor open
Then
open/turn on virtual contact
This would trigger SHM that something is open thus alerting a monitored alarm company
yes that would work. It looks like CoRe can do almost everything (except maybe shovel snow!)
I was thinking that you use SHM directly for all sensors that don’t need an entry delay and only use a virtual device for the sensors that do need a delay. If you use stock device types for your non-entry delay sensors the alarm for these with SHM will work even if you dont have internet connection because SHM runs local on your hub. Only your entry delay devices would be impacted.
CoRE is a great app and it could definitely do what you are looking for but it is still in development and not 100% stable yet. That’s why I thought smart lighting was a good option. Also I just noticed that the UDTH has a delay built in - I have not used it yet though but it may eliminate the need for a rule app.
