[OBSOLETE] Smart Alarm is here

SmartApps & Automations Community Created SmartApps
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Current Smart Alarm version is 2.4.2. Please follow this thread for updates:

Like many others, I’m interested in using SmartThings as a cheap substitute for a self-monitored alarm system. I tried using “Smart Security” app, but was not very happy with it. So I wrote “Smart Alarm” - a multi-zone virtual alarm panel. It features:

  • Up to 16 independent security zones
  • Unlimited number of sensors (contact, motion, fire, moisture) per zone
  • Two arming modes - Away and Stay
  • Optional entry and exit delays
  • Zones can be designated as Interior (armed in Away mode only) Exterior (armed in both Away and Stay modes) and Alert (always armed)
  • Zone bypass allows quickly exclude select zones
  • Setting of an alarm can activate sirens, turn on light switches, send push notifications and text messages
  • Silent mode disables sirens and light switches, but leaves push notifications and text messages on
  • Panic button

Smart Alarm is armed and disarmed simply by setting SmartThings location ‘mode’. For example, you can configure it to arm in Away mode when the location mode is set to ‘Away’ and to arm in Stay mode when the location mode is set to ‘Night’. Setting location to any other mode, for example ‘Home’ will automatically disarm Smart Alarm.

This allows arming and disarming SmartAlarm using ‘Hello Home’ parses. For example, ‘Good Night!’ phrase activates ‘Night’ mode, thus automatically arming Smart Alarm in Stay mode. You can also change location modes based on presence or other criteria, giving you many different ways to arm and disarm Smart Alarm.

Here’s some screenshots:

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Smart Alarm is available in the SmartThings IDE (look in “Safety & Security” section of Shared Smart Apps) and also on GitHub:
https://github.com/statusbits/smartalarm/

43 Likes
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This looks cool. A couple questions:

  1. Why did you make the Yes/No choice a text field rather a select?
  2. Did you consider having the automatic arming when the house residents “quiet down”?
  3. I don’t see some of these screens after installing the app? Are these in the Shared SmartApps version?

Great work.

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Hmm… Yes/No was in the early version and I checked the shared app - it looks current.
Could you check if the file header has this:

* Version: 1.0.0
* Date: 2014-07-04

I believe that arming/disarming should be as generic as possible. Since SmartThings is so flexible, a user can create his/her own rules to change the mode outside of the app.

Thanks.

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Yeah that was an older version of the same name that I found. Checking it out.

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This looks interesting. Is it possible to get it to work with a keypad of some sort to arm and disarm? Also, can the panic button be triggered by a key press somewhere, like on an Aeon Minimote?

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Just looked at latest version and this is pretty amazing. Great job. Showing it off to product team now.

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It’s should be possible to hook panic alarm function to a switch or button event. What keypad do you have in mind?

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Thank you. It took a bit of digging for “undocumented” features. :slight_smile:

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Unfortunately, I would love to use scene controllers, like the Vizia group from Leviton, that are not currently supported by SmartThings. Just noting them for future reference. Maybe an extensive app like this will help the ST dev team see the tremendous value in getting scene controllers into the pipeline! :smile:

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I just installed this app and this is wonderful.

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@geko - Wow, this is truly a fantastically designed v1 of any app I have seen so far. Your level of descriptiveness in the app is outstanding. I don’t even have a need for it and installed it! I’ll set it up to play and see how much I can tick off my family! :smile:

@Ben - This app should become model on how to describe an app fully so users don’t have to guess what they are looking at or selecting.

5 Likes
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This is superb. Can’t wait to play around with this.

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Thank you. It took me a while to get the UI the way I wanted, mostly because of insufficient documentation. Hopefully, it will make it easier for others to follow. I ‘tested’ it for a few days only, so if you find any issues, I’d appreciate your feedback.

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The app is great and has exposed a few UI issues that we need to address for these (to give you more control over how things look etc). @geko, are you planning submitting this through for official SmartThings publishing?

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Sure, if you think it’s good enough, I’ll submit it.

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This looks awesome. Excuse my potentially dumb question, but as never having had an alarm system, what are you considering zones? Would these be places/room with motion sensors, or some other kind of hardware?

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In a “classic” security system a zone is typically a single sensor like a door, a window or a motion sensor, although you can wire several window sensors in series, if for instance you have two windows in your bedroom. In a wireless setup, you cannot “wire up” multiple sensors together, therefore a zone can have multiple sensors. It’s really up to you how you define a security zone. Typically, it’s a bounded area, like a room. However you can define a zone as “All smoke alarms in my home” or “All motion sensors upstairs”, for example.

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Thanks, makes perfect sense. Pumped to give this a try.

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@geko will this work with any wireless alarm system? I have monitronics system and they just released a new app talking about z-wave devices and connecting things.

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@geko sorry if this question sounds dumb, but I’m curious about something! Could this work with any wireless alarm system? I have monitronics system and they just released a new app talking about z-wave devices and connecting things.

UPDATE
I think i just figured this out. This is strictly using motion and door sensors connected to ST’s right??