Other than testing, is there ever any other case for not sounding an alarm when smoke is detected? Smoke was detected at my house over the weekend and SHM said everything was OK. I think each rule, especially custom rules, should have an arm state variable. I would like to trigger the cameras to take a clip when the mailbox is opened and I would not want to arm the system for that. Same with smoke and co2 detectors. If there is smoke detected they should trigger an alarm state no matter what the status of the system.
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Network layout is the main reason why you would want to not trigger all the stuff you have in SHM. That is, youāre adding new devices and youāre doing some testing then youāre just not quite sure whatās going to trigger where in the house and you donāt want to start sending notifications to your neighbors.
A good example would be if you were adding an acoustic monitor like Leelo and you wanted to test that without having to take all your smoke detectors off your SmartThings network. Or redo all your logic.
Itās not going to happen very often, but choice is good. 
I tried the SHM but it was a pain to have to dismiss the notification manually in the app. This would happen to me everyday because the presence feature with my iPhone would not update until 10 minutes after I got home. I would walk in the door it would send the notification that someone was in the house and then Iād have to pull out the phone unlock it launch ST navigate to the SHM, tap on the Security tab and then tap the view alert, scroll down and delete the alert. I uninstalled it and am using other means of notification. Seems like a good feature in theory but it relies on everything else working perfectly.
My feature request would be to add a preference for how the alerts are dismissed or remove the need to manually dismiss the alert.
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Work is ongoing on SHM. This thread is monitored by those who are doing the work and planning the work. Thanks for continuing to point out desired behaviors.
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I feel like it could be improved with the following modes
- Disabled
- Enabled
- Disarmed
- Armed Stay
- Armed Away
When enabled any rule specified under what used to be considered damage and danger would function regardless of the arming state. This would cover things like smoke and water damage. This would also allow for complete disabling the system in times of testing or troubleshooting. It would also help if the custom camera triggers functioned in this mode. For example, trigger a camera when the mail is delivered or your child comes home from school. The system would have to be armed to capture either of those events and both tend to happen when the system would not be armed.
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@jodyalbritton Iām confused. The arm/disarm function is in the security section of SHM, and thereās a separate smoke section, right? I was under the impression that when a smoke detector goes off, SHM will alert at all times. Is that incorrect?
I believe it has to be in armed stay or armed away for the smoke detection as well. I have a rule that will flash my lights and trigger an external siren when smoke is detected. With SHM disarmed none of those things happened when smoke was detected from my kitchen.
Sorry if this has been covered. However, do time evaluations take place ONLY at (around) the start/end times or do they occur throughout the specified time interval if another condition is triggerred?
I have three rules that change the mode to one of three different custom modes Iāve created when mode = home AND the time is within one of three non-overlapping time intervals. However, in my testing thus far, these rules have yet to execute.
Wow that makes no sense, doesnāt it? I guess Iāll have to check my z-wave smoke alarms with some canned smoke to be sure.
There are plenty of times one would want to arm/disarm contact or motion sensors. But why arm/disarm the smoke alarm notifications? Maybe temporarily for maintenance as mentioned above, but they should come through all the time as a default.
I have to say that SHM is so much more disappointing since it came out compared to @gekoās Smart Alarm, which has had many more features for a while now. Itād be nice if the ST native interface could catch up.
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In an effort to be more constructive, these are other items I think SHM really needs to be as useful as gekoās Smart Alarm (which he has already pointed out above).
entry/exit delays. I doubt there is a commerical alarm system in existence that doesnāt have this.
SMS notifications to more than one phone #. Right now I have to use a google voice # that forwards to both my cell and my wifeās to get alerts.
Those two things would go a long way towards making SHM a useful alarm system, in my opinion.
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I will have to test out water sensors too through SHM. I would also definitely want those to be active all the time. Just because I am home does not mean I would not want to be notified if there is a water leak.
Also what is everyone using to be notified of smoke. I just got 2 combo units and wanted to know what smartapp would be the best.
Thanks,
Scott
I never have SHM armed, but any time a water sensor alerts, it lets me know.
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Great! Thanks for letting me know.
I have water sensors and a valve through SHM. The sensors report wet even if SHM isnāt armed. However, the last time I tested it (several times) SHM will not close a valve if you did not dismiss a previous leak incident. Seems silly to me.
I wonder why smoke alarms would not work the same way. Hopefully they fix this.
This is the key reason I canāt use SHM for my family. Iām implementing keypads for my kids to use, but you have to have entry/exit delays for thisā¦100% typical of any commercial alarm system.
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Currently what Iām doing is using the Modified Lock Code Manager SmartApp which I posted in the Centralite Keypad thread. It allows you to set up an exit delay and then I set it up so when you unlock the front door with a code it will automatically disarm the system.
exit delay is not the real problemā¦ no entry delay isā¦ you cannot delay unlocking the doorā¦ you have to tell people to wait 5 secs b4 opening door or ooops. sirens.
Exit delay is a problem for those like kids or dog walkers who might arm from a keypad as theyāre leaving and still need time to get out of the detection zone. Just depends on your setup.