PeterJames Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Is anyone else using their alarm to control their lights and stuff? In my last house I automated stuff and controlled it using Galaxy gold, but everytime I wanted to switch something on or off remotely I had to find an internet connection for my laptop or connect my lappy to my mobile. No suh thing as apps and 3g back then. This house is far better my wife doesnt like all the tech but I being an techy idiot luv it, I love saying to Alexa movie night and watch the TV come on on the Netlfliks channel the curtains close the lights go out and the room goes purple, and my surround sound amm changes to TV mode. I have always connected my hall lights up to my alarm, I remember the first time I saw this on an old Castle 1250, it had a mains relay wired to an output when the alarm went off the lights came on. It struck me as a really good idea, if you had just broken in and the lights came on you would think that someone is in and has heard you and are on their way to catch you. Before I had hard wire lights up now its just a case of swapping the light switch and using a txer. More recently (now my kids are teenage) I have come down in the morning and have found that the kids have left the kitchen or lounge lights on all night, and so I wired an wireless txer to the alarm so that whenever it is part set or full set it switch's all the lights off in the house. When I was at James house the other month he was using smartlights on his alarm to switch on the external lights when he opened the back door, I quite liked that idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixwheeledbeast Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 I have always had some sort of integration with other things in the house using the alarm panel. Most is standard outputs using status or zone mimics. Years ago you could see the alarm system becoming the central security hub but the way the market has gone consumer driven, I can see small embedded servers/routers in each home becoming the "central hub". Issue I have with this though is security, it can't be a fit and forget product if your going to connect it to the internet. They are better as a stand alone system and interfaced as we do now. I still feel the whole smart home thing is backwards, companies make the most money from selling your data and while people allow this to go on, smart home technology will never move on. They have no interest in making or developing a product that isn't harvesting your data in some way. "Smart home" isn't smart if you are telling it to do something, that's just having a gopher. It should react to what's going on and your actions to assist without prompt, not using an app or remote. In it's current form anything more "smart home" than standard outputs from an alarm seems pointless IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbz Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 I've just come across the sonoff range of smart home. Cheap as chips and have automated lights and things in outbuildings so far to see just how reliable it is. Wife isn't impressed ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Found out the hard way just before holidays how this can go tits up badly, mind. My Fibaro home controller creamed in, which means that certain rooms without local switches (doing it this way massively sped things up) were in the dark with literally no way to turn the lights on. Lots of rooms have basic, dumb PIRs like the toilets and laundry, but some like the porch and other outside lights work off of a Fibaro PIR to allow for additional scene based switching and early-on / all-night on during holidays etc... depending on light levels. To make it worse Fibaro have pulled out of the UK (they still support from Poland but the office is closed). Hapilly the controller is built upon a very ancient mini-ATX computer with only a custom case and custom (USB based) RF module, I couldn't quite believe it but all tests pointed towards the mobo, unlikely I know as most computers need to be 99,9% working to even get to the BIOS screen. It's linux based and although the VGA port is blanked off, connecting it to a monitor showed it hanging at the USB stage, odd, since the USB appeared to otherwise work. Long story short the only supply of identical mobos was the USA, hapilly they were peanuts (Intel Atom based) and not only is it fixed I have upgraded the RAM too (and no it wasnt the RAM alone that was the issue, I checked that first!). TLDR - If I ever move again, and do HA again, it will have to be for a system advanced enough for a 'mesh' type system where every the controller is used only to make adjustments and the function and programming for every node is distibuted around the system, e.g. the node is the controller relative to the others. Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Galaxy does a few lights (Hall, utility and external side lite linked to the gate) via links. I also have some presence pirs and quite a few Sonoff bits, including temp sensors for the kitchen plinth heaters. Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.wilson Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 I said this years ago the only bit of kit that knows if your in, out or in bed is the alarm. Should be the hub for everything. Quote securitywarehouse Security Supplies from Security Warehouse Trade Members please contact us for your TSI vetted trade discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 It should but although Z-wave is a great infrastructure it's mainly useless on it's own and only niche alarm manf's support it IIRC. At least my system knows (when it works...) if the alarm is set or not and some PIRs have z-wave piggybacks (stamp sized modules with super mini relays that sit between panel and PIR). Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrimshanker Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Just to correct the above comment about fibaro, they haven't left the UK market at all. They where bought by Nice and now Nice UK administrator the company. They've changed the way they view the market and now are no longer straight to consumer, they only provide through registered installers like myself. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al-yeti Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 2 hours ago, scrimshanker said: Just to correct the above comment about fibaro, they haven't left the UK market at all. They where bought by Nice and now Nice UK administrator the company. They've changed the way they view the market and now are no longer straight to consumer, they only provide through registered installers like myself. How it take to Google all that ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrimshanker Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 1 hour ago, al-yeti said: How it take to Google all that ? Sorry, I don't understand your point 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al-yeti Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 9 minutes ago, scrimshanker said: Sorry, I don't understand your point Your all just to serious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrimshanker Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 (edited) If you say so, just thought I'd help but as usual this forum is full of .... Edited September 22, 2019 by scrimshanker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova-Security Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 4 hours ago, scrimshanker said: Just to correct the above comment about fibaro, they haven't left the UK market at all. They where bought by Nice and now Nice UK administrator the company. They've changed the way they view the market and now are no longer straight to consumer, they only provide through registered installers like myself. All available on amazon and a few other websites direct 2 Quote www.nova-security.co.uk www.nsiapproved.co.uk No PMs please unless i know you or you are using this board with your proper name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 4 hours ago, scrimshanker said: If you say so, just thought I'd help but as usual this forum is full of .... Scrimshankers? Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al-yeti Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 4 hours ago, scrimshanker said: If you say so, just thought I'd help but as usual this forum is full of .... Come on man it's all cool dude 4 hours ago, Nova-Security said: All available on amazon and a few other websites direct Come super nova be serious you telling me it's like price protected qvis and all over eBay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) If you go to Fibaro website they offer direct support to anyone so hardly installer only. UK office was closed down long before takeover and English (non-US) support is now from English speakers in Poland (e.g. the whole office probably) As above Amazon are continuously getting new stock of Fibaro kit as it the uk.automation site, Amazon prices flutuate but can't believe trade is ever any cheaper than the best Amazon prices. I suspect the 'nice' rep just wanted to to make you feel good HH3 out soon at a silly price. I would have thought the future was no hub, as such, or at least not such a complex one, a PI size and powered PC would have been ideal price and function wise. Edited February 7, 2020 by datadiffusion Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrHappy Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 14 minutes ago, datadiffusion said: as it the uk.automation site, lol- https://www.uk-automation.co.uk/security/alarm-systems/ Quote Mr Veritas God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 X-10 is deader than a dead thing that comes with a signed certificate of deadness. Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrHappy Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 1 Quote Mr Veritas God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) ^ what he said And now, we present the first of a new programme here on TSI; "All That Fibaro Stuff What You Cannot Buy As A Pleb" https://www.uk-automation.co.uk/search.php?search_query=fibaro&Search= Edited February 7, 2020 by datadiffusion Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrHappy Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 56 minutes ago, datadiffusion said: ^ what he said And now, we present the first of a new programme here on TSI; "All That Fibaro Stuff What You Cannot Buy As A Pleb" https://www.uk-automation.co.uk/search.php?search_query=fibaro&Search= @scrimshanker that looks like retail to me.... Quote Mr Veritas God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al-yeti Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 21 minutes ago, Logan said: Why do we hate @scrimshanker "We don't" So you admitted it , so explain y you hate him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 Not sure, same reason people hated Paul Daniels? Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadiffusion Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 19 minutes ago, Logan said: Im just following what you do If Al-yeti told you to jump out of a window... Then my advice is to call 999 Quote So, I've decided to take my work back underground.... to stop it falling into the wrong hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 *but not when you're on shift... 1 Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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