August 2018 Archives

Honeywell has now made it possible for users to integrate a Chamberlain MyQ Garage Door Controller with Total Connect 2.0. A user can now access their Total Connect 2.0 account to operate their Chamberlain Controller. The garage door controller must be integrated with TC2 for this to work.

The integration process is completed through Total Connect 2.0. Before you can set up your garage door controller, you must have the feature enabled by your alarm monitoring company. Alarm Grid customers should contact us by sending an email to support@alarmgrid.com to have the feature enabled. Please note that you must have a Silver, Gold or Platinum Level Monitoring Plan (full or self, with automation) to receive Chamberlain support. Alarm Grid will not approve the feature for Self-Bronze customers.

For a complete guide to setting up a Chamberlain MyQ Garage Door Controller with Total Connect 2.0, please see this document. The steps outlined below provide a brief overview of the set up process.

Once your Total Connect 2.0 account is approved for Chamberlain Service, you can proceed with integrating your garage door controller with TC2. Start by downloading the MyQ App to your iOS or Android device. The app is available for free download in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Next, connect your MyQ garage motor to your local WIFI network. Some motors have an integrated gateway, while others require a separate internet gateway, like the 828LM. Once the motor is connected to internet, you can use the MyQ app to setup a MyQ account. You will use that login to integrate garage door control between MyQ and Total Connect 2.0.

The actual integration process is completed through Total Connect 2.0 Mobile App and the MyQ App. Start by opening Total Connect 2.0, and access the "Automation" section. Then press the "Manage Devices" button. Choose "Chamberlain/LiftMaster". Then choose "Setup New Garage Door" if your garage door controller is not yet set up with the MyQ App. Or choose "Add Existing Garage Door" if you have already set up your Chamberlain MyQ Controller with the MyQ App.

The screenshots below show the iOS version of the app, but the Android version is very similar:

If you choose "Setup New Garage Door", the MyQ App will open so that you can complete the MyQ Setup process. Otherwise, the process for integrating with TC2 will continue as normal. You may need to provide your MyQ login information to continue. Choose the garage door controller you want to use, and click "Save".

A warning message will appear to let you know that you are updating the list of garage doors that can be controlled from the app. This is normal, and you can press "OK" to continue. The update should go through successfully. Press "OK" to continue. You will then see the newly added garage door opener on your automation screen.

If you ever need to remove a Chamberlain MyQ Garage Door, please review pages 5 & 6 of the the set up guide that is linked above. If you have any questions or trouble, please send us an email for further support.

Update: We have discovered that Honeywell L5100 Systems running a firmware version of at least 5.00838, but less than 5.05000 (5.15000 in Canada) can also support the newer Honeywell L5100-WIFI units with the MAC prefix of B82CA0. Please see this update post for more information.

The latest technical notification from Honeywell says that the manufacturer is making changes to their L5100-WIFI Module for the Honeywell LYNX Touch Systems. New L5100-WIFI devices have a MAC prefix of B8:2C:A0. Modules with this MAC prefix will require the panel to be on at least 8.00.183.

The L5100-WIFI allows a Honeywell LYNX Touch Panel to connect with a WIFI network. This will allow the panel to receive IP monitoring service and connect with the Total Connect 2.0 interactive platform. Overall, it is one of the most important upgrades that can be made for a LYNX Touch System.

Older L5100-WIFI modules used a MAC prefix of 00D02D. These modules can be used with a LYNX Touch System right out of the box, with no firmware update being needed. This is not the case with the newer L5100-WIFI modules that have the B8:2C:A0 MAC Prefix. The new L5100-WIFI modules can be identified by having the following label on the outside of their boxes:

In order to use one of these newer L5100-WIFI devices, the LYNX Touch System will need to be running Revision 8.00.183 or higher. Only the Honeywell L5200, Honeywell L5210 and Honeywell L7000 will support this revision upgrade. The L5200 must have the firmware update pushed down to the panel over-the-air by Resideo. The L5210 and L7000 Systems can use the firmware updater tool to complete the update.

Update: As of October 2019, the L5200 can also use the LYNX Touch Firmware Updater Tool. Please see this blog post for more information.

Any L5210 or L7000 System that was purchased after February 2018 will already have Revision 8.00.183 installed. These systems will readily support the newest L5100-WIFI modules. The LYNX Touch Systems that have Revision 8.00.183 pre-installed can be identified by having the following serial number:

If you have an older LYNX Touch System or if you are unable to get Revision 8.00.183 on your L5210 or L7000, then you will still be able to use an older L5100-WIFI with the 00D02D MAC prefix to get the system online. Keep in mind though that any newly manufactured L5100-WIFI module will not have the older prefix. Alarm Grid will stop selling the older L5100-WIFI modules once we run out of our current stock.

But if you do manage to find an older L5100-WIFI module with the 00D02D prefix, then you will be able to use it with your system. Alarm Grid will activate any compatible L5100-WIFI Module, whether it was purchased from us or somewhere else. Also remember that you will not need to purchase a new L5100-WIFI module or upgrade your panel's firmware revision if you already have a functioning WIFI module set up with the system.

Another option is to upgrade to the Honeywell Lyric Controller. The Lyric comes with a compatible WIFI card already built-in. This makes it extremely easy to connect to a WIFI network. The Lyric also readily supports Z-Wave home automation devices, and it is fully compatible with Apple HomeKit. A user will be able to bring over all their existing sensors to the Lyric Controller, so making the upgrade is very easy.

As you may know, Honeywell recently enabled partition support for their Total Connect 2.0 interactive service. We've heard reports of some users having trouble getting started with this service. Fortunately, this is an easy fix, and partition support can be enabled with just a few steps.

Before getting started, make sure you have a compatible Honeywell VISTA Alarm System that supports multiple partitions. Also you must have at least one zone configured on a secondary partition. If your alarm system does not provide support for partitioning, then the option for enabling the partition feature will not show up on Total Connect.

Once you have confirmed that your alarm system supports partitions, you can proceed with enabling the feature on Total Connect 2.0. The process will work for new system users, as well as those who opted to enable the partition feature later. After it has been completed, you will be able to control system partitions from TC2 at any time.

When enabling partition support, you must be using the web browser version of Total Connect 2.0. It is not possible to enable partition support using the iOS or Android Mobile App versions of TC2. Once the feature is enabled, you can use the mobile app to control multiple partitions. But the initial set up must be done from the web browser version at TotalConnect2.com.

After you have logged into your Total Connect 2.0 account, click the "Locations" tab on the left. Then the blue "Sync Panel" button at the top. This will sync your panel with Total Connect 2.0. Wait a few moments for the syncing process to complete, and verify "Zone Sync Success" within the Events tab on the left. Then logout of your TC2 account, and log back in. Then, once again, click the locations tab. The following pop-up should appear:

Click the blue "Configure Now" button. Total Connect 2.0 will then walk you through the remainder of the process for enabling partition support. If you have any questions about this process or if you need further assistance, please send an email to support@alarmgrid.com, and one of our technical specialists will reply shortly.

Very recently, we made a post highlighting the best smart thermostats on the market today. We made it clear that smart thermostats offer huge convenience, and they can help users save money on energy bills. But just how much can a household save by using a smart thermostat? Let's find out.

The idea behind a smart thermostat is that it will allow a home's HVAC system to run only when it is needed. The HVAC system is typically the largest contributor to one's energy bill. With a traditional analogue thermostat, a user has to choose between running the HVAC system all the time (expensive) or coming home to house where the HVAC system hasn't been running all day (uncomfortable). This can be somewhat mitigated using a standard programmable thermostat set on pre-determined schedule. However, a user will still be unable to adjust their HVAC system while they are away.

A smart thermostat offers major convenience, since it allows for the HVAC System to respond automatically with certain events. For example, a smart thermostat can be "taught" to turn off the HVAC system when a user presumedly leaves their house because they set their security system to arm away. That way, the HVAC system turns off at exactly the right moment. If you ever plan on leaving your home at different times of the day, a standard programmable thermostat won't be able to achieve this same level of automatic precision.

But the real money saving ability of a smart thermostat comes from the ability to control the HVAC system remotely. This is done by accessing an interactive service platform, such as Alarm.com or Total Connect 2.0. When this setup is done using an alarm system, the command will go from the interactive servers servers to the control panel (through WIFI or cellular communication), then to the smart thermostat (usually through WIFI or Z-Wave), and finally to the HVAC system (through a wired connection). Since most interactive services have their own mobile apps, this type of control and access can be achieved from virtually anywhere in the world.

So say you're away from home, and you're running late. Instead of arriving home at your expected time, it will now be several hours or even the next day until you get back. But oh no, your home's heating and cooling system is still running! If you don't shut it off, the energy bills are going to rack up! In this situation, just pull out your smart phone, access your interactive service account, and tell your smart thermostat to shut off the HVAC system. Just like that, you have saved money. And if you want your house to be comfortable when you arrive, access your account a little bit before you come home and activate your thermostat. It's that easy.

So how much can you really save on your energy bills with a smart thermostat? Well it depends. Obviously, the savings will be largest if you had a traditional thermostat that had the HVAC system running 24/7. Once you adjust to a programmable thermostat, assuming you use it as designed, you will save money in energy costs every time you leave the home and have the HVAC system stop running. But if you had an analogue or programmable thermostat that you adjusted meticulously, or if you almost never leave your home and always run your HVAC system, the savings won't be as large.

As for actual numbers, various studies have found that a typical smart thermostat will save users on average about 10% on heating costs and 15% on cooling costs. This translates to a savings of about $130 per year, or slightly more than $10 per month. But keep in mind, these savings will be larger in certain cases. We've heard of many users saving more than $200 per year in energy costs by using a smart thermostat. For these users, a smart thermostat essentially pays for itself in just a year's time.

The best option is to consider your energy-using habits and determine whether or not a smart thermostat is a good investment for your household. Either way, it will certainly be more convenient and offer more features than a traditional thermostat. And if you're wondering which smart thermostat we recommend, we gotta say we're pretty big fans of the new Honeywell T6 Z-Wave Thermostat.

Ah, the thermostat. The unsung champion that keeps your home or office a bearable place to reside during the scorching summer months. You have probably relied on one of these devices for all of your life. It goes without saying that the thermostat is, and always will be, super awesome.

But what you might not know is that the latest thermostats are more feature-rich and more technologically advanced than ever before. At Alarm Grid, we don't mess with the primitive, boring thermostats of yesteryear. We have something more exciting. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to meet the smart thermostat.

Simply put, a smart thermostat is any thermostat that ties in with home automation. Just like a traditional programmable thermostat, a smart thermostat can be set up so that it adjusts the temperature based on a set schedule. But what separates a smart thermostat is that it can be operated remotely and that it can be included with various smart scenes. And if you have a smart assistant like Apple HomeKit, Google Home or Amazon Alexa, you can control your smart thermostat using voice commands.

So for example, let's say you're out and about, but your plans changed, and now you're going to be home earlier than expected. You can login to your interactive services account (e.g. Total Connect 2.0 or Alarm.com) and adjust your thermostat so that your house will be comfortably cooled or heated by the time you arrive home. Or let's say you realized you're going to be home later than expected. Simply login to your interactive service account and tell your smart thermostat to hold off on heating or cooling. That way, you can conserve energy and save money on your power bill.

The other reason to get a smart thermostat is to tie it in with your smart home setup. A smart home setup that uses home automation allows users to establish a pre-determined set of actions that will be performed based on a schedule or with certain events. These sets of pre-determined response actions are referred to as smart scenes, and the actions or events that trigger them are called rules. And it isn't just thermostats that can be included in smart scenes. A smart scene can include things like lights, door locks and garage door controllers as well.

But how would you use rules and scenes with your thermostat? Well let's say you set your security system to arm away when you go to leave for the day. You can have a smart scene and a rule put in place to turn off all your Z-Wave lights and have your smart thermostat to stop cooling the house once you arm your system. That way, you are immediately saving money on your energy bills without even lifting a finger. Sure, you could manually do this with a traditional programmable thermostat, but with a smart thermostat, it is much more convenient and simple.

So now that you know why smart thermostats are great, which one should you get? Well if you want the short answer, we recommend the new T6 Z-Wave Thermostat from Honeywell. But there a couple of others that aren't far behind. Let's take a look at three outstanding smart thermostats, including the amazing T6.

Honeywell T6 Z-Wave Thermostat

Okay, we're going to be honest here. The Honeywell T6 Z-Wave Thermostat is the best device on this list. That's not to knock the other two thermostats we're presenting here. But we firmly believe the Honeywell T6 is the best smart thermostat on the market today. Unless you're dying to know more about some other thermostats that are currently available, you can save yourself the reading and purchase the Honeywell T6 from Alarm Grid right now.

There is one major reason that the Honeywell T6 is currently the best thermostat available. Unlike nearly every other thermostat, the T6 does not require common power from a C-wire. Instead, it is a rare example of a high-quality and efficient smart thermostat that can operate on battery power. This makes it arguably the easiest thermostats to install for a DIY user. Traditionally, DIYers have been apprehensive about installing a thermostat since it usually required working with power wires. But the T6 just needs to be connected with the HVAC system to get up and running.

As far as the end user experience goes, the T6 offers a nice, clean interface that is a joy to use on a daily basis. The options are easy to understand, and new users won't feel overwhelmed or confused by the simple layout. And don't let the name fool you; the Honeywell T6 isn't restricted to use with Honeywell Alarm Systems. This is a non-proprietary thermostat that can be used with any alarm system that has a Z-Wave controller. This includes systems like the 2GIG GC3 and the Qolsys IQ Panel 2. Also, it can be accessed from both the Total Connect 2.0 and the Alarm.com interactive service platforms.

Hands down, this the best smart thermostat available today. Get one.

Alarm.com ADC-T2000

The ADC-T2000 was designed with Alarm.com in mind. This is the interactive service platform used with that is used with many different alarm system manufacturers, including 2GIG and Qolsys. So if you have an alarm system from one of these manufacturers, it may feel comforting to know that your smart thermostat is essentially "on the same team" so to speak. It is truly designed by Alarm.com, for Alarm.com.

There are few other reasons why one might select the ADC-T2000. For one, it features push-buttons and a light-up temperature display rather than an LCD screen. Some users might prefer this. Personally, we believe the touchscreen of the T6 is the superior option, but we know that some users prefer to keep it as simple as possible. With just three main buttons (up, down and menu) it doesn't get much easier than the ADC-T2000.

The other highlight of the ADC-T2000 is that it can be used with the Alarm.com ADC-S2000. This is a wireless temperature sensor that can send temperature readings to the ADC-T2000. This can be useful for very large properties where the temperature in one area of the building might not be the same as another. So in theory, this add-on can help you control the temperature in a very large building more accurately.

With all that in mind, if you have an ADC-compatible alarm system or you want to use a secondary temperature sensor with your smart thermostat, then the ADC-T2000 might be for you.

Honeywell Lyric Round WIFI Thermostat

The Lyric Round is the only smart thermostat on this list that doesn't use Z-Wave. Instead, this thermostat communicates using 2.4 GHz WIFI. It is exclusively compatible with the Honeywell Lyric Controller. But remember, the Lyric Controller already includes a built-in Z-Wave controller, so it could easily use the (superior) Honeywell T6 Thermostat instead. So why choose the Lyric Round? That is a very fair question.

We see users turn to the Lyric Round for one main reason. It is for the rare instance where a user wants to use WIFI communication instead of Z-Wave. Most users who have a home automation setup will have a strong mesh network of Z-Wave devices that will help support their Z-Wave smart thermostat. And even if a user has no other Z-Wave devices, the range for Z-Wave devices is still acceptable for most homes. But at the end of the day, WIFI is a more robust signal that a standalone (key word, standalone) Z-Wave signal.

If you have a larger property and a weak or nonexistent Z-Wave mesh network, you may ultimately be better off using the Lyric Round. The smart thermostat will send reliable and consistent WIFI signals to your Honeywell Lyric Controller. Also, you will be able to access and control your Lyric Round right from Total Connect 2.0. But keep in mind, you can only use the Lyric Round if you have a Honeywell Lyric Controller Security System.