Home Automation Posts

Hi DIYers! If you have a smart home setup, then you know how exciting it is when you add a new smart device. Now you have brand-new equipment that you can integrate into smart scenes and control from anywhere! But what about the central hub that serves as the "brains" of the setup?

The smart home hub is the unsung hero of a smart home network. The way that it works is that all smart home devices will connect with the hub. Whenever a command is sent out for one or more smart home devices, it will pass through the hub first. In that sense, the hub is what connects all of the devices in the network together. So without a hub, a true smart home network will not be possible.

What makes a smart hub unique is that it communicates with multiple types of wireless protocols. This should not be confused with a bridge, which only communicates with one type of wireless protocol. An example is the Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge, as it will only send commands to devices running the Lutron protocol (Clear Connect). That's not to say that bridges can't represent a useful part of a smart home setup. There are many great protocols that are operated through some type of smart bridge. But having a dedicated central hub can make controlling your smart home devices as easy as possible.

Naturally, it makes sense that many users want to integrate their alarm systems into their smart home networks. This way, they can have certain smart home devices respond to predetermined security events. An example could be having smart lights turn on automatically when a user walks into a room and sets off a motion detecting sensor. This type of setup is has become a reality for many users in recent years, as smart home technology continues to grow and evolve.

Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as just taking any security system and any smart home hub and having them suddenly work together. There are many compatibility issues and rules that must be kept in mind when integrating an alarm system into an existing smart home network. Some smart home hubs are easier to work with than others. And as this type of technology is still fairly new, there are still some issues to be worked out. But the beauty of integrating a security system with a primary smart hub, or even using the security system itself as the smart hub, is that it will facilitate a true connection between smart home devices and security devices.

We have already seen many users experience great success in using the Honeywell Lyric Controller as a secondary Z-Wave controller with a Samsung SmartThings Hub or as an integrated device with Apple HomeKit. In these situations, SmartThings or HomeKit will serve as the primary home automation controller. However, the user will still be able to have their Z-Wave devices respond based on actions taken by the Lyric. This could involve adjusting the thermostat automatically when a sensor is triggered or having a door lock itself when the system is armed. But keep in mind that the system may not be able to interact with every wireless protocol that is supported by the primary hub.

Many users are fine with having the security system itself serve as the primary hub for their smart home devices. Depending upon the wireless protocols involved, this can work quite well. For example, both the Qolsys IQ Panel 2 Plus and 2GIG GC3 Systems are Z-Wave Plus controllers that can be used as hubs for security devices and Z-Wave devices. When doing this, a user can control their Z-Wave devices directly through the panel or through the Alarm.com service. The Alarm.com Mobile App will even allow users to operate their Z-Wave devices from virtually anywhere in the world. The weakness here is that the user will be limited to using only wireless protocols that are supported by the alarm system. This might not be as many protocols as a dedicated home automation hub like Samsung SmartThings.

Alarm Grid will keep you up to date with new and advanced smart home automation technology and capabilities as it becomes available. We look forward to bringing you the latest news about this exciting technology and how it can help you get the very most out of your security system.

Hi DIYers! Today we're talking about Z-Wave mesh networks. A Z-Wave mesh network is essentially a collection of Z-Wave smart home devices that work together to create a stronger wireless connection amongst themselves. The more devices that are used, the stronger the mesh network will be.

Before understanding a Z-Wave mesh network, it's important to understand the basic functions of Z-Wave devices. A Z-Wave device is a wireless appliance that can be controlled remotely using an interactive service, such as Total Connect 2.0 or Alarm.com. It can also be setup to activate automatically based on a set schedule or with predetermined system events on an alarm system. Some popular types of Z-Wave devices include lights, locks and thermostats.

As the name implies, a Z-Wave device will communicate using wireless Z-Wave technology. Z-Wave signals operate at 908.42 MHz, which prevents it from interfering with any higher-frequency WIFI signals and the lower-frequency used with most security sensors. Z-Wave devices have a range of about 328 feet between devices in open air. But this range can be greatly reduced because of the presence of walls, large metal objects and other obstacles. However, this is not the end-all range for Z-Wave.

In a mesh network, Z-Wave devices act as repeaters for one another. A Z-Wave device will send its communication signal to other Z-Wave devices, and these devices will send out the signal again to reach Z-Wave devices that are further away. This will continue until the signal reaches its ultimate destination, the Z-Wave hub, or controller.

Every time a Z-Wave device sends its signal to another Z-Wave device in the mesh network, it is referred to as a "hop". Up to four hops can be used with any given Z-Wave signal. By using hops, the communication range for a Z-Wave device can be greatly increased. The estimated maximum range away from the central hub for Z-Wave devices that are utilizing four distinct hops is up to 600 feet!

And of course, Z-Wave signals can be sent in multiple directions. So if you have a Z-Wave hub in the center, you can have signal hops going in opposite directions to have a complete Z-Wave mesh network that is up to 1,200 feet in diameter. That's almost a quarter of a mile! And since the signals are constantly being repeated off of different Z-Wave devices, the more devices you add, the stronger your mesh network will be.

But that's just for standard Z-Wave. There's a newer technology known as Z-Wave Plus that is very similar to traditional Z-Wave, but with a further range. A Z-Wave Plus device can communicate with another Z-Wave Plus device or a Z-Wave Plus controller from up to 550 feet away in open air. Just imagine how far your Z-Wave mesh network can extend with Z-Wave Plus! It's also worth mentioning that a Z-Wave Plus controller can support traditional Z-Wave devices as well. So you won't have to worry about backwards compatibility not being an issue.

A Z-Wave controller is designed to provide support for a maximum of 232 different Z-Wave smart home devices. Each time you add a new device, your Z-Wave network will become that much stronger. If a device goes down for any reason, the other Z-Wave devices can pick up the slack and ensure that signals are still reliably sent out across the network. So if you want the strongest and most reliable mesh network, simply add more Z-Wave devices to your setup.

Z-Wave devices of all kinds are available on the Alarm Grid website. Get some for your smart home automation setup now! Pretty soon you'll have a mesh network of unparalleled strength!

Hey there DIYers! We've got another product highlight for you. Today, we're taking a look at the L5100 ZWAVE for Honeywell Lynx Touch Systems. This add-on provides Z-Wave smart home capabilities for any L5100, L5200, L5210 or L7000, and it is great for getting the most out of a Lynx Touch.

Although there are newer systems on the market, like the Honeywell Lyric Controller, 2GIG GC3 and the Qolsys IQ Panel 2, the Honeywell Lynx Touch Panels are still very capable alarm systems. They provide easy-to-use touchscreen control, and they can use a WIFI connection with an L5100 WIFI add-on. There's even an LTE cellular communicator available for the L5210 and L7000 Systems! At the end of the day, these systems can do virtually anything that a brand-new, state-of-the-art alarm system can do. They just need a little support to get there.

One great add-on for a Lynx Touch is the L5100-ZWAVE. With Z-Wave smart home automation devices being more popular than ever, an L5100-ZWAVE will add many options to a Honeywell Lynx Touch Systems. Some of the most popular Z-Wave smart home devices include Z-Wave lights, locks, thermostats, garage door controllers and more. Any of these devices can be used with the panel once the L5100-ZWAVE has been installed. So if a user wants to turn on their lights or operate their thermostat, they can do so directly from their panel.

But the real benefit to using an L5100-ZWAVE is the ability to control Z-Wave devices from Total Connect 2.0. If a user is away from home, they can use the Total Connect 2.0 Mobile App on their iOS or Android device to control their Z-Wave devices from across the street or across the globe. Total Connect 2.0 also allows users to create smart scenes for their Z-Wave devices. This way, they can activate automatically with certain system events or on a pre-determined schedule. For example, a user could have their Z-Wave lights turn on and their Z-Wave thermostat activate when they return home and disarm their system. This can help the user save money and make their life super convenient.

The L5100-ZWAVE is available from Alarm Grid right now. Get one for your Lynx Touch System today!

Hi DIYers! Did you know that you can control Z-Wave smart home devices right from your Android or iOS device by using Total Connect 2.0 or Alarm.com? In fact, this is how most users control their smart home devices, because it is super convenient. Let's take a closer look at this feature.

One of the biggest benefits of smart home devices is their ability to be controlled remotely. Whether you're across the street or across the globe, you can have Total Connect 2.0 or Alarm.com send a command to your system to operate your Z-Wave devices. This is possible both for individual Z-Wave devices, such as door locks, thermostats and lights, as well as entire scenes.

The process for controlling Z-Wave devices is very easy across both platforms, but the steps do differ slightly. If you are using Total Connect 2.0, simply click the "Automation" tab from the main screen. You will then be able to control any individual home automation devices, as well as any programmed scenes. Remember, Total Connect is used exclusively with Honeywell Systems.

If have a system from a different manufacturer, like 2GIG or Qolsys, then you most likely have access to the Alarm.com service. Once you login to your Alarm.com account, you should see menu from the main screen for controlling various scenes. You can also press the menu button at the top to control individual smart home devices by type. We definitely recommend setting up some smart scenes for easy access!

If you don't already have a monitoring plan that includes home automation control, now is a great time to get started. Please check out our monitoring page for more information. All of our Silver, Gold and Platinum level plans (full and self) include this functionality. We hope that you'll enjoy using home automation to make your life easier just as much as we do!

I'm sure many people were disappointed to see the Lyric MR4 firmware get released last month and have the firmware update NOT include the Lyric / Apple Homekit integration that has been promised since the Lyric first debuted at ISC West back in 2015. We've been as frustrated as our users and potential customers have been that have been waiting anxiously for the Homekit integration to the Lyric system, and since Honeywell was at the mercy of Apple releasing the approval for the functionality to be made available, even Honeywell wasn't sure exactly when it was coming.

With all that said, we're excited to announce that as of this week, a Lyric running MR4 firmware can now integrate with Apple's Homekit!

We just found out about the release and we haven't been provided with all the details on the functionality the integration allows but once we get more information from Honeywell and do some testing ourselves, we'll be posting more about this awesome update to the Lyric system!

In the mean time, if you want to confirm your Lyric can do Homekit, just press Security > Tools > enter Master Code > Advanced and if you're on MR4, you should see a Homekit Reset button that wasn't there previously.

If you aren't seeing that button, you should check the System Information tab to see if you're on the MR4 firmware (01.04.07178.491) and if you aren't you can either ask your alarm monitoring company to remote upgrade you or if you have the right firmware version to allow a local firmware update request, you can go to Security > Tools > enter Installer Code to see an option for 'Update firmware' which will get you up to the latest version.

Now that Honeywell has finally made Total Connect home automation control available for Tuxedo Touch keypads, people with existing VISTA Series alarm systems can finally take full advantage of all of the great features Total Connect has to offer. In the past, only the LYNX Touch wireless security system supported remote home automation control through Total Connect. If you had a VISTA system, you could add a Tuxedo Touch or Tuxedo Touch WIFI if you wanted to use Z-Wave home automation devices in your home, but if you wanted to remotely control those devices, you had to setup complicated port forwarding. Unless you were knowledgeable about networks and router setup, you were left controlling your home's Z-Wave lights, Z-Wave locks and Z-Wave thermostats just from your Tuxedo screens.

Thankfully, Honeywell has finally released the long-awaited software update for all existing Tuxedo Touch WIFI units. If you go to the Tuxedo Touch Toolkit website, you will find the software update and steps on how to run the update for your Tuxedo Touch WIFI controller. With the new software downloaded and installed on your Tuxedo Touch WIFI, your Tuxedo Touch WIFI will work better locally even if you don't choose to sign up for the Remote Home Automation monitoring service.

You can now have Z-Wave scenes activated by a security system alarm, a security system event or even a specific zone status change. You can also setup Z-Wave lights to activate and then run for a programmed length of time. You can even program your lights to turn on at sunset and off at sunrise.

Of course, the real advantage of the new software update is the ability to control your Tuxedo Touch WIFI using your Total Connect interactive account. Once you setup your remote home automation control on your Total Connect account, you will have full access to your smart home for remote system control and notifications.

Unfortunately, as non-WIFI Tuxedo Touch keypads use a different operating system and circuit board, the software update will not work on those devices. If you have one of the non-WIFI Tuxedos and you want to get Total Connect home automation control, you will need to purchase a new Tuxedo Touch or Tuxedo Touch WIFI.

Please call us if you are interested in adding the remote home automation feature to your Alarm Grid monitoring service.

Alarm Grid now offers YRD210 and YRD220  Yale Real Living™ deadbolt locks which you can use with a Honeywell L5100-ZWAVE enabled L5100 LYNX Touch wireless security system to remotely lock or unlock your door's deadbolt. With a Total Connect 2.0 interactive account, you can provide or deny access to your home with the tap of a finger. Use your iPhone® to unlock your doors to let in a cleaning person, receive a text message every time your son or daughter keys in their code, or pair with other Z-Wave home automation devices to create a scene triggered by locking or unlocking the Yale Z-Wave enabled deadbolt.

If you love the advanced look of the touchscreen version, you will want the YD220 version, but if you prefer the more traditional push button style, look at the YRD210. You can even choose your finish: