Alarm.com: Limits for Z-Wave Devices

Hi, DIY-ers. This is Michael from Alarm Grid. And today, I'm going to be talking about Z-Wave device limits on alarm.com. So alarm.com actually has a limit of the number of Z-Wave devices that can be pushed from the panel to alarm.com for remote Z-Wave control through the alarm.com mobile app and the alarm.com website. And this Z-Wave device limit is actually 122 Z-Wave devices. So when you add 122 Z-Wave devices to your panel, whatever panel it may be that's used with alarm.com, it will push you over all 122 Z-Wave devices. But if you go and add a 123rd Z-Wave device, then it won't get pushed over to alarm.com. It will only be on the panel for local control, and you won't be able to do remote control through the alarm.com mobile app and through the alarm.com website. So if you are out and about and you wanted to turn your lights on and they happen to be the 123rd Z-Wave device, then you wouldn't be able to control them remotely. So that's a big limitation right there. So what you want to do is you want to make sure that, if you do get up in that high number of Z-Wave devices-- which is pretty rare, by the way. Most people don't really exceed 40 or 50 or so. Even that's pretty high. But if you do get up there into the 122 device range, you'd want to make sure the first devices you add are the ones that you want to be able to control remotely and then add the devices that you only need for local control at the panel last. So if you do exceed that limit, say you get up to 122 Z-Wave devices and then you wanted to add another device and you really wanted that device to be used for remote control, what you would have to do is you would have to delete a Z-Wave device from your panel and then have alarm.com update so then it's under 122 Z-Wave devices, and then add that device that you really want to be available for remote control to your panel, have alarm.com update again, and then that will be available. And then you can add whatever devices that you only need for local control at the panel. So it's kind of a process to follow if you get that high up. So there are also limits for panels. They have their own limits for Z-Wave devices. The Qolsys IQ panel 2 and IQ panel 2+, you can add up to 152 Z-Wave devices. For 2GIG, it's actually the max limit, the 232 Z-Wave devices. 232 is the standard limit for a Z-Wave controller. But for the 2GIG panels to the GC3e, GC2e, GC3e, GoControl, you're not really going to want to exceed 40-50 Z-Wave devices. When you start getting above that-- you can add up to 232, technically, but adding more than 50 or so, you'll start getting into performance issues. So it's really not recommended. And like I said, most people really aren't going to add that many Z-Wave devices. It's rare that you get up there, but it's 122 Z-Wave devices. That's the limit for alarm.com. And they put these limits into place for networking and latency considerations just for performance. So it's just to keep everything running smoothly. So they do this in your best interest. They want to make sure that you have a good experience using your Z-Wave devices for remote control. So they put these limits in place. There are some exceptions for certain Z-Wave devices. For thermostats, you usually can't have more than five on a single alarm.com panel for being pushed over for remote control. There is an exception-- if you have an IQ Panel 2 or IQ panel 2+ on system firmware version 2.3.0 or higher. The current version is 2.5.3 as of October 2020. So most users have upgraded past 2.3.0. And then the limit becomes 10 Z-Wave thermostats. So that's just something to keep in mind. Adding more than five Z-Wave thermostats on a different panel or 10 on the IQ2 with minimum system firmware can result in weird behavior. So you don't want to do that. And most people are just going have one thermostat, maybe a couple if they have a larger home or business, but that is something to keep in mind. Just be aware of those thermostat limits-- 10 on the IQ2 and five on other panels. And just so you know, door locks don't repeat Z-Wave signals, so they won't really strengthen your mesh network. So it can be a good idea to have another Z-Wave device nearby your door lock as a repeater, maybe just a plug-in lamp module if you need to add something in quickly. So that's just another thing to keep in mind. But the alarm.com Z-Wave device limit, it's 122 Z-Wave devices per panel. So just keep that in mind-- 122. If you want to-- if you're at that limit and you need to add another one that you really want for remote control, then, like I said, delete some devices so you get under that 122 device limit, then add your extra ones, have alarm.com update, get them all on there, and then you can add your devices for local control last, and they won't be pushed over to alarm.com. So that's the alarm.com Z-Wave device limit. If you have any questions about home automation, Z-Wave devices, or alarm.com, send an email to support@alarmgrid.com. If you found this video helpful, make sure to give it a thumbs up below to like the video. And remember to subscribe to our channel for updates on future videos. We hope you enjoyed the video. Thank you.