I am thinking of setting up a Zigbee network at work with various independent devices. Such as Sirens, Motion Detectors, Water Sensors, Smoke Detectors and Contacts for door and windows.
I am trying to use these devices for multiple uses, and want to define rules for actions depending on what happens and the time of the day etc. For example, I want the siren to sound very briefly if one of the motion detectors is activated during the day but at night I want it to go off continuously. Others will only function when a button is pressed, others will only function if the water sensor is activated. Think of it as a mesh of devices which can be used for multiple functions but also double up as an alarm system.
Because of the flexibility required and the fact that the premises are huge and will be covered by around 200 sensors / devices, I am reluctant to go with a dedicated alarm system such as Ring and want to set up my own "alarm" system governed by rules. We do have a wired system at the moment, but due to the number of devices the odd one keeps failing (old devices now) which means quite a lot of false alarms.
Before I take the jump to Hubitat, can anyone advise if it is possible to set up these various devices directly in Hubitat without an "Alarm Control Panel" and effectively use Hubitat and various rules to effectively create my own alarm system with Hubitat being a sort of hub, where I can then use all the alarm devices for multiple functions dependent on the rules I set?
Anything is possible given enough time, effort and money, but yes, everything you describe can be done using HE and a solid zigbee mesh. The key being that the mesh is solid; after that it's just a matter of writing the rules and testing your scenarios.
It is possible to run without a control panel and use a dashboard for control on a mobile device or have it completely automated.
I started off slow building my system having Hubitat trigger Alexa to announce which contact sensor had opened. There is a Hubitat Safty Manager app but from what you say about the flexibility you can implement what you want in the Rule Machine.
Once I added Sirens for at night and forgot to deactivate the system before opening a window a few times I did include a Ring keypad to make it quicker to shut off when accidentally triggered, but this connected to Hubitat only. A lot of wireless security systems use Zigbee or zWave so the devices can be connected directly to Hubitat without their base station meaning you have lots of devices to choose from.
Currently, I have Alexa making announcements during the day with a backup chime from the siren in case wifi is down, and use sirens when I'm asleep or away, and also notifications when I'm away. I also have multiple leak sensors and a carbon monoxide detector, I haven't gotten around to replacing the smoke sensors.
You can also do fake lighting for when you are away at night and if you are integrated with Alexa even prompt for fake busy noises or dogs barking from a skill.
How critical is the security system to you? If you need it to function 99.999% of the time, for peace of mind and security for you, your family, and your posessions, then I would strongly recommend using a dedicated, purpose built alarm system. You can still choose one that can be integrated with Hubitat, so that the sensors can be used for other home automation tasks. However, Hubitat is not really designed as a true home security system.
On the other hand, for users that currently have no home security system, or one that no longer works, then using Hubitat for this task is probably better than nothing at all (depending on one's requirements!) But it is important to understand that Hubitat will not achieve 99.999% uptime, will not call police/fire, does not have built-in battery backup, does not have a simple option for cellular backup, etc...
It all depends on your requirements for a home security system. One thing you also need to realize, is that Hubitat will not tell you if any of those 200 sensors' batteries have died. There are some community solutions to knowing if a sensor has stopped reporting data, but even those are not foolproof.
Also with 200 end devices spread out over a large area, keeping a strong mesh is going to be ultra critical (not the least of which is that hubitat can't connect to more than 32 directly). Even then is no guarantee that dropouts won't occur.
