Here is the DSC Power series with Envisalink (DO NOT BUY NEO---- IT WILL NOT WORK)
The Elk M1 does have a lot more information and features so it is worth the extra money. You will also have pay in sweat equity because it is a tough installation. For the serious guy who wants to know everything that is going on this is your panel.
DSC with Envisalink is a lot lower cost but does give you only limited information. This is plenty for many users. The installation and setup is very simple.
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@silverton38 , my soon-to-complete house has the DSC Neo. Will I not be able to integrate hubitat with this system?
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Yikes. Is there anyway to convert it to DSC Powerseries version 4.6. All of the sensors you can keep. You can buy them on eBay for $70 - $90 approximately (you must buy new ONLY because you want a default installer code). You will need to replace the Keypads make sure you get the one wireless full keypad (RFK5564ENG) and then make sure you get the full message (PK5500) for the second keypad. Once you get that running; buy the Envisalink and you are done. It sounds complicated but it will take you only a couple hours to convert.
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It can be a fun project.
Also if you have contact with the installer he might do it for you for a reasonable price. He would have access to the DSC Powerseries equipment.
I am on the same hunt/journey to replace my very old NX-8E (need to replace some of the 4-wire smokes and also want integration). Just to make sure I understand about the ELK M1, is it compatible with Envisalink and are you using it that way, or is this integration?
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Elk has its own integration which works well on Hubitat. Envisalink works with Honeywell and my favorite DSC Powerseries (NOT NEO<<<<< Really careful about your purchase).
I actively use ELK and DSC Powerseries with Envisalink. Both are great but I prefer the simplicity of the DSC system.
Thanks! Another question or two if you don't mind. The DSC Powerseries with Envisalink surfaces all the devices as well as the device for Arming/Disarming? (I am a newby to the security systems).
Also, I am guessing the DSC Powerseries (or the others I suppose) will run/power my (or other) 4-wire smoke/heat detectors? They are each individually wired as a zone.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful review of the options and this thread. So helpful.
Yes it will power your four wire or two wire smokes. Keep in mind that smoke detectors kind of expire every 10 - 15 years so it might be a good time to replace them.
Thanks, that is good to know and I will plan on replacing them all. Also, would you recommend I buy the DSC online somewhere and try and install it myself? is it a good do-it-yourself project? (and is there an online resource that might help)? I sort of want to pay a professional, but as I look around locally, they all want to sell me expensive monthly monitoring and HA more than they want to sell me a system and install it.
I would watch a few YouTube videos but for me it is quite easy if you have some experience in low voltage or networking. You can probably call an alarm company to install if you are worried. If you use the monitoring from Envisalink it is quite cheap.
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Ok, more questions, submitted with gratitude in advance:
- Should I use another hub or rPi for the DSC/Envisalink/HA integration, or just native (been reading that it is too "chatty"?
- Is there a good step-by-step somewhere for either path?
- Post integration, I am assuming that, in addition to arm/disarm, etc. all my alarm devices will then show up in HE, right?
I ran envisalink on my main hub for 2 years before I split it off. I didn't want to bother with the whole rPi thing. So I'd say start there and see how it goes. A second HE is pretty inexpensive if it becomes an issue down the road.
Yes with the Vista panel. I thought I read somewhere that one of the panels only sent events when the panel was armed, which makes them less useful. But in my case they all act as virtual sensors and are available to all HE apps. Really quite handy TBH.
No. The hub has no issues handling the traffic. It is not as much as you think.
Yes you do see all the devices in Hubitat. Install Hubitat Package Manager (the only manual installation you will ever need) and then search for Envisalink Integration. Then install. It is that simple.
Make sure you know your installer code. If you buy a used panel on E-Bay make sure it is factory reset with the default installer code.
The primary reason you need a second hub is to separate a large Z-wave installation. Other then that one hub has always worked for me; even on hug installations.
This community is SO helpful. Thank you. (Now reading back through Wired Security System/DSC or Honeywell+Envisalink Start Up Help to try and decide between DSC 1832/64 or Honeywell Vista 20/21.)
Thanks all!
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@jeff11 to give you some specifics... I ran for 2 years with envisalink and everything else on my one hub. About 6 months ago I split Envisalink off on a separate hub because the primary hub was getting pretty busy. This hub hosts Envisalink plus all the other rules related to security, outdoor lights, etc. Here's what the load looks like for the app... it's consuming most of the CPU being used but overall the CPU is running pretty light, so no real worries.
Same thing on the device side
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