From Iris to...?

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New to Hubitat? maybe. Hunting for a hub.
Definitely leaving IRIS, as its about to implode

I know more than I want to about Automation, from total DIY to a career at Honeywell at the campus level.

What caught my attention here in the forums was a discussion of an automated S/W switch with a 24/7 D/N... and all that with a DOTL. I can solder to component level, and wrote code to write code for me, and I know which end of the screwdriver to hold :wink::crazy_face::smile::upside_down_face:

I was looking at the Vera to replace my IRIS, as Lowes is dumping HA altogether. I had nearly zero problems with it and what few I had they fixed. Surprised, they paid a bounty for all Iris devices that could not be integrated into another system, leaving me approximately $500 to buy a new system.

Before I go through scads of manuals from various competing manufacturers I need:

• proximity fobs. IRIS has passive powered key fobs. Upon arrival, I can run a scene to disarm. Upon departure another scene to secure. This means some 20 yards from the house, the fob is sensed and disarms the home these allow my sweetheart to move about freely, not having to remember any code to disarm, nor having to stop to arm the system when leaving.

•start/stop, S/W changeover, D/N etc based on conditions, including OAT, SR/SS.

• smoke detection wireless. Some systems have none. 500 sq ft here, btw.

• mailbox O/C via tilt Iris switch or other device

• cellular alarm backup

• battery backup

• control wifi switches, relays

• read wifi inputs analog and digital

Home only has 1 door, but multiple motion detectors.

We have high speed internet.

I want a system wherein I am limited only by my own resources, rather than the product. There were many functions I could not implement because they weren't available at user level, and > $40 for an outlet and the inability to control a relay nor read a contact closure, and all devices essentially proprietary is... unsane!

Will Hubitat be capable of these features without me having to give up first born Male child?

Is there one particular model of the Hub to complete the above?

Hubitat looks REALLY good for my needs, but I don't want to end up having to spend chunks-o-cash to replace my existing.

Help?

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You’re probably the first Iris refugee thats posted here that HE is an exact fit for. Pretty sure it will be the answer to all your HA dreams. :blush:

I didn’t know Iris had passive powered key fobs.

You’re talking about the battery powered key fobs? They are supposed to work with HE. I don’t have them, I have some Samsung ones though.

Haven’t look at how much or how well WiFi lights or device work because I don’t use them, but there has been a lot of forum traffic on their usage. Someone else can asnswer to that.

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Thank you.

It sounded like a good fit. Iris, at it's time, also seemed a good fit.

Yes, passive powered. The transceiver has buttons and a battery. I say passive as the user need not touch it to arm/disarm the system. This is a major point for my spouse. She doesn't have to do anything at all, just turn the handle and open the door.

I also saw a different access control type teardrop fob as part of a Vega starter kit. I could not determine from the image nor the description whether it was a transmitter or full passive.

Will HE accept a contact closure input ?

Does it have provisions for analog inputs..without it costing one arm plus one leg?

Thank you

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The only two requirements that I don't think HE will do natively is cellular alarm backup and battery backup. Battery backup is easy with a UPS (which I currently use for all my networking gear). As for the cellular alarm backup, you could get a router that has both cellular and cable/DSL access.

As for wifi inputs (analog and digital) are you referring to things running on an ESP8266 chip (or something compatible)?

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I have two of the smartthings presence FOBs (which are passive) on my HE and they work very well. My wife goes to work and the system knows she's gone. I work from home, so when she's gone, HE sets up the house for my preferences (lowers the heat to 68 (because my wife gets cold at 90F lol), turns on my office computer and desk lights, locks the doors, etc).

When we both leave, the house arms itself after 7 minutes by locking all the exterior doors and enabling all motion/contact sensors. When we return, it automatically unlocks the back door (that one is closest to our carport) and disables the sensors.

Can you expand on a "contact closure input"? Are you talking about a hardwired contact sensor or wireless?

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Thanks.

I was hoping for just alarms via text or the app or the like, just some way to be notified of Urgent events and emergencies when the internet connection is down.

I can obtain those real world values on an ESP8266, but I'm hoping for a solution through the hub itself.

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Your best bet would be a router with a cellular backup. AFAIK, there is no smarthome solution out there that will be able to send notifications without some sort of connection to the outside world. Cradlepoint makes a few models that are moderately priced and function well. I've also seen people take a DIY approach and hookup an old cellphone to a router running something like OpenTomato/DD-WRT with custom code as a backup.

HE has a custom driver for receiving inputs from Arduino/ESP8266/Sonoff/Tasmota based solutions. I have a TON of them around my house and use them for all sorts of things (mostly monitoring/controlling my reef aquariums). So, you should be fine there.

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I have two of the Iris fobs as well for guests, they work really well. I use life360 on phones for my wife and I (which also works well), but the Iris fobs solved my Guest presence problem.

Most of the rest of what your are asking for seems to be built around building automations to do different things based on various triggers. There's several purpose-built apps to handles different things (motion lighting, mode lighting, simple lighting, etc), but there's also Rule Machine where you are essentially limited by your own knowledge and/or desires. Pretty much any logic flow you can think of can be implemented, and you can use that to run just about any action your system is capable of handling.

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Also you can incorporate a Raspberry PI "server" (or some other computer/vm) to handle various things like a VPN and some 3rd party HE connectivity services..

:grin:

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Pi-hole FTW. :slight_smile:

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The Hubitat Elevation hub can communicate to devices via Zigbee, Z-Wave, or LAN. In order to bridge from the real world of Digital/Analog Inputs and Outputs, you'll need a device that uses one of the three communications protocols I have listed above.

If you decided to roll your own devices, you can utilize my HubDuino software to run a sketch on an Arduino, ESP8266, or ESP32 which will handle most of the work for you (i.e. minimizes custom code writing.)

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^^^ Which I make HEAVY use of.

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First off, welcome. If you haven't already been over to the Living With(out) Iris forum I suggest you pay a visit there as well. There's a lot of great discussions taking place over the various options that folks are considering.

The Iris 4-button fobs will work. Why anyone uses that garbage is beyond me. I broke two just changing batteries. But they are supported here. You can also use the buttonless SmartThings arrival sensors for presence. Those work well here too.

This might be possible. What exact devices are you using, or planning to use.

Not an issue. The Z-Wave ZCOMBOs are supported. As are Halos and some others that were approved for the "Works with Iris" program.

I recommend the NYCE tilt sensors. I've had 2 in an unheated garage for nearly 3 years. Still on the original batteries.

I'm not aware of any HA system that offers this, outside of Iris. That said, many options exist. I have a system similar to this in my RV.

Here's a great solution... It's not much bigger than a pack of cigarettes and provides roughly 12 hours of runtime.

There are definately some options here. It helps to know the specific devices you are considering. Check out the HubDunio project if you want to control relays.

That's not an issue either. Which ones are you using? The older Iris 1st gen devices will not work with Hubitat (or any other system for that matter).

The ability to run custom written apps and drivers, a maker API, a rules engine capable of making web calls, etc. Those are just a few of the options available to you. Hubitat is definately well-suited for the tinkerer crowd, yet works pretty well with a range of devices out of the box. This will help you get up and running quickly yet allow you to explore the more involved DIY opportunities at a later time.

Welcome to the forum!

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I was just trying to add my Iris fobs and while they were discovered they never initialized. I was told that they will not work with HE. How did you make them work?

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Gen2 Iris 4-button fobs work.
image

Gen1 Iris fobs will not.
848648000064

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Thanks! Pictures help, LOL. I'm learning, albeit very slowly. I'm trying to sort things on my own but it is taking too much time. I do not know enough about all of this. I am eager to learn because the knowledge applies to other areas of my life but I must get this system working at a basic level to suit my needs then I can dabble in customizing and learning tech

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Such a shame the Iris users are being put into such a migration time crunch. I don’t think they are giving them enough time for a smooth migration to any other system at all.

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And to make matters worse for the Iris users who have chosen the SmartThings ADT solution, it appears that product is disappearing from store shelves and online storefronts. ADT just bought Lifeshield...

Talk about "out of the fire, into the frying pan!"

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Seriously! My wife wanted me to look at "upgrading" our ST setup to the ST/ADT setup and I saw that fiasco coming a mile away when they started dropping their prices rapidly.

Soooo glad I finally came over to HE.

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Again, lots of good info in these forums. As another wandering Iris user with a few skills, too little time, and WAF to meet, I'm trying to find a solution that I can afford to bring on-line while waiting on the refund card.

HE is checking a lot of boxes for me today.

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