I am new to Hubitat. I found it while looking for a replacement for Iris. I am sitting here as the realization that almost nothing I have from my Iris system will work on Hubitat is kicking in, wondering if I made a mistake. I am new to home automation but I have been working in Industrial Automation for almost 25 years, so I am not a dummy by any stretch. But I am looking for the best way to get started. Any suggestions would be appreciated. While I am ok with new tech, my wife is not gonna be happy if I give her some pieced together system to try to learn how to operate so the first thing I am going to be looking for is to give her a basic alarm system like she had with Iris. Then I can go on to bigger and better things. Thanks in advance.
Do you have any specific questions? I see you're concerned about device compatibility, but I'm not sure if that's what you meant to ask. If so, any Z-Wave device from Iris (or anywhere) should work on Hubitat. I think this includes the Utilitech Siren, Iris garage door opener, and the Z-Wave smoke detector they may have marketed for Iris. Any v2 (or short-lived v3) ZigBee device should work too. These were manufactured by Centralite (or iMagic for v3). Ones that won't work are the fist-gen ZigBee and Wifi devices, which as an existing user should be easy enough to identify since Lowe's would have given you credit for those (an unprecedented move in this space, as far as I know, by the way). Does any of this help?
Most of what I have, turns out, is V1. I have a First Alert smoke detector that I was able to move but door sensors, siren, keypad, motion sensors, were all V1. I guess I am looking for recommendations on the following:
-door sensors
-keypad
-siren
-motion sensors
Also, I know Hubitat isn't really made for cameras but I was wondering what most people are doing about video.
Basically, I am trying to get an alarm system up and running before March 31st. Once that is done, I am looking to move further into home automation.
Thanks
Then you should look into an alarm system and then come back to Hubitat for the home automation. There are ways to twist Hubitat into an alarm system but that's forcing the square peg into the round hole.
I came from SmartThings and I never really used either system for an alarm system. From what I have read here in the community Iris must have had pretty good alarm functionality. It seems like the Hubitat team (employees) and the community (thinking of the community developers) have really pitched in to help fill the gap for the Iris users that ended up stranded. I say that just to share my observation that, while it is an excellent home automation platform and the support is great, it was not ready to be a full on security system to compete with what you had on Iris. Not yet.
I have a bunch of cameras on iSpy and I trigger them to do various operations based on events from devices connected to Hubitat (mostly motion). That's a very simple use case for cameras, I realize.
Ok. About iSpy. I looked at that on my iPhone but saw no way to add cameras. It looked more like it was set up just to look at public use cameras. Am I missing something?
Well that's unfortunate. Because the reason I went with this is that they (Hubitat) were presenting themselves as a place for Iris users to land. They certainly didn't indicate that they couldn't do alarms.
I have never seen what you describe. These are my cameras and all still and motion files are stored locally on my own PC. Through their portal I can view the cameras remotely and send commands. Hubitat can send commands to iSpy on my LAN.
I think the point is you have two weeks to acquire and install all the sensors you need and setup alarms. Seems aggressive to me.
Procrastination makes for aggressive timelines!
Agreed. I would add aggressive schedules may lead to low WAF (or SAF, or HAF).
One thing I have picked up from the Iris users is that it's a bit of a learning curve coming over to Hubitat. I think it was easier for me coming from SmartThings because there are many similarities.
Agreed. Iris is basically plug and play. Don't take my original post as complaining about Hubitat. I am excited about getting started. Just was looking for some friendly advice about how to get started.
Oh, and we are anticipating a major new release soon.
Unfortunately with v1 iris devices, they won’t work with any other HA system, not just Hubitat. Did you get reimbursed by Lowe’s at least?
Hubitat has a home intrusion alarm app called Hubitat Safety Monitor. Like many other things that Hubitat does, it can be a little complicated to setup, depending on your needs.
That is what I have gathered from other posts. Hubitat is very different in that there are often four or five (correct) ways to reach a goal. It can be frustrating to have so many options.
On a more positive note, you have a great opportunity here. I have five or six different door/window sensors. Why? Learning. Product evolution. Obsolescence. It would be nice to buy all new now based on what I have learned. Same with motion sensors. It would be an opportunity to simplify by standardizing.
Well let me ask you Eric. If you were starting over, sensor wise, what would you go with? I am a smart guy, but only because I know how stupid I am. I am 55 years old and I am back in college because I don't want to get left behind. I don't mind having multiple paths in front of me. But I'm smart enough to ask advice from those who took them ahead of me!
I would probably look at Samsung’s latest offerings if I wanted fully compliant Zigbee devices, that are reasonably priced, and well supported in the industry.
Their current line includes a motion sensor for $25, a leak sensor for $20, an outlet for $35, an arrival sensor for $20, and a MultiSensor for $20. I believe all of these are officially supported by Hubitat.
Make sure you have a few plug-in outlets to act as Zigbee Mesh Network repeaters. I use Iris 3210-L outlets as Zigbee repeaters. I also use Iris motion and leak detectors... it’s a real shame that those devices are no longer available.
For lighting controls, I have just invested heavily in Lutron Caseta dimmers, switches, Pico remotes, and fan controllers. To use these with Hubitat, you’ll need a Lutron Caseta SmartBridge Pro (the Pro is required for Hubitat integration via Telnet.) The integration is amazingly fast and reliable.
For smart bulbs (e.g. table and floor lamps) I use Sengled Element Color Plus (RGBW) and Sengled Element Classic (dimmable) bulbs. These are inexpensive and very reliable. They are also NOT Zigbee repeaters, which is a good design as most bulbs are poor repeaters and cause Zigbee mesh network problems.
Funny, I was expecting this question. There's been a thread running on this subject as well.
Unfortunately the answer is "it depends". I have some very nice molding around some very nice windows. I tried several brands but nothing would fit and still allow us to use screens in the windows. The only sensor that really meets our requirements for windows is the Sensative Strips. It's expensive and a bit of a pain but can be entirely hidden, requires no holes, and the battery is supposed to last ten years.
For doors I had a similar problem in that the trim/molding would not accommodate many of the sensors. For the main entry door I used the Aeon Labs recessed sensor. For the rear doors I didn't try to hide them and used SmartThings door/window sensors. Same decision for the interior doors I monitor. The key factor was what would fit more than anything else.
For motion I am still experimenting and haven't really found anything I love (that's available). I have three different ones outside and four different ones inside and would gladly replace them all if I could find one I really liked. It seems like none of the manufacturers have considered where we would want to mount these and come up with a good design
