New guy needing help

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Hi all, Im new to the Smart home area. Been reading the forum a lil bit but still need some help to get started. Already purchases the new C-5 hub, should be here monday (woot woot!). I already got a solid idea about the sensors as, dimmers and outlet plugs. But what i still dont get is:

  1. For security, can I just buy motion sensors and door sensors and inside the HE dashboard program the alarm system? And then get a siren an keypad to go along with it? What I intend to do is have like a classic alarm system but controlled with HE, or should I get an alarm system like the Samsung ADT kit or Nest ring and pair it to the HE hub?

  2. Also been reading about cameras, is there any compatible AI camera that can be paired to the system and do some IFTTT rules as example if it detects a person in the backyard when all doors are closed or no one at home give you an "intruder warning" or if it detects in the porch a person with a package can send the corresponding alert as an "mailman at door" for example? Or should the cameras be treated with a separated app?

Sorry for the two long questions, Im fairly new and wanna start the right way to automate my home and Im really exited to be a new member of this community. For all of you, thanks for any help in advance!

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I think "Security" has different meanings for each person, and situation.

Water Leak: is a "security situation" but calling the police doesn't seem like the right reaction. :slight_smile:

Window Break, Motion, Camera showing people running away with your stuff.: Also a "security situation" in which the police would be the correct reaction.

Hubitat's HSM is able to be used in either situation BUT I think most of us would not positively compare a $100 hub and some $30 sensors using radio waves (able to be jammed) to a hardwired alarm system with monitoring.

You may not be thinking of building out something that competes with a Monitored Alarm System, but given you're already thinking "intruder" maybe you should look at an alarm system. I've read various messages about people using Hubitat in conjunction with a System.

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Reharding question #2. TBH I haven’t looked into this thoroughly, but I don’t think there are any cameras intended for use in most homes that are smart enough to determine, “that’s a mailman,” for example (someone please tell me if there is one, because I want it too).

Any camera with an IFTTT channel could be integrated with Hubitat, though. So a netatmo camera, for instance, could recognize a specific person (or just “a person”) and through IFTTT trigger whatever HE automation you’d like.

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LOL I also dont think that a small water leak should call the cops!
But yea as security I meant it as an alarm system.
SO in short, it can be done but you dont recommend it for the radio waves? Short question, aren't some of the new alarm systems also using wireless sensors for the windows and motion?
What alarm system would you recomment to use with Hubitat?

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I owe you which ones I saw, but I do remember reading somewhere in the 2019 CES some new cameras, dont remember if nest hello type cameras or wall mounted cameras, were announced to have some type of AI that can track faces easier and detect if its a person with a packager or without.

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Yes, for residential, alarm companies are using ZWave battery driven door and window sensors... same as we, here in the Home Automation realm.

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I use HE for my "security solution". I travel for work and I'm just looking for a deterrent to keep people away and so that people who know I'm away know I have something set up (robbed by a "friend" a couple years ago). I live in a pretty busy condo complex. So, for me, HE is plenty for what I need for Security. I don't have small kids who are home alone and I don't have a lot of valuables that someone could take. Like @csteele said, it all depends on your situation and what you are comfortable with.

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I would say that you are not really preventing crime just detecting it earlier and dealing with the aftermath. So the alarm goes off when you are away - bad people still have (some) time to go thru your stuff.

What is important is being able to provide good evidence..

Deterrence is for things like the Ring doorbell or Floodlight or others... maybe. :grin:

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Side note... The VAST majority of home robberies these days are smash and grabs - because of alarm systems.

They wait until that know you are not home and just kick in the door (most doors kick in VERY easily). Then run to the living room/bedroom grab what they can and run. <30 seconds typically.

And they are long gone before the alarm monitoring company even calls the contact number in some cases, let alone any police response.

I've toyed with the idea of putting in a reinforced door and housing - is a pain though as you need to replace the entire door frame and surrounding wood to do it right. Last quote I got was more than I was willing to do.

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Well, the sirens going off at 110 DB will probably do a pretty good job of scaring away any burglars. :slight_smile: Plus, the fact that I can immediately call the police when I'm notified. Why would they risk sticking around?

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Well I kind of agree with @JasonJoelOld - it would be a smash and grab. Some criminals would likely know an alarm would be going off and that they would have a certain limited time to get things. Some of course would not and the alarms would be a deterrent. If you have a nicer house or live in a nicer area then probably you would have a more sophisticated criminal but that's just a guess.

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Like I said, the only burglary I've ever experienced was someone I'd known for 3.5 years. He knew I was gone because I was texting him. Of course, he's in jail at the moment because he's an idiot and left fingerprints all over the door frame. So, having an alarm and a couple cameras will prevent anybody from trying that again.

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No doubt. Alarms and cameras are still good things. Nothing prevents everything.

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Or at the very least having cameras will be very helpful in helping solve the crime and documenting things for insurance purposes.

I'm not knocking alarms - just think that things are changing and criminals are getting a bit more savvy about what they can or cannot get away with in the time between activation and police intervention.

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Absolutely. Like @JasonJoelOld said, nothing is going to prevent everything...short of hiring an armed guard to hang out on your stoop 24/7.

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Oh, and for the record.... A friend (or close acquaintance, whatever) robbing you is seriously F'ed up.

Hate that happened to ya.

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Thanks. I had to testify before the grand jury and everything. It was seriously nuts. But he's doing 18 months so joke's on him.

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Yeah you think you know someone and they let you down like that... bummer.

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If you want a pretty decent solution that allows your home automation system to be integrated with video surveillance, then look into BlueIris for your video NVR and you already have Hubitat. Hubitat can be configured so that whenever one of your door, window or motion sensors is triggered, BlueIris will go into record mode. There are all sorts of neat ways you can set BlueIris up to send you alerts when someone crosses a hotspot on one of your cams, or crosses specific zones you set up.

I own both, but I am not yet at the point where I have BlueIris and Hubitat integrated. They are both standalone systems right now, but I also have a wireless security system that covers every door, window, motion, smoke/fire etc.... Eventually, I will probably get rid of the security system in favor of Hubitat+BlueIris.

My BlueIris system is set up to send me SMS messages when someone crosses specific zones on all 4 sides of my property. If you make it inside, multiple 110db sirens are going to make your life anxious while you are smashing/grabbing. My security system is battery backed up and works on mobile/wireless so even if you cut power, the authorities are still getting called.

I asked about mobile 4g integration with Hubitat on another thread and I have not heard back on that yet, but when that capability arrives, or I discover it, then I will experiment with migrating security over to HE.

If you do go with some kind of video set up, I would definitely look at PoE cameras and keep that part of your security plan off of your wireless network so that at some point, you can look at battery power to run the interior cams and the PoE switch off of some kind of UPS.

The perfect system would be the video NVR system on a UPS, cameras and PoE switch on another UPS along with your HE system. You are only going to need about 10 minutes of backup power during a robbery, so as long as the system can record the event, call the cops, and send you an SMS/email or push notification, you should be about as good to go as you are going to get without hiring full time armed security to hang out at your pad.

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I use something similar to Blue Iris that's free called Motioneye.