I have searched a few threads and have not yet found what I am looking for. I am planning on building a DIY Home Security System using Hubitat as a hub as I have a few Smart devices (Thermostat, Garage Door Opener). Since my primary use case is Home Security I am starting there. The one area where I am struggling is Motion sensor / camera. I was hoping to find a single unit that is battery powered (Abode Home Security has them in their package). But I would like to have a notification when motion is detected then be able to see the stream from the camera (don't care about streaming the video to the Hubitat but see the stream on the Camera's app). Does such a device exist? The use case would be indoor.
Also would love recommendations on good, reliable contact sensors for my doors.
So I would caution against rolling your own like that.. better to go with a dedicated and mature system. HE is great for general home automation but I don't know if I would trust it for super critical things.. maybe as an ancillary system to help arm/disarm/trigger/notify...
I don't mean to dissuade you if you have experience with home security systems but it seems kind of dangerous perilous.
Been an HE user for a while and I agree. I have a dedicated security system with some touch points to HE for noncritical items. (Ironically those use IFTTT and my security vendor's IFTTT is busted with zero support, so honestly it isn't going all that well.)
However... I also have a bunch of Arlo cameras and I use IFTTT to turn on virtual switches on the HE side when they detect motion. Again, I use this for telling me when the UPS guy is on the front porch, not when my house is broken into. For that I have dedicated equipment.
Interesting...thanks for the quick feedback. Definitely getting some conflicting feedback on other forums that led me to consider rolling my own with HE. It seems to have all the right moving parts (contact sensors, motion sensors, sirens) and some kind of in built app to perform basic security functions. Can anyone share experiences using HE for a home security system?
TBH I was all set to go down the Abode path which seems to come with a somewhat open integration Hub of its own but as I was researching it I was persuaded to consider DIYing with an HE.
I'm sure you'll find other folks here who have another opinion. Everyone's style and tolerance for DIY is a bit different. Mine stops at stuff like security, raspberry pi, and serious home brew sensors. Others are way into it and get great results.
There are quite a few of us that use DSC or Vista/DSC alarms integrated with Envisalink software (available here through the community).
I augment that with 5 Blink cameras all automated with WebCore.
IMHO Blink is better than Arlo for price, size, features and way better battery life.
While you don't get motion events sent to HE throught the community driver (yet ) the Blink app is very responsive and quite detailed and configurable.
You are going to get a lot of opinions and I believe it comes down to what your are comfortable with. I am very happy with Hubitat controlling my home security, while understanding that it is not a top notch professional grade security system. But I believe it is better than what I had in my house.
My House before Hubitat Security: Security System professionally installed by one of the largest Canadian Home Security Companies. This included door and window sensors along with a control panel that had battery back-up. In case of a break-in the security company would be notified, they would call the house to check if there is a false alarm and send their own security patrol. If their security patrol found something wrong the police would then be called. Cost of monitoring $250.00 per year.
My House with Hubitat: System installed myself. This system includes door sensors, window sensors, motion sensors, and POE cameras running Blue Iris. Immediate notification on my phone when the alarm is triggered. This Includes a video link to my cameras and what is going on. I will also get an instant notification on my phone if my cameras detect motion while my alarm is armed. Blue Iris camera software plays nice with Hubitat and the customization options with all the sensors and cameras allow for me to decide my personal level of comfort. If the alarm is triggered, I know instantly if it is a break-in (camera feed) and I call the Police myself. I consider this superior to my previous professionally installed and monitored security system. Annual cost of monitoring $0
Are there other options better than what I mentioned above, absolutely. I may consider one of these one day. But for now I consider myself better off than I was before. I have everything local (other than Hubitat app notifications) and I pay no monthly fees.
I personally decided to use Hubitat for home automation and Ring Alarm for security. Ring offers an inexpensive monitoring option and have cellular backup which could come in handy, but they don’t even come close to Hubitat on home automation. For my needs, both working together are a really great combination.
There is currently a pretty good unofficial community integration between Ring and Hubitat, but the dev that put it in place is no longer maintaining it. It does get support from other community members.
Good luck on your journey and welcome to the Hubitat community!
I am not going to tell you what to do, I will just let you know what I do and you can take or leave it.
I use HE with door, window and motion sensors. When we are not home, if I get any door or window alerts on my phone, I or the wife can check our Unify Protect cameras with our phones to see what is going on. If we get any door or window alerts while we are at home, an alarm will go off and all the lights come on. Not really a security system but it works for us.
I just ordered the Envisalink kit... my plan is not to replace my existing alarm monitoring service (with which I am quite happy) but to be able to reliably arm and check the status of the system from HE. Wish me luck
) the Blink app is very responsive and quite detailed and configurable.
