I want to self-monitor (no monthly fees) a vacation home that I have in the woods. Not worried about theft or safety but making sure that I leave doors closed, outdoor cameras, water sensors, ring style doorbell and water shutoff valve. The ring doorbell and shutoff valve (which I already own - Bulldog) are wired but the rest of the stuff needs to be wireless.
I have read through the forum and ready 2 schools of thought. HSM sounds like it works but either isn't ready for primetime or is more user friendly if you have a dedicated separate system.
I was considering Eufy Doorbell and Eufy or Arlo cameras but not sure of the challenge to integrate it with HSM and would appreciate recommendations for the entry/door sensor, temp sensor, etc...
Simplisafe would cover some of the needs but has the monthly monitoring fees.
Given Cybermonday ends tomorrow, I need to pull the trigger and would appreciate your input.
IMHO go with dedicated hardware for security and integrate with HSM for convenience, striving for local integration where possible. I don't think Arlo is a great solution - your only integration path is IFTTT. It actually works pretty well for convenience but I don't think I'd rely on it for intrusion detection.
Have you looked at Ring? I can't vouch for it personally (I use a vista 20 dedicated panel) but many folks seem to be happy with it and there is community-supported integration with HSM. You do not have to use their monitoring service, though I don't know about cameras. You could definitely use HSM to trigger alerts to the HE app, or use a third party like Twilio to send SMS alerts.
Most of the Ring security sensors (door/window, leak, keypads, range extender, etc.) Are zwave and will pair directly with HE. Some good deals on Ring starter kits right now.
I already bought the Eero Pro 6 w/ 3 routers/satellites for the house and the C7. If my plan is to connect the ring security sensors directly to Hubitat, can you help me understand why I would need the keypads and range extender?
Can I use both the Ring keypads and range extender and Hubitat simultaneously without paying monthly subscription?
I want to pull the trigger with CyberMonday deals and will deal with programming later.
The Ring keypads can be used to arm and disarm HSM, and I believe they also have a built in chime function. The range extender is a zwave repeater and will help extend the zwave mesh and let you get your sensors further away from the C7. It also has a power loss alert and can send a power outage alert (if your C7 hub and Eero router have a UPS as well).
You will also most likely get a Ring hub in the kit, but you won't need it if you connect all your devices to HE. All of your sensors will be visible on a hubitat dashboard with no monthly subscription.
Or, you can connect everything to the Ring hub and use their cloud service. This will likely require a paid subscription of some sort.
Also, just to be clear, your Eero WiFi mesh system will not help your zwave devices communicate better. They are separate wireless networks. Not sure how the "Matter" Certification (if your router has it) will change this, but likely won't offer any benefit.
Also, just curious how large the house is? If your devices are too spread out or there are obstacles like concrete walls or metal roofs that interfere with wireless networks, you may need more "mains powered" zwave devices to act as repeaters. The Ring Range Extenders are fine for this, but don't give you any additional functionality for your $30. For the same price, you can get some Zooz devices (ZEN25 Smart Plug, or any number of hard-wired light switches/dimmers) that will extend your mesh and give you control of the connected device/lights. They also have some options for temperature, motion, moisture, and humidity sensors. Maybe not as robust as the Ring devices, but a well respected brand here in the HE forums and a good value. FInd them at thesmartesthouse.com. Lots of other zwave device manufacturers in this area as well, but most others are closer to $50 per device when looking at switches, etc.
Cyber Monday is over so this may not be of any help, but...
How reliable do you want your security system to be? I would not rely on zwave or zigbee for an alarm system. They depend on mesh networks and they're too easy to mess up.
Even if you're going to self-monitor, I would get a professional security system. My recommendation is the QolSys IQ2+ or even the newer IQ4, and I would use PowerG sensors. They have a theoretical range of 2 miles, so unless you have a huge house you don't have to worry about transmission range and there is no mesh to deal with.
You probably won't find this panel in any cyber Monday deals anyhow, but there are plenty of places you can buy it and do a DIY installation. For HE integration, I have a set of HE drivers for this panel that I will be releasing in the near future.
What about fire? If your place is in the woods, who would notice if something bad happens? Opinions vary, but for me the relatively small cost of monthly monitoring ($23 in my case) pales in comparison to the value of the property it's protecting.
I agree with what the others are saying - get a "real" alarm system. If you want to DIY to save money then the Ring or SimpliSafe. Keep in mind these systems will have been thoroughly tested for that purpose so are likely more accurate/less error prone.
Ring has a nice set of integrated devices that you can build off of so would probably start there. Doorbell, Floodlight Cams, and alarm system. In terms of linking with the Hubitat you could use a HomeBridge server and/or Node-RED. Otherwise as others mentioned you can use Ring devices directly with HE which is nice. NOTE: device is either paired with HE or the Ring system NOT both. Also there is this possibility as well:
Looks like there is a community driver for SimpliSafe.. have not used this though.
