I had to decide between using the IQP4 panel and the IQ Pro. I wanted the Pro, but I went with the IQP4 and the PowerG to Hardwire. It was a tough choice.
The thing that might not be obvious to new people is that if you have a hardwire adapter or the pro you can potentially integrate with Hubitat using the hardwire zones and programmable outputs. You can set up triggers and trigger outputs that can be connected to relays connected to Hubitat. You can also connect dry contact relays connected to hubitat to the zones. Lots of possibilities. So you can both use the incredibly useful integration to get the event stream in hubitat, but also support a wide range of other sensors and automation by leveraging the hardwire inputs and outputs.
If it hadn't been for the doorbell call feature on the IQP4 I would have gone for the IQ Pro. The IQ Remote is pretty limited on it's functionality. The location for my wired sensors is also 14 feet under grade and near the wall. The other side is walk out. I don't think it would have been an issue for cell connection, but the IQP4 is one floor up and has 360 cell connectivity. I have legacy 433 sensors that I added to the IQP4 after purchasing the correct IQP4 with 433 daughter card installed. The IQ Pro can support 433 also, but the location might have obscured some of my sensors with concrete walls and a longer distance. The pro does have an external antenna IF you buy the version in the metal case vs the plastic case. I would have done that. I guess I sort of flipped a coin and also was agreeable to swap to the pro in the future if needed. The one thing I wanted and didn't get is the wired ethernet on the Pro. With dual path its less of a concern I guess. I have 1 hour service on my ADC plan.
The other consideration was power to the IQP4. Without trying it I wasn't sure if I could power the panel from my security room over the 4 wire that was at the panel location from the basic keypads that were previously powered off the DSC panel. Turns out even though it's about a 100+ foot run powering the 7v over combined pairs isn't a problem. The IQ Remotes are 12v, which is annoying. They should all be 12v. If all panels were 12v I could power them all off a 12v supply. Better yet 24v to help retrofits and long thin wire runs. Qolsys can do a better job by supplying an in-wall power supply option. This giant wall wart is ridiculous.
My wife likes having the doorbell cameras and support on the panel. If I did it again I might pick the pro. If I were building a house I'd pick the pro. The other consideration is maybe how vulnerable is your panel to being ripped off the wall at a point of entry. What's your comfort factor with the location of the total control center. You can mount the IQP4 away from view, but then you miss the value of the panel.
It would probably take me less than an hour to swap from the IQP4 to a Pro with equipment in hand so I'm not all that concerned about the choice.
Find one that will commit (in writing) to giving you the dealer code for the panel. You can add the integration yourself once you have that.
I'm all for DIY security, but often it seems to be the same price to get central station monitoring without the install as it is with.
You should be able to use RM to link HSM status and the alarm. HSM is controllable via HomeKit integration. I don't know if this driver exposes the right things the right way, as I use the HomeBridge ADC integration for that.
It is a nice integration concept, for sure... but the ADC cams and storage plans suck compared to pretty much every other offering out there. It would be nice if these integrations could go a hair more generic and connect to ONVIF or RSTP cameras.
Don't I know it. There are some things that Hubitat does well (but others that it sucks at). Some things that Qolsys does well (but others that it sucks at).
I've got quick the mish-mash of stuff going on:
Hubitat for Z-wave and Zigbee
Qolsys panel for security
Home Assistant for dashboards
custom code that monitors HE logs (and other sources), populating MySQL database
Grafana to show history from (3)
Node-RED to run automations consistently, regardless of source and destination
Yea, I'd be there also if I had the time. I'm moving off Control4. I wanted new security panels and this was the easy button. Huge thanks to @dcaton1220 this is a very good solution. The integration is fast and I have a way to integrate using the hardware.
I've installed a Samsung The Frame in portrait mode in the kitchen hoping to one day carve out some time to make it a dashboard. I have an IR touch screen add-on in the queue in case I can make it interactive.
The recipe for me at the moment is "keep it simple" even if it means giving up cool features. I still drive an ICE car and mow my lawn without robots.
Moving to something new or just don't need it anymore? I need or something like it as all my AV sources are in a closet. Anything non-AV I use it for is just because I have it.
I think I have the typical story of just getting annoyed with the service and ecosystem. They really haven't kept up with the changing landscape. My system is older (not 4k) and the AV stuff is less relevant. I've decommissioned the AV switcher and have a video storm audio switch for the whole house audio. I'll be leveraging that for announcements using sonos. I wasn't willing to keep upgrading the locked in UI etc. While you can integrate with MQTT etc I just don't have the time to fiddle with it all.
I found that we stream everything and I have found I only occasionally have a desire to sync TV's to the same content. I also upgraded the home theater with Atmos and put the equipment in the room since I didn't have 11 channels from the rack closet 80 feet away. So more or less my AV is nvidia shields and fire sticks local to the TV's.
I like the Control4 switches. That's the only thing I'll miss.
You could look at video storm for the AV. It integrates with Control4 and can work without it.
Sorry for taking this off track from Qolsys... but if I have to tie it back in...Qolsys and the integration option for Control4 makes it great for someone that has Control4, but may not have it in the future. We have a transition option or two.
Nothing is foolproof, but I think a scenario like this is far less likely than with older alarm systems that used a phone line to call the central station. It takes far longer to wait for a dial tone, dial the station, wait for it to answer, etc. than it does to transmit something over a cellular or ethernet connection.
Also in the case of entry doors, I believe a signal is sent as soon as an entry door is opened, then another signal is sent if the alarm is disarmed. If that second signal never goes out because the panel is destroyed, the central station will eventually know there's an alarm condition.
With an installed system, I think you're going to pay a bit more for monitoring as it is a way to recoup some of the installation costs.
But I think you lose one thing when not installing it yourself, and that's an intimate knowledge of how the system is set up and the ability to troubleshoot it without relying on a third party.
That's exactly what I've read (and been told by installers). I'd add that the "eventually" is within a minute or so of not being able to communicate with the panel during an entry delay state.
I agree. I accepted the potential risk. The thief would also need to know that the panel on the IQP4 has a battery and they need to smash it... or know how to power it down.
Now, my neighbor is a music industry personality. He was robbed recently and the folks doing the burgling spent two hours in the house and got away. I haven't asked him yet how that happened. House was armed. Now it's armed with humans. When he rigged the house the security company was here for a week with 3 vans... Likely an inside job.
I self monitor because my city charges for false alarms.
Most alarm companies have recognized this and there are a few solutions that they propose:
verification by owner before calling police (sort of like self-monitoring, but if you can't respond, there is still a response).
initial alarm response provided by security company, rather than police -- they'll send a runner who will verify that the front door was indeed opened, or that some window was actually broken. Then they send the police. If they can't validate the alarm, they will usually revert to #1 to decide whether the owner wants to deal with potential false alarm charge.
the really good security companies stand behind their product, and if there is a false alarm fee, they cover it (assuming it wasn't because the owner was dumb).
I'm considering some indoor cameras for remote validation, but my wife hates the idea for obvious reasons. The PowerG motion detectors with image capture might be an easier sell.
In my area (central Alberta, Canada), all the alarm companies have one (or both) options. You'd need to check the companies who service your area.
ETA: I've anecdotally heard that police services are loathe to respond if the homeowner calls it in saying "my alarm is going off, but I'm not home" -- making self-monitoring more about how quickly can you or a neighbour get there to validate that the police are needed.
I would never self-monitor. There are any number of reasons why I might miss getting a notification:
phone battery dead
forgot phone at home
sleeping and left phone somewhere where I can't hear it
phone on silent (in church, etc.)
too much to drink the night before (more likely to happen in my younger days )
... you get the idea.
I want near-immediate response to an issue without it being dependent on me to verify and call the police or fire department myself. In the 20+ years I've had alarm systems in my houses, I could count on one hand the number of false alarms I've had and still have fingers left over. A properly installed alarm system with properly selected equipment should never false.
I didn't know there were any direct to police/fire services available anymore. Pretty sure most/all Alarm.com monitoring goes to a monitoring service. Surety seems to get pretty good reviews for DIY support.
Self monitoring is a step up from no monitoring though
My wife and I both have the app set up to notify bypassing silent mode.
When I get more comfortable with the stability of the system I might opt for central monitoring. At the moment I'm still adding sensors and adjusting the system. I can tell you it's LOUD AF outside so if I was out of town (not getting alerted) and the alarm went off my neighbors are calling the police or fire. Silent alarm is another story. I was actually involved in the ordinance the city passed for charging for false alarms. The metrics showed a 99% or greater false alarm rate to real alarms including central monitored systems.
I'm not an advocate for self monitoring. I am however comfortable making the choice given the various considerations at the moment.
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