alarm.com temperature sensors /w fans

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#1

I was wondering if anyone knows of a way to get the alarm.com temp sensors to control fans or anything else besides the tstat?

Essentially I have a 1300sqft warehouse with a 600sqft office inside of it and the office has central air which my alarm.com tstat controls just fine since it’s just two small rooms essentially.

The issue is I have two overhead fans on a GE zwave fan switch in the warehouse. Right now I just have it setup so when I arm the system the fans turn off and when I disarm it they turn on. That’s all fine and good when it’s hot as balls and the fans auto turn on to their max settings. But when the temp dips a bit its too much and I have to turn them down or off.

Ideally I’d like a way for the fan speed to be regulated based upon the temp in the warehouse. I was hoping my prayers had been answered with the alarm.com temp sensor but it seems it only works with the tstat. Any way to accomplish what I’m trying to do?

Possibly a way for the panel (go!) to use the outside temp to tell the fans how to behave or something?

#2

To do that it sounds like you would need a way to automate “lights” based on thermostat status info. Currently, no you would not be able to do that although it is an interesting idea.

The RTS (remote temp sensor) only functions currently with the ADCT2000 thermostat. With that, it is used to average temperatures and provide a better whole home heating/cooling solution, as well as provide notifications.

Now if you can find a temperature probe which has a contact closure circuit which will open/close at a certain temperature, you could wire it into the hardwired sensor inputs on the Go!Control or a wireless transmitter sensor with a wired input like the DW10. Then you could automate “Lights” (what the fan shows up as on ADC) by sensor activity.

#3

I’d imagine it would be a fairly simple software addon to have either the temp sensor be able to control other devices much like a lock does or any other module or have the panel itself control them since it knows the outside temperature at all times. possibly you could make a feature request?

#4
I’d imagine it would be a fairly simple software addon to have either the temp sensor be able to control other devices

It is highly unlikely they will ever be able to trigger other non-T2000 devices by design. I wouldn’t hold my breath on that if I were you.

#5

The RTS is designed specifically to function with the T2000 at the current time. It is one of the more recent additions to available equipment and there will almost certainly be more integration available in the future. At this time though it would be speculation.

#6

just to clarify the sensor pairs to the panel and that info gets sent to the tstat right? it’s not being paired directly to the tstat? not that it would matter. alarm.com would still have access to that info and could easily include that as a variable to trigger events.

#7

The RTS does not pair directly to the thermostat no, it is included in the Zwave network normally (though it uses Wide inclusion, so it and the panel must be in their permanent spots, unlike most other of the compatible devices)

The Sensors are then associated with the T2000 on the back-end in your Alarm.com account.

#8

Hopefully alarm.com sees that they are missing out with the temp sensor and allow some more usage out of it besides just the tstat. I’d like them to offer a more IFTTT system in the future where you have a “basic” level of automation for those that don’t understand and want to dabble with the basic features but then almost a basic language editor that allows you to custom setup scenes on the back end for more advanced users. There’s literally nothing preventing them from letting you activate outlets or fans or switches or alarms or valves or anything from any sensor, just their lack of enabling it. They’re handcuffing the user to make a truly unique experience outside of the scope of what their engineers may find initial uses for products by limiting their coding options.

#9
There’s literally nothing preventing them from letting you activate outlets or fans or switches or alarms or valves or anything from any sensor, just their lack of enabling it. They’re handcuffing the user to make a truly unique experience outside of the scope of what their engineers may find initial uses for products by limiting their coding options.

Alarm.com does limit certain actions which are deemed not secure. (Unlocking a door by turning on a light, for example, or opening your garage door by your phone entering a Geofence.) Generally speaking, since this is in reference to a system that is focused on security, with respect to coding caution will be the first step. Also, you will be naturally limited by what the hub (security panel) can physically communicate with.

If we are limiting the discussion to only those things that are compatible with the Hub or with Alarm.com via Cloud (which I believe you meant) I think it would be a pretty useful idea to be able to use the variables in more of a building block fashion and have additional available targets for certain triggers. Alarm.com already gives you the integration options, but you have to pick from templates, rather than one basic template and letting you more deeply customize from there. I would think the caveat here is again the Hub, the alarm panel.

At a certain point, automation rules will out-demand the memory of the alarm panel. Regulations aside, in general at no point would you want the automation to impact its ability to perform as a security system. Something more chaotic and user-defined may impact systems in a negative way with respect to resources. It would likely be far more difficult to provide a uniform expectation of quality.