I’ve been looking at your site with great interest, though with so many different options and brands, I wanted to get some expert advice. I wanted to see if I can specify some of the things that I am looking for, and have you can tell me whether it is possible with any of equipment you sell, and if so - which of them specifically would be best suited for my scenario.
Ideally, I would like one platform to centrally manage all aspects of alarm, energy and cameras. It looks like you partner with alarm.com and they seem to offer that, though also wondered what specifically I would lose (other than monitoring) if I wanted to use whichever system without alarm.com? Is there a way to set up rules and such locally on the panel or through a computer on the same LAN?
To give a little background, I am in an approx. 2500 sq. foot house. It is 1.5 levels (upstairs is open/overlooks downstairs). Front/Back door and side door that leads into the garage.
Security system:
A self contained panel and keypad would be ideal. I like the idea of a big, clear touchscreen that is easy to use. Also, what is recommended for running the power cable/concealing it? - especially if the keypad/panel is located in a living area. I would probably like a second smaller keypad for the less used entrance. I’m primarily concerned with securing the ground floor, as it would not be very easy to try and get access from the upper floor. Therefore, I would just need to get sensors for 3 doors, and perhaps a motion sensor and glass break in the center of the house to cover any access through windows. I do not have a POTS land-line, and so I would like to have one that can use both cell communication and the internet for management and relaying signals. I do not have the greatest cell reception where I live, and so a booster/extension for would likely be needed for any cell communication. If I can get a reliable and consistent signal strength, I would like the cell to be the primary and the internet to be the redundancy. With the latter, the panel would also have to have WiFi capabilities.
Energy:
I have two separate HVAC systems (heat-pumps) - one on each floor. They each have one single, basic and non-programmable thermostat that I would like to replace. If the thermostat controls are accessible through the main keypad, then only a second dedicated one would need to be purchased for upstairs. As the two levels are open to each other, my main challenge is maintaining a balance between the two systems. We do not use upstairs much, however if I am using the heat downstairs, I have to have the upstairs thermostat running at an even higher temperature to prevent the heat from downstairs rising up. The reverse is true in the summer. This is not very energy or money friendly and so any suggestions for that scenario are welcome. Right now, when I leave the house, I turn each thermostat down a few degrees and then turn them back up when I return (maintaining a degree of two difference respectively). This is a hassle, and so ideally, I am wanting a solution where they could be managed simultaneously, or even better have one react in accordance with an action taken with the other. Essentially rule to keep them running in harmony whether they are heating/cooling or off. And in regards to having a central platform, I would like it automated to where these thermostats could be programmed to take a certain action based on if anyone is home. So if I was to leave and arm the alarm as away, I would want to thermostats to go into an energy saving mode. Further, the bedrooms that are downstairs tend to struggle to heat/cool like the lounge unless all internal doors are left open, which isn’t practical. Therefore, I would like a thermostat that supports multiple sensors that can be placed in certain rooms, and dictate the HVAC operation based on an average reading vs. just the temperate on a single thermostat in the middle of the house. If those sensors could be motion sensitive too, that would be nice, so it can determine whether to keep pushing for that average temperature based on the occupancy of the monitored rooms. Beyond that or if that doesn’t resolve the issue, I would be interested in integrating some of the automated register controls to aid in distributing air to only where desired, when desired. On a related note, I would like to have a controller attached to the water heater, so I can either program it to come on only at certain times, and/or have it turn off with the alarm being armed.
Cameras:
I do not need anything as fancy as above for this!..I’m probably looking at 4 cameras total - 3 outside and 1 inside. Obviously they would need to be good for both outdoors and inside if they are all the same. Night vision would be required, unless some variable motion lighting is installed alongside them. One would be for the front porch and one would be either for the back porch or just the back of the house. The third would be over the garage door/driveway and the last would be in the main room of the house/lounge. Therefore, if there are different ones that would be better for those different applications, I would be interested to know. I would like 720p minimum resolution. I have a desktop that I can devote to being a dedicated NVR if needed, as well as a POE switch. With that said, I think wiring networking cable is going to be tricky, as not all areas of the attic are accessible - which negates having everything run through there, and don’t see anywhere else it could really go. Therefore, I was thinking about wireless cameras. I know reliability and bandwidth will potentially suffer with HD quality video, but short of tearing the house up, I think that this is the only option right now. If the DVR is secured, I am not worried about keeping footage locally, though if they had an option to automatically snap a picture on motion and e-mail/upload it offsite, then that would be a bonus.
Thank you in advance for your help and time.
