I have a newly installed 2gig system on my house that I want to extend to cover my detached garage. I don’t think the distance will be a problem, but I’d like some input on how best to monitor this structure. It has 4 windows, a regular pedestrian door, and sliding barn doors.
A local security consultant (not familiar w/ 2gig’s products) recommended a 360-degree motion detector in middle of the garage, configured to alarm when the system is set either to stay or away. I haven’t found any compatible 360-degree motion detectors, but I figure I should be able to cover the space with a PIR1, possibly two at opposite corners. Can they be configured to alarm even when in “stay” mode? Is there a better approach?
Unless the garage is temperature controlled I would not go with any standard Motion detector for coverage.
If you want to go the wireless motion detector route, I would suggest the Honeywell 5800PIR-OD outdoor detector.
Any wired 360 degree detector with a Dry Contact output can be used in conjunction with a transmitter (a sensor with a wired loop input) to trigger alarms. You could find an outdoor 360 motion with a normally closed dry contact and wire its detection circuit to a Honeywell 5816OD.
If no activity should be occurring inside when the system is armed stay, the motions could be programmed as Perimeter instant sensors rather than interior followers.
Thank you both for the feedback. The building is not temperature controlled and is used exclusively as a shop.
I’m not necessarily a fan of installing sensors on every possible perimeter entry point, especially when there are several for relatively small space. In this case I think the man door is the most likely entry point as it’s out of view and easily kicked in. The barn doors have a beefy steel plate, and the windows are generally obstructed.
That 5800PIR-OD is a pricey bugger. I think I’ll go with something like a Steinel IS360 outdoor motion wired through a NC relay (the IS360 doesn’t seem to have dry contacts, just a switched 120V leg) to a 5816OD on the door. Arming/disarming from outside the house can be handled from the phone app.
There’s another scenario that I forgot to ask about… Is it possible to have the garage always alarmed, even when the main system is disarmed? The security consultant recounted an installation where the customer had an outbuilding that was always alarmed, unless it was disabled by a security key switch when the owner accessed it. This would notify about a break-in to the garage even when we’re home with the alarm off, something that probably wouldn’t be heard inside.
Is it possible to have the garage always alarmed, even when the main system is disarmed?
Not for 2GIG GC2, as to my understanding this requires partitioning which it doesn’t have. I dunno about the GC3 though. I vaguely recall this being a promoted feature, but whether it was actually implemented or not is another story. I know the GC3 still doesn’t have wifi/broadband (which was also promoted).
We are expecting partitioning to eventually be supported on the GC3, yes, but not the GC2.
The 2GIG Panel does have a 24 Hour Audible Alarm zone, but to use a keyswitch you would have to use a wired detector. You would just want any keyed switch and wire it in parallel with the detection circuit. That way it shorts the detection circuit closed when the switch is thrown.
