I’m fed up with SS for personal reasons so I want to move on. Ive watched some youtube videos and qolsys and honeywell seem to me highly suggested most of the time, but its a bit confusing.
I like the qolsys panel 2, it looks cool and seems to have a lot of features. But is this just a head unit? Do I need a main panel for all the sensors?
A wireless system would be prefered, but Im not against running cables for motion sensors, glass break sensors etc, but for door and window sensors they will have to be wireless. Running cables to thos 15 areas is not something I want to do.
Im considering going to self monitored, but smart phone access is a must. Not against using a monitoring solution of the contract is not excessive.
Cameras are irrelvant, I have a pretty great sysytem using BI so I don’t need to integrate that.
Alexa support would be a bonus.
Can anyone help a lost SS user head down the right path? Maybe point me toward some good reading? Thank you!
I like the qolsys panel 2, it looks cool and seems to have a lot of features. But is this just a head unit? Do I need a main panel for all the sensors?
The Qolsys IQ Panel 2 is the main panel, all sensors and z-wave devices would learn directly into the panel itself eliminating the need for the old “can in the basement” type of setup.
A wireless system would be prefered, but Im not against running cables for...
The Qolsys IQ Panel 2 has a whole suite of compatible wireless sensors on the 319.5 MHz band. Compatible sensors can be found here.
Should you wish to utilize wired zones, you can do so with the Hardwire 16 to takeover wired zones and use them with the Qolsys IQ Panel 2. Keep in mind that this will not work for life safety devices. It is also worth noting that the IQ Panel 2 can accept 2 wired inputs locally as well.
Im considering going to self monitored, but smart phone access is a must. Not against using a monitoring solution of the contract is not excessive.
Alarm.com service includes access via the web and smartphone mobile app.
Service through suretyDIY is offered on a month to month basis and can be changed at any time. We offer both the Basic Interactive and the Gold Interactive plans which can be purchased with, or without, 24/7 Central Station Monitoring. A comparison of the two plans, as well as add ons, can be found here.
Cameras are irrelvant, I have a pretty great sysytem using BI so I don’t need to integrate that.
It is worth noting that video integration with Alarm.com, would require the use of Alarm.com compatible cameras, should this ever become an issue.
Thank you for the quick response! I know I have some serious newbie questions here, but this site comes up the most on google searches and I see you post a lot so I guess your the residence pro? Or at least one of them.
I plan to read all those links over the weekend and educate myself better. Coming from an all in one solution this can seem over whelming at first, but I will eventually start asking more intelligent questions, I promise!
Im just kinda rushing things because SS is playing some dirty games over there. Depending on what sales person you get on the phone some people are getting free upgrades to their new system even with 2 and 3 year old systems and some of us have been denied that. I found all this out after ordering the new system and Id love to find a better product to go with before receiving that system so Im not tempted to keep it. I plan to return it when it shows up.
With that in mind, is the qolsys a product you would recommend? Is there a better one I should be looking at? Im leaning toward a hyrbrid wired/wireless because some of the things like sirens and keypays and motion sensors would be easy to wire up and not worry about batteries. Door and window sensors kidna need to be wireless for ease of install.
Coming from an all in one solution this can seem over whelming at first, but I will eventually start asking more intelligent questions, I promise!
There is no base level of experience required, we are always happy to help out.
With that in mind, is the qolsys a product you would recommend? Is there a better one I should be looking at? Im leaning toward a hyrbrid wired/wireless because some of the things like sirens and keypays and motion sensors would be easy to wire up and not worry about batteries. Door and window sensors kidna need to be wireless for ease of install
As a clarification here, I would stress that when discussing wired vs wireless, we will pretty much always just be referring to the communication method, not power application.
A wireless device will be either battery operated or powered off of a plug-in transformer of some kind. Wireless sensors are exclusively going to be battery powered, but a wireless touchscreen keypad, like the IQ Remote for the IQ Panel 2, or SP1 for the GC3, still need to be plugged into a power receptacle. They just do not need data wires between the primary panel and the secondary.
There are no wired keypads for either the IQ Panel 2 or GC3, and you would want to use Z-wave wireless sirens for additional siren options. The Aeotec Z-wave Siren just plugs directly into a wall receptacle, no cable.
The IQ Panel 2 is the current system available from Qolsys. You can view compatible Z-wave devices here. For security sensors, you could use a couple wired zones (detection circuit wired into the panel sensor terminals, of which there are two) but for wireless sensors you would use either standard 319.5 GE sensors or encrypted S-Line Qolsys sensors.
The list linked above are officially tested and confirmed compatible devices.
With regard to complicated devices like thermostats and door locks, you should stick to the official list as other models are unlikely to work.
With regard to simple devices like light switches and appliance modules, it is very rare that an incompatibility is found, and it is generally safe to try other models. (Some multi-function ones might not work though)
