How To Make Complex Triggers for Alarm.com Automations in IQ Mate

How To
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Overview

Currently, Alarm.com automations can only be triggered by a single event or sensor. However, IQ Mate can be used to combine multiple inputs and create complex triggers to activate Alarm.com automations using an Event-Triggered Rule.

In this tutorial, we’ll walk through how to use IQ Mate to create complex automation logic, such as triggering an output only when both the front and back doors are open. We’ll then show how to use that output to trigger an Alarm.com automation.

Complex Trigger for Alarm.com in IQ Mate
Complex Trigger for Alarm.com in IQ Mate1242×436 33.1 KB

Prerequisites

  • IQ Mate configured and online
  • Waveshare IO Module (used in this example and for IQ Mate configuration)
  • Alarm.com account access to create an Event-Triggered Rule

Creating an Alarm.com Event-Triggered Rule

  1. Log in to your Alarm.com account.
  2. Navigate to Automation → Rules.
  3. Click + Add New Rule → Event-Triggered Rule.
  4. Select the IQ Mate output that’s triggered by Node-RED.
  5. Choose your desired Alarm.com action (e.g., turn on light, send notification).

Step-by-Step Video Guide

In the video, we cover:

  • Setting up MQTT sensor monitoring using the Qolsys Sensor subflow
  • Creating a function to track multiple sensor states
  • Triggering an Alarm.com automation only when both sensors are active

Troubleshooting

IQ Mate or Node-RED Not Receiving Sensor Events

  • Check MQTT Broker Connection:
    Make sure your IQ Mate is online and connected to the MQTT broker in Node-RED. The MQTT broker node should be green (connected).
  • Verify Sensor Names:
    Ensure the sensorName environment variable in the Qolsys Sensor subflow matches the actual sensor name used in the MQTT topic (qolsys/binary_sensor/[sensorName]/state).

Alarm.com Automation Not Triggering

  • Check Alarm.com Rule Configuration:
    Make sure the correct IQ Mate output is selected in the Event-Triggered Rule and that the automation action (e.g., light on, notification) is valid.
  • Confirm Output State Changes:
    In Alarm.com, check the history of the IQ Mate output device to verify it is actually being turned on/off by Node-RED.
  • Output Must Change State:
    Alarm.com rules trigger only on state changes. If the output is already ON, sending another ON signal won’t retrigger the rule. Use a pulse (ON then OFF) for consistent results.

Summary

This method lets you use any Node-RED logic in IQ Mate to trigger Alarm.com automations via a physical sensor input.

If you are stuck, feel free to couple post a question in the Support category at Surety Support Forum if you have any questions and are seeking help.

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