Does this mean that the z-wave devices you might have interacting with IQMate need to be joined to a different controller (in other words, something other than the IQ?). The directions mentioned that Home Assistant isnāt required. Does this mean that IQMate itself is a Z-Wave hub?
Also, I noticed you utilized the IQ Hardwire PowerG in the design. I have a IQ Hardwire 16F which I donāt think has PGM outputs. What am I prevented from doing without the PGM outputs?
It is very interesting that you have taken this approachā¦ I actually started working out a similar integration (using sensors and dry contact relays) to integrate the IQ4 to my Omnilogic pool controller. (On paper so farā¦ )
Currently it doesnāt do anything with Z-Wave devices. You would have to activate an IQ Panel sensor and use it to trigger an Alarm.com automation that controls Z-Wave devices.
But Node-RED supports Z-Wave so we could add that with a Z-Wave stick. It would be great if we can get a Z-Wave stick to act as a secondary controller to the IQ Panel and automate it with Node-RED.
The IQ Hardwire 16F would work just fine. The only thing you would be missing are the 4 PGM outputs that show up in Alarm.com as switches. You wouldnāt missing much at this point because currently Alarm.com wonāt let you automate PGM outputs so they are just on/off buttons in the Alarm.com app. Z-Wave relays work better because they can be used in Alarm.com automations.
Any wired sensor input would work for this purpose, even individual wireless sensors with wired auxiliary inputs such as the PG9945 or QS1137-840. But I think the 8-input hardwire modules are a better value unless you only want a few sensor inputs.
Cool that youāre doing something similar! If youāre interested in doing it with IQ Mate let me know what hardware youāre using and what youāre trying to do. The Waveshare module I used seems like a good choice but Iād like to have IQ Mate support more hardware. As long as Node-RED supports it, adding new hardware is as simple as installing whatever communication nodes are needed, configuring it, and exporting it as a JSON file that we can include in the local library.
Sounds good. Please keep us all in the loop with that!
Question: Would it be possible for you to give some examples of the types of automation options possible with IQ Mate?
Maybe what Iām really asking for is a list of TRIGGERS that can start a Node-Red automation, and what are the OBJECTS (sensors, z-wave status, iPhone Bluetooth connection status, panel status, etc) that can be monitored for if-then logic decisions?
I think I can easily envision how to configure all the various resultant actions side of this that are possible. It is really those things that can kickoff a workflow and are monitored in the if logic where Iām confused.
Crazy example:
Could we create an automation kicked off by a user physically pressing a ZWave wall switch (turn on a light) but then check for things like ādid a camera see an animal in the last 5 minutesā, or 'is this iPhone home (meaning connected to the panel with bluetooth), etc. I know those are extreme examples, but just trying to understand.
Itās hard to give examples of the types of possible automations. Itās more focused on providing as much mechanism as possible to create automations.
Triggers that can start a Node-RED automation would be:
Events (state changes) from the IQ Panel Control4 integration
Sensor state changes and arming state changes
No hardware is needed for these
Z-Wave or PGM switches that activate a sensor on the IO module
Z-Wave switches can be automated by Alarm.com so therefore Alarm.com automation rules can trigger Node-RED automations if you have the digital IO hardware.
If we can find a way to make IQ Mate a secondary Z-Wave controller to the IQ Panel then I think Z-Wave events should be able to trigger Node-RED automations
So, yes you could have a Node-RED automation run when you press a Z-Wave scene controller if you have it run an Alarm.com scene that turns on a relay connected to the IQ Mate digital IO module. Or if we can get the Z-Wave secondary controller idea working then maybe you could do it without needing the digital IO hardware?
Checking whether a camera saw an animal in the last 5 minutes would be tricky. IQ Mate doesnāt have access to the Alarm.com event history. I suppose you could set up an email account that receives notifications from Alarm.com when that happens and have it search that inbox. That would introduce a layer of potential unreliability due to email though.
Checking whether your iPhone is home might be easy. The Control4 integration shows a binary sensor on my system called āiPhoneā that I think might be showing whether my phone is connected via Bluetooth. I donāt have my phone set up on my IQ Panel for Bluetooth so I canāt tell. Iāll need to connect it and try it to find out.
I tried connecting my phone via Bluetooth but unfortunately the state of the āiPhoneā sensor doesnāt change when I connect and disconnect Bluetooth. It looks like thatās a known issue with the IQ Panel Control4 integration.
You have to run that program on something. If the computer itās running on has Bluetooth you might be able to build your own Bluetooth presence detection.
I ran into an issue with the Zooz Z-Wave stick. Everything Iāve done so far is in Docker and I forgot that you canāt access USB devices from in the container with Docker Desktop.
They recommend using USB/IP which I tried but so far itās not working.
I need to figure out whether the issue is with USB/IP or just using the Z-Wave stick in Node-RED. Iāll update when I figure it out.
@ryan.boder - Quick question. To setup the control4 integration that IQ Mate needs, I understand 6 digit codes must be enabled. Do we need to leave that on forever, or just temporarily to setup the initial integration?
I think 6 digit codes forever might be a non-starter in our home, unfortunately. Thanks
Yes, you have to use 6-digit codes for the Control4 integration. Iāve read that you used to be able to switch back to 4-digit after setting it up but not anymore. Iāve only done it with 6-digit codes myself.
After many failed attempts at getting the Zooz Z-Wave stick to work with USB/IP using the instructions for Docker Desktop, I discovered that Z-Wave JS (used by Node-RED) supports remote connections using ser2net.
I tried ser2net and it worked great the first time!
Z-Wave JS also supports joining other networks as a secondary controller. This mode is not meant for controlling a smart home, because reports are sent to the primary controller.
Warning: Secondary controller support is still experimental and has some limitations:
Including devices on behalf of the primary controller does not work
Devices wonāt be interviewed by default. Triggering an interview manually may set up the lifelines incorrectly.
So Iām not sure this is going to work, or how well it will work. Iāll have to try it and find out.
The IQ Panel software supported being a secondary controller years ago but dropped it when the Z-Wave Alliance stopped requiring secondary controller support for certification. So the only direction that will possibly work is making Node-RED the secondary controller.
I spoke to the Z-Wave JS and Node-RED devs about this and they seem open to helping make it work. Iāll update when I have moreā¦
Interestingly, if we can get Z-Wave JS working as a secondary controller to the IQ Panel for IQ Mate then it will also work for Home Assistant. They use the same driver.
Thank you for the updates. Early next week I have two test panels coming in (a IQ4 and IQ2+) and I plan on setting up my test environment to work on these (and other) potential integrations.
For now Iām in the process of procuring some other tools for the lab, such as my Zooz stick for Simplicity Studio and Home Assistant, dusting off Smartthings and a Z-box. Iāll be adding IQ Mate to the bench as well. Several ideas and scenarios to test out, etc. Also defining some objectives and ground rules for potential product (or at least integration) development.
I think Iām going to approach some integration solutions for those that might think NodeRed or HA is too intimidating, but need/want a little more than ADC alone can provide. Or, perhaps how to blend an existing home automation solution (where someone might have an existing local controller (like the z-box) or a cloud solution like SmartThings) with the IQ panel and get the best of both worlds in a simple non-coding kind of way. Anyway still thinking on the scenarios here and where to go with it. Many ideasā¦
Oh, and maybe how to do it all without 6 digit codes on the panelā¦ LOL
Awesome, Iām all for finding easy solutions to this issue. Having options would be great.
The Z-Wave stuff wonāt need 6-digit codes but any solution using the Control4 integration (HA and IQ Mate) will unless you use an IQ Panel 2 with a very old software version.
I donāt understand why they require 6-digit codes. When you enable them your 4-digit codes just get a couple zeros appended to them so 1234 becomes 123400. If the objection is that itās harder to remember 6 digits then it shouldnāt be too hard to remember slapping 00 at the end.
