IQ4 System Design Questions

[HDClown]

I am helping friends with the alarm system for their house and will be having them use Surety. This will be a 100% wireless build with high level design of IQ4 + 1 Remote, Door/Window Contacts, Smoke/CO, and Sirens

I migrated from a Vista 21iP to an IQ4 in my own home (Surety customer), so I’m familiar with the IQ4 in general, but I’m using existing hardwire and Honeywell wireless, which brings up the following questions for this new install:

1. Wireless Devices - I have been planning to use all PowerG devices as they seem to be the most desirable. Is there any reason to consider using S-Line?

2. Door Contacts - The doors in the house are black, so white nor brown sensors will blend particularly well. Can the PG9303 be painted? If not, is there another wireless option that can be painted? If not, I am thinking PG9312, which is chunkier, but at least it’s black. I am my friends not very interested in drilling holes in their door/frame for recessed contact.

3. Motion Detector - Indoor - Is the PG9984P the best overall PowerG motion detector, or is there another model worth considering? There are ceiling fans in areas where a motion will be going.

4. Motion Detector - Outdoor - This would be for use on a fully covered porch that is 17’ x 20’ with 3 walls against the house and the fourth wall open to the yard. 2 of the walls against the house have 8’ sliding glass walls so it’s one of those indoor/outdoor type porches. The locale is FL so it in the summer it could certainly get hot in this area at times. There shouldn’t be any direct sunlight on the motion detector itself, but maybe the device could warm to 120F over many hours of high 90s/low 100 degree temp warming the porch. It would be fully protected from rain and well protected from dust. Is there any reason I couldn’t use an indoor motion like the PG9974P/PG9984P (both with max operating temp 131F), or should I really use the outdoor PG9994? There is a ceiling fan on the porch.

5. Smoke/CO - These would be PG9936 and PG9933 for use inside, no question on that. They asked about possibility of a CO on porch (referenced in outdoor motion above) as it has a gas line. I think it’s unnecessary but am looking into it. All the wireless CO’s I see have a 100F max operating temp so I’m thinking this may not be a viable option? Looking for feedback on this one.

6. Garage - There are (2) car entry doors, (2) side doors, and (1) window. They want to put contacts on all of them. The garage will likely get to 110-115F in the summer, possibly warmer at times.

   In my house I use a Honeywell 958 wired sensor on my garage car doors mounted at the top of the door and it has worked flawlessly for the past 12+ years. Mine is actually hard wired so I can’t do that direct in this house, thus I was thinking of using a PG9945 with a 958 on the Aux for each of the garage car doors, which yields the same mounting type result I am familiar with. is this a good option? PG9945 is rated for 131F. Would there be any need to use a PG9312 instead since it’s a bit more robust in design and rated to 151F? Or maybe I can just use one of those wireless sensors directly on the door if magnet distances are within spec?

   For the garage side doors and window, is PG9303 good (rated to 122F, or should I go with PG9945 or PG9312?

7. Sirens - Are the PG9901 BATT and PG9911 BATT good products? Are they really 110dB as advertised or do they fall short? My own reference for sirens is Honeywell WAVE2 that I use indoors and Honeywell 748LC in my attic over an eave as an “outdoor” siren.

8. IQR vs IQR PG - I know the QW9104 IQ Remote is discontinued with IQ Remote PG replacing it, but there are QW9104’s available online. Is there anything more desirable about the IQR over the IQR PG or would it be silly to buy an IQR for a new install like this?

   Behavior question with IQR/IQR PG: What volume levels/control can be set independent of the IQ4? The remote will be in the hallway right outside master bedroom and would be desirable to have things like chime and voice volume levels on the IQR (Advanced Settings/Sound on IQ4) be set to different levels than on the IQ4.

Lastly (for now), are links available for documents that list of supported RF, Z-wave, and Zigbee devices on the IQ4 as of firmware 4.4.0?

[jwcsurety (Jason)]

I have been planning to use all PowerG devices as they seem to be the most desirable. Is there any reason to consider using S-Line?

PowerG has a much wider range and has FHSS in addition to encryption. If cost is not a consideration then no.

Can the PG9303 be painted?

As long as you are careful to not get the paint inside the housing and do not use metallic paint it should be fine.

Motion Detector - Indoor - Is the PG9984P the best overall PowerG motion detector, or is there another model worth considering? There are ceiling fans in areas where a motion will be going.

As a tool I wouldn’t really put detectors on a tier list. The PG9984P is applicable to most interior purposes and has solid false alarm prevention. The PG9914 is another option.

Here is a link to the manual with instructions on placement. Use the placement instructions to determine if the detector is fit for the purpose and location, in general I would recommend the PG9984P.

It would be fully protected from rain and well protected from dust. Is there any reason I couldn’t use an indoor motion like the PG9974P/PG9984P (both with max operating temp 131F), or should I really use the outdoor PG9994?

There is no gray area here with regard to recommendation. If the area is not an interior temperature controlled location, only use outdoor rated sensors.

A porch open to the outside should use an outdoor rated motion sensor as it will be exposed to outdoor effects.

They asked about possibility of a CO on porch

No, the CO detector is intended for indoor use. Also I think your instinct is correct, as a CO detector would have very limited use on a porch open to the outside where the gas will easily disperse.

There are (2) car entry doors, (2) side doors, and (1) window. They want to put contacts on all of them. The garage will likely get to 110-115F in the summer, possibly warmer at times.

A door/window transmitter is a bit more forgiving and less impacted in a garage install than say a motion detector, but I would still recommend using outdoor rated sensors especially given the location and potential temperature/humidity levels of a garage.

I use an outdoor rated sensor in my own garage.

Are the PG9901 BATT and PG9911 BATT good products? Are they really 110dB as advertised or do they fall short?

They are 110dB rated wireless PowerG sirens. I recommend them as the best wireless option for the IQ Panel 4.

I know the QW9104 IQ Remote is discontinued with IQ Remote PG replacing it, but there are QW9104’s available online. Is there anything more desirable about the IQR over the IQR PG or would it be silly to buy an IQR for a new install like this?

The IQR-PG does not support adding custom photo frame photos yet. A thread on other concerns/bug reports is found below. I would generally recommend going with the IQR-PG instead of the discontinued QW9104. We decided to keep the QW9104 available for now in our store because the IQR-PG is not compatible for users with an IQ Panel 2.

You can set sound volume on the IQR-PG independently aside from alarms.

IQ Remote PowerG bugs

Anyone else experiencing major bugs in software with the new IQ Remote PowerG? Tried pairing via PowerG and then via WiFi when testing and found the same issues. Running into several, even after wiping to factory and reconfiguring several times. Screen won’t come back on after going into night sleep mode, even the next morning (scheduled to enter at 10pm and exit at 7am). Screen still registers touches when black. Power button on right side does nothing. Screen exhibits same behavior when usin…

Lastly (for now), are links available for documents that list of supported RF, Z-wave, and Zigbee devices on the IQ4 as of firmware 4.4.0?

A master list is not generally made for each version release. There have not been major changes that I remember for sensors. Individual devices are called out when support is added in the firmware notes.

Generally for automation devices I recommend checking the ADC list here.

The big change with 4.4.0 is support for PowerG automation devices. See below.

https://qolsys.com/powerg-everywhere/

[HDClown]

Oont he PG9901 and PG9911 sirens, I found some older posts about IQ2 that indicate that the “entry/exit chime” feature can be turned on/off on these sirens. I assume this feature can be set on IQ4 as well?

If so, how does this work exactly? Will the siren chime based on any sensor you have set to chime, or is it only specific zones that would chime? Does the siren make a “chime” or “ding” like sound or is it a short “siren” type sound?

[jwcsurety (Jason)]

I found some older posts about IQ2 that indicate that the “entry/exit chime” feature can be turned on/off on these sirens.

Will the siren chime based on any sensor you have set to chime, or is it only specific zones that would chime?

The PG9911 (the one I have in front of me) chirps on a sensor chime if chimes are enabled, 6 quick chirps. The PG9901 I believe is identical.

To duplicate voice in another part of the house, a secondary keypad would be needed, either the IQR-PG or QW9104.