Just purchased a 2GIG GC3 panel from SuretyDIY with Verizon sled. Very excited to get this up and running. I plan to purchase the Alarm.com Gold plan through SuretyDIY once I get the panel and sensors hooked up and programmed. I have a few questions:
Does it make sense to program the panel on a bench initially? Seems to me it will be tiresome to program this standing up in my hallway. Unless programming is really easy/fast.
I have a full fledged Lutron Radio RA2 system that I installed in my house. How do I get the Alarm.com system to work with this? I have seen the Lutron literature, but talks about needing to log into the Dealer section of Alarm.com. How do I work this out with SuretyDIY as I believe I need to provide my Repeater serial number, or similar?
Same for my LiftMaster MyQ garage door opener, Nest thermostats and Alexa DOT. Is this something I can add and integrate myself, or do I need to work with SuretyDIY customer service?
Finally, still looking around for the best sensors/contacts to use. I have some Ion Digital plunger sensors on order for my doors, and I’m trying out the 2GIG door/window contact on my double hung windows to see how they will fit. What is the best motion sensor for houses with pets? I have a 35 lb. dog and a small cat. Is the Honeywell 5898 Dual Tec unit better than the 2GIG one?
I’ll take on just part of 1 & 2 here, but I hope it’s helpful:
It is fast, and I think it’s better to have everything in place when you’re testing sensors.
I’ll let Suretydiy comment on the way they want to do it with alarm.com, but I have to say that you should integrate it with a VCRX to get the best connection with the system as well See here for more on this. Note how I installed a little patch-panel for the outputs from the GC3. I recommend people run a couple 8 conductor thermostat wire runs so you can wire the whole panel up and then never wire again. (I run another 2 wire and a CAT6 for possible future use).
1) Does it make sense to program the panel on a bench initially? Seems to me it will be tiresome to program this standing up in my hallway. Unless programming is really easy/fast.
Technically programming can be performed whenever you wish, however no, there is no real benefit to sensor programming for the panel to not be mounted yet. Testing should always occur with the equipment in its final positions.
I have a full fledged Lutron Radio RA2 system that I installed in my house. How do I get the Alarm.com system to work with this? I have seen the Lutron literature, but talks about needing to log into the Dealer section of Alarm.com. How do I work this out with SuretyDIY as I believe I need to provide my Repeater serial number, or similar?
RadioRa2 integrates on the back-end (it does not directly communicate with the panel) and we would be happy to help. When you are ready to get it set up on your suretyDIY account, simply email customerservice@suretyDIY.com and we can help you get it connected. It does indeed get linked via the main repeater serial number.
3) Same for my LiftMaster MyQ garage door opener, Nest thermostats and Alexa DOT. Is this something I can add and integrate myself, or do I need to work with SuretyDIY customer service?
All of these features are added at any time by the user. In fact, Lutron is the only one I can think of at the moment that requires dealer assistance.
What is the best motion sensor for houses with pets? I have a 35 lb. dog and a small cat. Is the Honeywell 5898 Dual Tec unit better than the 2GIG one?
In general the dual tec will likely be “best” in that you’ll have more configurable options to find the right fit, but with a cat it is much more a question of motion detector location rather than which motion detector.
If pets climb on tall furniture, as cats love to do, it can be very difficult to weed out false alarms. Your best bet is to determine good placement for a pet immune motion detector where it will not face tall furniture the cat is likely to jump on.
Great comments by Jason. He’s truly the expert here.
I did want to be clear on one thing: If you want property functioning flashing of exterior lights and lock-on (security) or dim (smoke) scenes you’ll also want to connect the panel to a VCRX as linked above. It might be possible to do this via alarm.com, but I’m not aware it is. Even if it were possible by alarm.com, that means that in the event of fire or security breach you’d need properly functioning cellular and Internet service in your home to engage the action.
It might be possible to do this via alarm.com, but I’m not aware it is
You can create Alarm.com rules to control Lutron Devices based on system activity.
Even if it were possible by alarm.com, that means that in the event of fire or security breach you’d need properly functioning cellular and Internet service in your home to engage the action.
This is true, however, so yes it is never a bad idea to create local integration.
Note that it is not true of Z-wave lights, as those rules are saved locally on the panel. Only Lutron.
Wow, thanks for the quick reply everyone. This really does seem like a great user forum.
As far as Alarm.com integration, schalliol see the app. note in the protected area of myLutron called “HomeWorks QS and RadioRA 2 Security Modes and Alarm.com Integration”. Talks about how to integrate flashing lights, etc., but I agree local control using a VCRX is the way to go. I don’t own a VCRX yet, but will be sure to add the wiring now in case I want to add later.
Another question. I know I should test my cellular connection strength before picking a location and mounting the panel (and cutting a hole in the wall). Is this simple to perform and do I need an Alarm.com account before I can perform the test? Can I just temporarily hook up the power leads?
Is this simple to perform and do I need an Alarm.com account before I can perform the test? Can I just temporarily hook up the power leads?
Good question. Yes, you’ll want to test with an Alarm.com account active. In most cases you will be able to tell pretty quickly if location will be a big factor. From experience if the signal strength reports as 21/31 or higher chances are the majority of your entire first floor is fine. (Do not install in the basement) Avoid too many walls for the signal to go through, and avoid a location where the antenna will rest near house voltage wires in the wall.
Keep in mind you’ll want to leave the panel in a spot for at least 10 minutes to get an accurate gauge of signal. Best to look for a signal strength of 15-16/31 or higher, but it is under 11 or so when signal strength itself becomes more of a problem.
Yes, you can just use a short length of cable to connect the plug in power supply temporarily to move around to test.
Got my Radio RA2 system integrated with Alarm.com this morning (thank you suretyDIY customer support). I have a few questions:
I’m noticing now that some of my light and shade names are not as obvious inside the Alarm.com app. For example, I have multiple window shades called “Left” and “Right”. In the Lutron app. it’s obvious because the shade name is qualified by the room name, so I see “Dining Room, Left” or “Living Room, Left”.
Is there a way to make the names more descriptive in Alarm.com?
If I need to make changes to the Lutron system (i.e., add new dimmers, shades, etc.) do I need to send another email to customer service to get the new items updated? Or does this happen automatically?
Is there a way to make the names more descriptive in Alarm.com?
Ah, so do you have the Lutron devices categorized in rooms, then their actual name is just left or right? Alarm.com will pull the name alone, but these can be renamed under emPower - Lights on the website. Click the little edit button that pops up when you hover over the name.
If I need to make changes to the Lutron system (i.e., add new dimmers, shades, etc.) do I need to send another email to customer service to get the new items updated? Or does this happen automatically?
So I tried renaming the shades in the emPower section, and for some reason it won’t allow me to change them. I get a red circle with cross through it indicating not allowed, and the name is greyed out. So it appears one cannot rename Lutron Radio RA2 lights or shades. Perhaps this is only for Z-Wave lights.
Now the light switches and dimmer section is better organized in the Alarm.com app and website. For switches and dimmers, the lights are categorized under their respective “rooms”. For the shades, they are all just listed in a single group with only the shade name shown. So I think to make this better I’ll have to rename in the Lutron programming and then that should get synced up with Alarm.com.
So I think to make this better I’ll have to rename in the Lutron programming and then that should get synced up with Alarm.com.
Ah, my bad, I seemed to recall being able to edit that in ADC but it looks like you do need to update in Lutron. Yes, those changes should reflect in ADC. If you notice one not take effect after a little while we can manually request a sync.
I’m very new to the whole world of security alarms. Last night we set the panel for Alarm Stay. When my my 10 year old got up first this morning, he let the dog out the back door slider and accidentally set off the alarm. The slider is configured as a Exit/Entry 1. I would have thought the panel would have started a countdown to enter code, but in this case I guess not.
OK, my fault. I just double checked and the slider is configured as perimeter. So that makes sense.
Yep, perimeter sensors will always set off the alarm immediately if the system is armed, even during the entry/exit delay countdown.
One thing to keep in mind is you can at any time while arming the system choose to arm with no delay, meaning there will be no entry delay on any sensors, effectively turning entry doors into perimeter sensors for that arming period.
Just wanted to follow up on this thread. I recently integrated my Lutron system and added an “Alarm” rule under the emPower area. Now when the panel goes into alarm, all the first floor shade raise to the maximum opening, all the interior lights go on full 100%, and the outside front and back porch lights flash. Pretty cool. Then when I cancel the alarm and disarm, everything goes back to normal (i.e., lights and shades return to their pre-alarm state).