I have a Qolsys panel and I want to set certain sensors to only trigger alarms when the system is armed away. Essentially I want to be able to leave some windows open at night on my second floor while everything downstairs (doors/windows) would be armed in stay. Away should arm all sensors for trigger as expected.
Can that be done? Is there a tutorial somewhere online?
J.P.
I’m actually looking for the same thing. With summer coming up I want Armed stay to only use the doors for triggers and none of the windows, I also have an IQ panel.
I imagine someone opening a window during the summer and would hate for them to trigger the alarm.
Yep, exactly. I guess the last resort option would be to simply select to bypass the open sensors when arming, but that’s a real pain in the ass on a regular basis. That wouldn’t let you open a window once the system was armed either so really a no go.
Would sensor group 16 meet your needs?
Away Instant - Follower Delay. Interior door that triggers alarm instantly when system is armed to away mode only.
The only slightly undesirable side affect I see would be that as a “follower” sensor it wouldn’t trigger an alarm if activated during the entry delay.
That would do it I think. I saw that in the manual when I was paging through it last night but wasn’t sure the implications of setting a door/window to a “follower” sensor.
Can you expand a bit on this: “as a “follower” sensor it wouldn’t trigger an alarm if activated during the entry delay.”
Does that mean that if an entry is made through one of the “entry delay” sensors, like the front or back doors, a triggering of the “follower” sensor (let’s say an upstairs window) at the same time wouldn’t trigger an instant alarm, right? I don’t see that as being a huge deal unless of course the premises are under attack from the upper floors at the same time as the lower floors in “away” mode. In that case, I probably have way bigger problems 
Just let me know if I’m getting that right. It looks like I have to do that programming from the panel per sensor. Can I create a sensor group, add the sensors that I want that flexibility with, and then apply the group 16 to the whole group at once? Just wondering as I try to learn the ins and outs of the system.
Group 16 looks like it would do what I need as well. If I’m understanding it’s one limitation in away mode it will still work for me.
I only have the two sensors set to entry delay now and I see no reason that someone would want to go through a window after tripping one of those two.
Does that mean that if an entry is made through one of the “entry delay” sensors, like the front or back doors, a triggering of the “follower” sensor (let’s say an upstairs window) at the same time wouldn’t trigger an instant alarm, right?
Yes, that’s correct. Normally the sensor would cause an immediate alarm but it would not cause an alarm if tripped after an entry door is opened during the entry delay countdown.
Thanks Ryan. I set the desired sensors to group 16 and once the rest of the system is done I’ll test but it sounds like the right solution 
From what I can tell with my system, correct me if i’m missing something. But as a sensor group 16, the sensor causes an immediate alarm when in “armed away” mode. If an entry door is tripped first, then it does not cause an alarm. The biggest draw back of this sensor group for me, is that it does NOT cause an alarm if it is tripped during arm stay mode. This is how it is functioning when tested on my system, and is therefore not usable. I need the sensor to set off an alarm during arm stay mode.
If it’s a standard perimeter contact, then it needs to be in group 13 to alert in both stay and away modes. If it’s an entry/exit door then group 10 or 12. Group 16 does exactly what you’re seeing, armed in away but deactivated in stay mode (for motions or image sensors it’s a different group).
I use group 16 for upstairs windows that I’d open at night or since my garage overhead is alarmed, the door to the garage isn’t armed in stay mode in case I need to go in there for some reason.
Have you tried sensor group 14? That looks like it would trigger an alarm in stay mode.
Thanks for the confirmation J.P.
Ryan, you are correct. Sensor group 14 does seem to work the way I want to. It is instant alarm in both stay and away mode. However if an entry delay door is opened first, then it will not trigger an instant alarm.
I’m not sure if this is related to this post, but I think it is. The panel has a setting for Key Fob’s so that when armed in stay mode, there is no exit or entry delay. This setting does seem to get rid of the exit delays, however the sensors that are programmed with entry delays, still have the entry delays when in armed with the keyfob, even when the setting is checked. Any ideas? I’m wondering if it’s a sensor group issue.
Keyfob sensor groups only affect the type of panic signal produced from the keyfob if used if I recall correctly. Shouldn’t affect this. The “Arm Stay no Delay” option is separate from the “Keyfob Instant Arming” option. Are you currently using both? (Keyfob instant affects stay and away I believe.)
Can you just check the box next to Kefob Instant Arming and uncheck the Arm Stay no delay? How does it function?
