Looking to install an ADC setup in a new house. What are the options for secondary exterior doors for alarm status. I have wired keypads with a status light at all my external doors at my current house, it’s so handy and keeps the kids from setting the alarm off… Are there any options for a wireless setup with the Qolsys IQ2 panel? I see that one can buy separate Qolsys Remote panels and PIN pads, but does not look like they have status lights. A
Are you looking for a visual cue from the secondary panel that the system is armed or disarmed?
The IQ Remote will show arming status on the screen but there is no status LED. The screen does timeout, i believe 30 minutes is the max before it will go into sleep mode. After that you would need to tap the screen or button to wake it up.
The DSC Power G WS9LCDWF9 does have an LED on the front. When the LED is off, the system is disarmed, when it is red, it is armed. Additionally it has a back lit screen with a text field that states armed/disarmed.
This is exactly what we would like. Red light showing armed would let them know not to exit and start the beeps and wake others up… We can try without and then add the DSC if it’s not working out. Thanks.
Note that you would need the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+, which has the PowerG radio for compatibility with the DSC Keypad.
A feature I’ve heard requested more than a few times is the ability to use Z-Wave LED strips for this so you could put them above or beside the door frame. We’re still waiting on it to be implemented. 
You can use Z-Wave switches to turn an LED on/off or even colored bulbs to indicate arming status now. But the WS9LCDWF9 may be the best bet. Let us know what ends up working best for you!
Looked for Z-wave battery powered lights too, kinda surprised no one has done that… The Z-wave switch with a red bulb was my backup plan if the outlets nearby work… Thanks.
Sorry to beat the horse and the long post. I came across the Inovelli line of Z-wave switches. They have an LED that can be used with “notifications”. They also have some pretty cool scenes features built in too. This would require using a Smarthings hub. ( I am not sure if it would require Smartthings to be primary(most likely) or if it could be secondary to the Qolsys panel). It sounds like the LED on the switch can be programmed different colors when a “notification” is received. This would be other activities in the system. ADC will not pass an arm/disarm status to Smartthings I’m assuming, so that can’t be the trigger. But if I had the Inovelli switch connected with the Smartthings Hub, I could create an event triggered rule in ADC so that every time I arm/disarm, it turns “on” or “off” a Z-wave device which is registered with Smartthings. Smartthings could sense this activity and change the LED on the switch. I could use a simple Z-wave plug put somewhere it wouldn’t get tripped manually.
My biggest question is what are the limitations of using the Smartthings hub as a primary controller or secondary controller? When there are different controllers in the ADC system will both ADC and Smartthings still have the same control for rules, automation, locks, etc??? Can I have some devices setup with Smartthings and some setup with the Qolsys panel?
First off, we love the Inovelli switches. We’re working with Inovelli to try and get Alarm.com to support stuff like those LED status lights. I can’t promise it will happen any time soon but it’s being considered.
The IQ Panel 2 can be secondary to SmartThings. The automation rules would be completely separate. It’s just that Z-Wave devices on the SmartThings network will also show up in Alarm.com, if they are are Alarm.com compatible devices.
And the Inovelli switches are “compatible devices?”. Just didn’t see them listed.
Hey so we’re working with ADC right now to get this up and certified with their system. Nathan and our CTO has been going back and forth with them to try to get as many features integrated as possible. From what I gather from the conversations is that the switches now have basic functionality (ie: on/off/dim) and scene control (ie: multi-tap to activate a scene) may be added.
As for notifications or status lights, this feature is not available for the IQ Panel at this time. However, the more people that write in to them requesting this will likely expedite the overall process.
I think it would be a huge win for everyone if this feature was added as this was our vision from the start (ie: having the LED bar light up red if the alarm is unarmed and green if armed). So, hopefully they will open up this feature.
I do know that they’ve had our devices for a while but due to the pandemic, they’ve not been able to go into their offices to test them fully.
Here’s to hoping we’re fully integrated soon!
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Minor suggestion- the IQ panel and DSC keypads use red LEDs to show an armed state and green to show disarmed. It might be confusing if a zwave device LED was the reverse.
This was a must have for me so I made the choice to use GO Control from 2GIG. I have one GC2 at home and several GC3’s at the commercial buildings I’m responsible for. Putting an extra touchscreen next to each exit door that has a big red light always showing the system is armed prevents lots of false alarms. 2GIG has two secondary touchscreen options for the GC3. the SP1 and the SP2. The SP1 has LEDs that change color to indicate arming state and the SP2 doesn’t. Any reason you went with the IQ2?
I am looking to do the same thing, as I recently set off my alarm due to panel being in the other room and not having an indicator in the other side of my home. Still new to the IQ2+, but am I correct in that I should be able to control a Z-Wave device with the automation? I am thinking of installing a Z-Wave outlet and simply wire up an small led light off of the outlet. Then either turn the outlet on or off upon arming the system. Would this be possible with the IQ2+? I assume the only way for this to work would also require arming / disarming via the Scenes and not from the main screen?
Yes, you can do that. For now the only options are to do what you’re describing or to to use the PowerG keypad with the indicator on it. You don’t have to arm and disarm with scenes. Just create rules to turn the device on and off then armed and disarmed.
We’re trying to get Alarm.com to add support for this multi-channel relay which would make building custom applications like this easer and cheaper. It works now but it only shows up in Alarm.com as a single device that controls all 3 relays instead of 3 independent relays. If/when they add multi-channel support then that device will get you 3 programable relays for about $10/relay.
Also we’re hoping Alarm.com will add support for the status LEDs in newer light switches.
To accomplish what that poster describes, does the level of subscription service need to include automation? The IQ panel itself does look like it has some automation capabilities for zwave.
Oh, that relay looks nice and its cheap! Definitely going to keep an eye on that.
If you log into Alarm.com and create a support ticket requesting support for that device we’ll be happy to pass it through to them. They prioritize device integration based on customer demand.
Yes, this requires Alarm.com automation.
The automation options on the IQ Panel itself are extremely limited, geared toward builder programs, and just has a few options for lights (Night, Evening, Front Door trigger, etc., ) but arming status is not one of them.
So I did get this setup with Inovelli Switches. Only problem is a couple of my areas I needed to use two Inovelli switches due to the location of the line/load. Unless I am missing something the Inovelli switch needs to be where the line comes in. I wanted the LED notification at a certain location, so had to use two Inovelli’s. I was able to get one of these 3 ways setup right with Z-wave association, but one is not working right. Will troubleshoot later. The way Inovelli has setup the notifications is slick.
A. Installed the switches and Setup/Included with Smartthings
B. I set the notifications for the Inovelli switches in Smartthings with Red for armed, Green for disarmed.
C. I set automations in ADC for Arm and Disarm using a “dummy” Lutron lamp module I wasn’t using and I put it behind my bed where it won’t get touched or stolen by my 5 year old electrician in training. So when I arm, it turns the lamp module on, disarm, turns it off
D. I set automations in Smartthings when lamp module on, it turns on the Red notification, when lamp module is off, it turns on the Green notification.
It’s early, but working great. The Z-wave association process is a nuisance with how my line/loads were setup, but the biggest source of frustration was just getting all the wires stuffed in and the switches lined up right for the cover plate…
Nice! Thank you for following up, and glad to hear you got this working.
You are right, the Z-wave switches require always-on power, which gets tricky when you have three-way switch circuits. You either need to bypass the first switch so that power at the second is not switched, or use a 3-Way compatible Z-wave option.
but the biggest source of frustration was just getting all the wires stuffed in and the switches lined up right for the cover plate…
Yep. I feel ya. Z-wave switches tend to eat up a lot of the gang box, and when you have multiple switches side by side it can get really crowded really quickly.