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Smart Home Security discussion

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No thief is going to cut the cord. In reality, it's mostly smash and grab. Alarm company notifies cops, cops show up 20 minutes to 2 hours later.

Source: friend was a crime analyst for the local PD.

EDIT: Get insurance. It much cheaper than home security monitoring.
 
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Six said:
No thief is going to cut the cord. In reality, it's mostly smash and grab. Alarm company notifies cops, cops show up 20 minutes to 2 hours later.

Source: friend was a crime analyst for the local PD.

EDIT: Get insurance. It much cheaper than home security monitoring.
Click to expand...

Insurance is a given, and a requirement when renting almost everywhere.

But most thiefs are scared off by a shrieking alarm, and if they aren't, indeed, they are probably going to be too damn quick for police to do anything.

But I think I still like the idea, at least (or especially) when I am out of town. And with either the security system or the home automation system, I'll have a camera or two I can use to record evidence, and verify if it was a false alarm or real security event.

Evidence is unlikely to get anything returned if it was taken, but at least it could be used to make some asshole(s) do some time. And it could potentially open an avenue for reimbursement that doesn't tap into my insurance, which will help keep premiums from increasing. Unlikely, but possible.

I'm kind of a paranoid person, I admit, and as I look to get more and more technology in such a small consolidated area, that only ups the paranoia. But what kind of drives me to this solution is the fact that the handful of places I am considering for my next place are all firmly "no pets". If I get a place that allows dogs, I might reconsider this, as the expense of a dog vs buying a security system with monthly fees is likely equivalent.
 
RossMAN said:
I think the most comprehensive and cost effective solution will be separate home security & home automation solutions.

Here's an interesting blog I discovered today and made me think of this thread.

https://diysecurityguy.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/review-envisalink-evl-3/
Click to expand...

:hmm:

So I could get a cheaper monitoring service without remote control and remote alerts, and then utilize this to handle the alerts. Only problem I can see is that the alerts and control is then limited to IP access, so if the net goes down but alarm remains connected through cellular radio, then I can't really do anything with it until I get home.

That does deserve further investigation though. Thanks!
 
RossMAN said:
I think the most comprehensive and cost effective solution will be separate home security & home automation solutions.

Here's an interesting blog I discovered today and made me think of this thread.

https://diysecurityguy.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/review-envisalink-evl-3/
Click to expand...

So I was looking more into this, but unfortunately it doesn't appear compatible with rental-friendly alarm systems. The supported DSC models all appear to need to be hardwired.

I thought the Vista had to be hard wired, but there's just wiring the alarm panel itself (just a utility-like box with a circuit board inside, also intended to have a certain type of battery in there as well) and the keypad/control pad. From there you can add a wireless receiver to then utilize wireless security devices.
The price of monitoring coverage is still something to consider. But at least a module like the Envisalink would get me IP-based remote control, and I could add a Vista Automation Module to add a Z-Wave controller.

I'm back to researching the price for Alarm Relay for more limited but cell-based monitoring.

But I am also very much eyeing the Abode and Scout packages. Not sure how the Honeywell Vista package would add up, but Abode, while a little pricey to configure good coverage, is primed for automation and paying annually it's $20/month. Which, for cell monitoring, seems to be the lowest rate (not the only provider with that rate, but I can't seem to find anything lower). And with Abode, I wouldn't have to hack together a remote access system.
Scout is a close-second to Abode, but it doesn't seem to truly offer Zigbee support, it's mostly confined to IFTTT and some support like Amazon Alexa and Nest... and I'm still trying to wrap my head around how IFTTT works when you aren't home and want to manage connected gear remotely (does it work like that?).
 
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