I wouldn’t rely on Heimdall and Homey for my house alarm. It can act as a nice addon, but if you want a reliable alarm system with backup battery, backup connection when the internet is down get something else.
I’m current using a Ring Alarm system and I’m very happy with it. It integrates great with my Ring cameras and will keep working when the power is down and/or the internet connection is interrupted.(I’ve obviously connected it to Heimdall )
Another tip, look into the Tedee smartlocks, they partner with M&C locks, I guess you’ll also be replacing locks when you get a new house.
Thanks for your detailed response! I completely understand your point about having a “real” alarm system with backup battery and backup internet connection. That makes a lot of sense, so I’m definitely going to look into Ring as an option.
One question though: since Ring is also wireless, how well does it perform in a larger house? Do all the contact sensors you use come from Ring as well?
Also, I’ll be replacing all exterior doors soon. Why did you choose Tedee over, for example, Aqara smart locks?
You are doing yourself short. Even real alarm systems have their failures. I find it very reliable. It notices when sensors do not work. It integrates with living very well, and it never failed.
Having a break in and a failure will probably naver happen.
If you want automaticly police dialing, than you would need a certified alarm anyway.
For me it performs very well. The Ring Alarm system creates it’s own Z-Wave network and in a set a Z-wave extender is included (and also separately available)
I chose Tedee because I had already gotten the M&C locks earlier all around my house. Didn’t want change anything to that I was able to get the Tedee from the same shop. The Tedee came with the a small part to replace on the M&C lock but I could keep my keys.
I have Heimdall with Homey and that works well, But I do have a 4G backup connection on my internet Mikrotik central router and have for all important devices (Access Points, Internet router and Homey stuff) managed or unmanaged UPS (4 in total in the house).
With total power loss I still have Internet, WiFi and a running Homey. Some repeaters will be powerless, but most alarm sensors are Z-Wave/Zigbee and running on battery.
So, it is possible, but an system like Ajax, Ring or other dedicated alarm system is advisable and more easy to roll out and maintain.
Most people don’t need an alarm system. An alarm system only creates a false sense of security and a lot of extra unnecessary stress in case a burglary actually happens.
A burglar can break in and trash an entire house in less than 5 minutes. By the time the alarm goes off, a security officer called you to verify the alarm and notify the police, the burglar is long gone.
Most home contents insurances don’t require an alarm either. So imagine this:
You are on holiday and a burglar decides to break into your house. When you don’t have an alarm system, you will spend the rest of your holiday in ignorance only to come home and find your house trashed. When you do have an alarm system, you will be notified. Now a very stressful time starts where you will abort your holiday and try to find the fastest way home. In both cases, the outcome is exactly the same. You will call a lock smith to replace your lock, and call your insurance company and file a claim. The insurance company will repay all off your losses.
Which scenario will you chose? Rather spend the money on making it harder for burglars to com in than on trying to detect when they already did.
Is there a way to change the dutch sentence in the keypad when you arm the alarm in the mode when you’re at home? My family always thinks that they activate the wrong mode because it saying that the mode is voor leaving the house.
Thanks for all the work, could I ask, is there any kind of countdown timer available yet that does something like beep when setting the alarm (30 secs) or so?
And there’s also on counting down when arming. For the beep, that’s up to you for your particular environment, Heimdall is unaware of what sound output devices are available on your Homey.
When you put in your alarm code and you choose the stay home button on the keypad then the alarm keypad says : “vetrtraging bij weggaan gestart“(someting like in English: starting delay on going away) , but it’s the stay home button, i’m not going away. Is there a way to change this sentence?
Heimdall has no control over the text spoken by a keypad, it just sends the Surveillance mode to it and the keypad itself is responsible for what happens next.
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(through Sonos speakers)
