Hello All,
The Omni II installed in my house has been in place since circa 2000. It serves as a fully wired alarm system (multiple motions, door sensors and garage doors), has two of the older HAI Omnistat Thermostats to control HVAC, and uses the older X10 technology to control a half dozen lights around the house.
I am not the original homeowner, wasn't responsible for the original installation or programming. But I'd like to do the upgrade myself. I do have the installer code. And will purchase the required software so I can reverse engineer the current programming to reprogram in the new system.
Primary reasons for the upgrade are internet connectivity and to migrate the X10 controlled switches to UPB (they are temperamental at best using X10 right now - I've heard UPB is much more reliable).
Now - my questions:
a) Would an upgrade to an Omni IIe device be relatively straightforward from a wiring perspective? e.g. Hook up zones from old Omni II to same zones on new. And basically use Home Studio to reprogram it the same way as the old version?
b) I'm looking to upgrade to an Omni IIe, any reason I should consider the OmniPro? (I only need to hook it up to 2 thermostats, 48 zones should be fine...) I am looking to add security cameras and metal detectors (for driveway) to the device. But I do think OmniPro II is overkill.. anyone provide a more experienced perspective?
c) Should I consider something different? i.e. Perhaps a Homeseer installation that integrates into the existing HAI Omni? My goal is to make the system dead easy to use, and bullet proof. There are multiple Omni keypads installed throughout the house so I want to continue using those for home automation, thermo and security control.
Anything else I should consider, research before ripping apart the system that controls my furnace and security?
Thanks for your feedback, and I apologize for the rambling email. This system touches some pretty major components in my house so I don't want to take this upgrade lightly.
Thx!
B
The Omni II installed in my house has been in place since circa 2000. It serves as a fully wired alarm system (multiple motions, door sensors and garage doors), has two of the older HAI Omnistat Thermostats to control HVAC, and uses the older X10 technology to control a half dozen lights around the house.
I am not the original homeowner, wasn't responsible for the original installation or programming. But I'd like to do the upgrade myself. I do have the installer code. And will purchase the required software so I can reverse engineer the current programming to reprogram in the new system.
Primary reasons for the upgrade are internet connectivity and to migrate the X10 controlled switches to UPB (they are temperamental at best using X10 right now - I've heard UPB is much more reliable).
Now - my questions:
a) Would an upgrade to an Omni IIe device be relatively straightforward from a wiring perspective? e.g. Hook up zones from old Omni II to same zones on new. And basically use Home Studio to reprogram it the same way as the old version?
b) I'm looking to upgrade to an Omni IIe, any reason I should consider the OmniPro? (I only need to hook it up to 2 thermostats, 48 zones should be fine...) I am looking to add security cameras and metal detectors (for driveway) to the device. But I do think OmniPro II is overkill.. anyone provide a more experienced perspective?
c) Should I consider something different? i.e. Perhaps a Homeseer installation that integrates into the existing HAI Omni? My goal is to make the system dead easy to use, and bullet proof. There are multiple Omni keypads installed throughout the house so I want to continue using those for home automation, thermo and security control.
Anything else I should consider, research before ripping apart the system that controls my furnace and security?
Thanks for your feedback, and I apologize for the rambling email. This system touches some pretty major components in my house so I don't want to take this upgrade lightly.
Thx!
B
