CADDX questions

[hucker]

I have landed on a getting a CADDX NX8 system for our house that is being built (clean integration with HomeVisionPro) but am having a tough time figuring out exactly what I need to buy. So I'm going to treat cocoontech as if it were Consumer Reports

I'll start with my wiring quesiton:

Our house has 4 doors front,back,side,garage and 10 openable windows on the ground floor. I have spoken with two people that have knowledge in setting this up, one says to do the doors on one zone and the windows on a second while the other says to have each sensor have a zone to itself. Easier setup vs easier troubleshooting AFAICT. Are there *strong* reasons to choose one over the other or something else?

Now my sensor quesiton:

I've been told that wireless sensors are less secure and more longterm hassle (batteries). If that is true, should I just hardwire everything since I have full access behind the walls.

Are some door/window sensors more reliable long term? Magnetic sensors seem ideal since there are no moving parts but again I've been told that they are easy to defeat.

Caddx
When I look online I see many CADDX packages that have keypads, batteries etc. I know I need an NX8e so it will talk to my HVPro but I'm at a loss as to all of the different options with keypads. If I assume that I'm going to program the thing with a PC do I need/want the 'fancier' keypads. For me the biggest issue will be WAF, are the LCD ones 'easier' for the novice or more complex?

On the WAF topic I would like to arm via remote key fob and disarm via the panel. Are there issues with such a configuration?

Power

I'm planning on having a large UPS in my wiring closet to keep things alive in the event of power loss. Is there a compelling reason to also use an additional battery for power backup for the alarm (e.g. UL/insurance requirements)?

Monitoring
I've seen some posts on monitoring and it seems like NextAlarm would be a nice option though I could also see doing it myself with he phone 'stuff' in HomeVision. Anybody out there have CADDX+NextAlarm experience?

I think that is all.

Thanks!

Chuck

 

[Steve]

Our house has 4 doors front,back,side,garage and 10 openable windows on the ground floor. I have spoken with two people that have knowledge in setting this up, one says to do the doors on one zone and the windows on a second while the other says to have each sensor have a zone to itself. Easier setup vs easier troubleshooting AFAICT. Are there *strong* reasons to choose one over the other or something else?

I prefer 1 sensor per zone when its possible - like when prewiring. Same argument as 2 wire vs 4 wire smokes. Easy to know what exact opening tripped not to mention troubleshooting, etc.

I've been told that wireless sensors are less secure and more longterm hassle (batteries). If that is true, should I just hardwire everything since I have full access behind the walls.
Are some door/window sensors more reliable long term? Magnetic sensors seem ideal since there are no moving parts but again I've been told that they are easy to defeat.

Hardwire is always better than wireless, period - end of sentence. Caddx wireless is good, but still is more expensive and not as reliable as wire. If you have walls open it is a no brainer - wire it.

I'm planning on having a large UPS in my wiring closet to keep things alive in the event of power loss. Is there a compelling reason to also use an additional battery for power backup for the alarm (e.g. UL/insurance requirements)?

All alarm panel imho should have their own 12V battery.

 

[carry15+1]

I had a NX8E installed before I rebuilt my home. I was very happy with it. Stick with wired sensors as long as you can prewire. Cheaper, more reliable and no maintenance.

I have a HVpro (and HV) - look into it and I believe you'll find it will support 64 zones on the Caddx. The NX8E does 192 zones in 8 partitions. If you'll be under 64 zones I guess it's no worry.

Guy the LCD keypads - very intuitive and easy to use. The LED keypads would have never been approved by my wife.

I have installed a M1G since the storm and have a LOAD of Caddx and ITI wireless stuff available if you're interested. In fact I have a brand new NX8E in can available, plus some LCD keypads.

Long story short, I'm sure you're already happy with the HVpro and I know you'll like the NX8E.

That said, I must say the M1G is a tighter integration between HA and security, and it can communicate with your HVpro via rs232 ascii messages, and my wife appreciates the voice prompts and messages.

 

[hucker]

That said, I must say the M1G is a tighter integration between HA and security, and it can communicate with your HVpro via rs232 ascii messages, and my wife appreciates the voice prompts and messages.

Have you integrated the Elk with HVPro? I considered this but thought that HVPro's CADDX integration made it pretty idiot proof.

The cost of the M1G also is about double the NE8x as well. When a whole system is rolled up is the cost still more for the m1g. I'd could be swayed but I'm not sure I want to spend more on the alarm AND have to deal with more complicated HA programming.

Chuck