penright
Member
Stumble across this site. A thread got started in Garage Journal on HA (Home Automation). Someone mentioned Elk M1, so I had to google to see what it was. Some thread in that search got me here. After some quick reads, I have been looking for a forum like this for awhile. I do have several questions about HA and HS (Home Security).
First, how many posts before you can edit your profile. Here is the reason I am asking, experience from other forums says I need to set me location and equipment list.
Also, I am getting ready to explain a lot that when I post in other threads, it would be nice to link back here. I totally understand spam issues. There are those who sneak into the GJF.
My wife and I just bought a new house. It is a clean slate, no HA or HS.
So, let's start at the old house. It had a Honeywell alarm. The company that installed and monitor does it for my company, and they give all us employees a break on prices. So last summer we decided to get rid of the land line. So we had to upgrade the alarm for GSM. For a few bucks more we could upgrade to a Tuxedo panel. They told me that Honeywell is strong on HS not HA. They also told me that HA is addictive. They were right on both accounts. They also threw in a stat and garage door opener. I started buying some light switch devices. That's when I learned that Tuxedo did not support multi-channel switches. I had some rules built to turn on outside accent lights, turn on porch light (based on garage door and front door). That was one cool thing Tuxedo did, I was able to use the alarm sensors for my rules.
So around Thanksgiving, we bought a new house. Although we are the second owners, the house was less than a year old. It had no HA and has no HS. So then I was looking at the usual suspects, SmartThings, .... Tuxedo has spoiled me with local rule processing as opposed to cloud based. The neighborhood the new house is in does not have broadband. Our internet access for now is a slow wifi (AtLink). So local rule processing is a must for me. I have am a programer, and there was a thread where a guy used js.nodes to talk to a EnvisaLink. I saw this as a way of connecting to my future Honeywell HS. So as I was looking around for a wifi/router for the new house, I ran across the Almond. It wasn't priced bad for a wifi/router, but I thought I would try it first and if I never used the HA part, then so be it. The new house does not have any outside accent lights (yet). Before I left the old house I bought about 6 devices that I did not install, so I brought them to the new house. The Almond supports multi-channel, so I automated some lights inside, under cabinets and such, then on outlet outside, that I used for Christmas lights. Still do not have a HS yet. That brings me up to date.
I was looking at integrating Honeywell alarm via EnvisaLink using js.node to Almond, just like they did for Smartthings.
So now I am back on the market. I would like to keep the Almond, which by the way is the Almond+, but not against switching controllers. I would like to learn about Elk M1. How does it compare to Honeywell. If my guy is a Honeywell guy, can he monitor it? Do HS guy's only want to monitor what they install?
This is just my introductory thread, I will repost relevant parts in the appropriate forums.
First, how many posts before you can edit your profile. Here is the reason I am asking, experience from other forums says I need to set me location and equipment list.
Also, I am getting ready to explain a lot that when I post in other threads, it would be nice to link back here. I totally understand spam issues. There are those who sneak into the GJF.
My wife and I just bought a new house. It is a clean slate, no HA or HS.
So, let's start at the old house. It had a Honeywell alarm. The company that installed and monitor does it for my company, and they give all us employees a break on prices. So last summer we decided to get rid of the land line. So we had to upgrade the alarm for GSM. For a few bucks more we could upgrade to a Tuxedo panel. They told me that Honeywell is strong on HS not HA. They also told me that HA is addictive. They were right on both accounts. They also threw in a stat and garage door opener. I started buying some light switch devices. That's when I learned that Tuxedo did not support multi-channel switches. I had some rules built to turn on outside accent lights, turn on porch light (based on garage door and front door). That was one cool thing Tuxedo did, I was able to use the alarm sensors for my rules.
So around Thanksgiving, we bought a new house. Although we are the second owners, the house was less than a year old. It had no HA and has no HS. So then I was looking at the usual suspects, SmartThings, .... Tuxedo has spoiled me with local rule processing as opposed to cloud based. The neighborhood the new house is in does not have broadband. Our internet access for now is a slow wifi (AtLink). So local rule processing is a must for me. I have am a programer, and there was a thread where a guy used js.nodes to talk to a EnvisaLink. I saw this as a way of connecting to my future Honeywell HS. So as I was looking around for a wifi/router for the new house, I ran across the Almond. It wasn't priced bad for a wifi/router, but I thought I would try it first and if I never used the HA part, then so be it. The new house does not have any outside accent lights (yet). Before I left the old house I bought about 6 devices that I did not install, so I brought them to the new house. The Almond supports multi-channel, so I automated some lights inside, under cabinets and such, then on outlet outside, that I used for Christmas lights. Still do not have a HS yet. That brings me up to date.
I was looking at integrating Honeywell alarm via EnvisaLink using js.node to Almond, just like they did for Smartthings.
So now I am back on the market. I would like to keep the Almond, which by the way is the Almond+, but not against switching controllers. I would like to learn about Elk M1. How does it compare to Honeywell. If my guy is a Honeywell guy, can he monitor it? Do HS guy's only want to monitor what they install?
This is just my introductory thread, I will repost relevant parts in the appropriate forums.
