Installing my first M1 Gold, looking for lessons learned and suggestions

[hotpuppy]

I've been lurking for a while, learning and reading.
 
My distributor is local, Automated Outlet in Houston.  They have been great so far, but I'm looking for suggestions based on the experience of other DIY and Pro folks.
 
The house is a 2200 s/f house with a detached garage.
I'm planning to use hardwired sensors on all doors and windows.
I am installing hardwired sensors on some interior doors for bedrooms and the office.  Mainly because I can and it may be useful in the future.
There will be 4 or 5 motion sensors and several monitored smoke detectors.  
I'm expecting an input expander in the house and then one remote for the garage to handle everything in the garage.
I am using a retrofit hub to split the bus.
I will probably wind up with a z wave interface to manage locks... haven't gotten that far yet.
I'm planning to use ducted mini splits and will want to control the thermostats if it's possible.... that will be via thermostats that can be controlled or dry contact.  
 
What I am not sure of is how many keypads.  My partner and I will use our iPhones 99% of the time to interact with the system.
 
 
I can see installing one keypad in the master bedroom.
 
In theory putting one by the front and back doors and one in the garage would make sense as well.
 
My distributor has discouraged me from using the touchscreen keypads.  I think they are nicer and less obtrusive.
 
Has anyone done a single keypad system and then used iPhones for your extra keypads?  Any regrets?
 
 

 

[RAL]

I would put at least one keypad near an entry door that you can open with a traditional key.   And probably a keypad at each door you would commonly use for yourself or guests.
 
There's always going to be a reason why your cellphone can fail.  Lost phone, bad battery, network problems.  As Murphy says, if something can go wrong, it will.  At least once, probably more often.
 
Also think about the times you are in the house and have the system armed in Stay mode.  Do you really want to have to grab your cell phone to disarm the system if someone comes to the door?   If you are glued to your phone 24x7, then it may not matter.

 

[drvnbysound]

I installed a couple of the touchscreens for someone last year; I agree with the recommendation from AO to stay away from them. They are nice in theory, but in my opinion they are too small. I'd recommend a KP, KPB, or KP2.
 
The KP and KPB are the same other than color and have an internal temperature sensor, which is a nice added feature. The back box of the KP2 is perforated for a SP12F speaker to be mounted; this is nice if you want voice announcements to come from the keypad location. A SP12F can be mounted behind a KP or KPB, but it does take more work...

 

[hotpuppy]

Hmm, ok... great feedback thank you!
 
So the touchscreen is junk... 
 
Ouch, I feel my wallet bleeding as the cost of this system climbs again.  
 
The problem I can see right now is how to power everything.  I downloaded the spreadsheet for calculating current consumption and I can easily get to 1.5A by the time I'm done imagining.
 
The stock wall-wart isn't going to cut it, but from the specs on the control it is current limited at 1.25A.  I saw a footnote in the retrofit hub manual on how to wire in auxillary power supplies.

 

[RAL]

One more suggestion on the number of keypads.  If you think you want to start with just one keypad, at least run cables to the other potential keypad locations while you are doing the remodel.  That way, if you decide you want to add keypads later, it will be painless.

 

[BaduFamily]

Keypads: we put a stock KP1 in the mechanical room ( which wife has named 'the call center' ) for local control of the M1.
 
The front entry, garage hall entry ( garage interior side ), master bedroom and lower deck entry have KP2s. These also have the speaker hack described above/elsewhere. )
 
The kitchen deck entry and garage side door entry have the M!kPAS single gange keypads. These are pretty descrete little units. I would of put one by the lower deck entry and not used a KP2 except that I wanted the speaker / announcement hack available for the lower deck.
 
Wiring: leave some spare & loose wire in the walls at your sensor mounts. Also, if you can continously check contunity while the drywall is going up do so. I was out of the country for that period of our project and a fair number of wire runs were terminated in the walls... somewhere. The lost contacts were then replaced by GE compatible wireless contacts. ( GE and Ion plungers. )
 
Audio: I installed 2 of the Speaker/Microphone units. You may want to look at those. I am currently working out a hack where I can mix audio output from a rack-mounted Mini back into these, to supplement monitoring via IP cams.
 
Motions: Spy-4 curtain detectors in hallway ceilings. very discrete.

 

[hotpuppy]

Great feedback Badu.  I'm planning to do the drywall myself and I'll be installing nail guards where the wires are.
 
The next major action on the walls is spray foam, which I again am doing myself.  There might be a theme here.... lol.
 
I managed to get the outlet in the enclosure live today and powered the Control.  Ran the first leg of the 485 bus to the retrofit hub.  My "standard" is Red is +, Black is Neg, Green is A and Yellow is B.  (my 22/4 wire is red, black, green, and yellow)... I figure the A and B are in alphabetical order which might be easy to remember.  
 
I'm planning on the "core" system on the main power supply and first bus.
Core is the control, ethernet interface, bus hub, input expander and the keypad in the master bedroom.  Sensors also fall in this group.
 
Non-critical accessories will go on a second bus, and a second monitored power supply, these would be all the other keypads, and any protocol interfaces (lutron / z wave /etc )
 
Third bus will be to the garage where there will be an input expander, output board, remote power supply, and a keypad.  Garage is 20 feet from the house, probably a 50 foot run, but it makes the system modular and lets me deal with the garage later.  I'm going to run a 1" conduit from the garage to the panel location because I am lazy and I want my wires in conduit.  1" is overkill, but I have it laying around and it's easy to fish.  I'm running all my ethernet drops in 1 inch conduit as well so that I can fish whatever in the future.
 
That leaves me a fourth bus that I can figure out later.  Who knows, maybe the protocol interfaces will wind up on that.  
 
What sort of audio integration do you have with the keypads?  

 

[RAL]

Garage is 20 feet from the house, probably a 50 foot run, but it makes the system modular and lets me deal with the garage later.  I'm going to run a 1" conduit from the garage to the panel location because I am lazy and I want my wires in conduit.  1" is overkill, but I have it laying around and it's easy to fish.  I'm running all my ethernet drops in 1 inch conduit as well so that I can fish whatever in the future.

 
When you run wire to the garage,  even though it is in conduit, make sure to use cable that is rated for burial.  Conduit won't stay dry.

 

[hotpuppy]

I guess that would be a good idea if the run was exposed.  The house and garage are legally (for insurance and tax purposes) "detached", but in Texas we build a breezeway from one to the other and the attics are conjoined.  Technically and actually they share a common roof and are structurally attached by a breezeway.  
 
I say 20 feet, it's probably more like 12 from the utility room to the garage.
 
The garage is uninsulated and underpowered right now.... Phase 2 of the remodel/rebuild is to add on to the garage, run adequate power through it, and insulate it so that I can keep it comfortable when I am out there tinkering with my hobbies.  

 

[RAL]

Technically, conduit running through a breezeway like that would be considered a damp location under the electrical code.  Over time, water from moisture in the air will condense inside the conduit, guaranteed.
 
For AC and DC power wiring, as long as you use properly rated wire (e.g. THHN/THWN), those wires will be fine.  For data cables, moisture can alter the impedance of the cable, even if it never penetrates the insulation of the individual conductors, causing problems with reliable data transmission.
 
Being the paranoid type, I prefer to run cable rated for burial even in this type of situation. Keeping the moisture out of the data cables means one less headache.

 

[BaduFamily]

The KP2's additional speakers are wired into the M1's Announcement thingy on the M1 motherboard.
 
THe speakers are additional in that you buy them stand-alone, excise the speaker itself from the plastic houseing, pop a knock-out out of the back of the KP2 and then screw in the speakers. This does require running audio cable to the KP2.

 

[drvnbysound]

The KP2's additional speakers are wired into the M1's Announcement thingy on the M1 motherboard [or to an ELK-M1TWA].
 
THe speakers are additional in that you buy them stand-alone, excise the speaker itself from the plastic houseing, pop a knock-out out of the back of the KP2 and then screw in the speakers. This does require running audio cable to the KP2.

 
Updated your response

 

[Del91574]

Technically, conduit running through a breezeway like that would be considered a damp location under the electrical code.  Over time, water from moisture in the air will condense inside the conduit, guaranteed.
 
For AC and DC power wiring, as long as you use properly rated wire (e.g. THHN/THWN), those wires will be fine.  For data cables, moisture can alter the impedance of the cable, even if it never penetrates the insulation of the individual conductors, causing problems with reliable data transmission.
 
Being the paranoid type, I prefer to run cable rated for burial even in this type of situation. Keeping the moisture out of the data cables means one less headache.

 
Conjoined attics, wouldn't be considered a damp or wet location, assuming it is not open to the elements and finished. If you were talking a special application, like a cooler or refrigerator in a warehouse that is unconditioned, then you'd have to consider condensation or the temperature differential between the spaces.
 
NEC says this: Location, Damp. Locations protected from weather and not subject to saturation with water or other liquids but subject to moderate degrees of moisture. Examples of such locations include partially protected locations under canopies, marquees, roofed open porches, and like locations, and interior locations subject to moderate degrees of moisture, such as some basements, some barns, and some cold-storage warehouses.