New Home Construction...Proposed ELK System Diagram

[dxp178]

Just got done with the pre-wire at the construction site. Wow! That was a lot of wires!! I know I missed a couple of things, but I'm hoping I caught 95% of the things I wanted to do!

I'm about 3 months from moving in and I now wanted to work on my system setup. I've decided to go with ELK & CQC. First thing first...here is my elk system diagram.

What am I missing, what did I screw up on?

Thanks
Dave

 

[dutchyn]

Some thoughts:

• carefully consider whether cat5e is appropriate for a siren, I ran 18/4, and made sure it was fire alarm grade. In addition, the Elk sirens have three connectors, yielding a choice between yelp and wail sounds; you might need more than two conductors. Last, my understanding is that the Elk SS15 can take up to 0.5 amps, and that might be more than the 24g wire can conduct: there are threads about this elsewhere in this forum.
• ensure the phone distribution part includes an RJ-31X capability -- so the Elk system can seize the line if needed
• why buy an M1XIN if you don't need the zones? If you have future plans, they should be factored in so the wire gets in the wall, especially in light of the last point below
• an M1XOVR is overkill if you're only running two outputs, the M1RB will convert 8 of the Elk's onboard outputs to relays and cost substantially less
• what fobs/wireless devices are you using with the M1RFG2 -- make sure what you get are compatible [I remember something about CRYSTAL vs SAW].
• voice output is highly desirable -- you have no speakers listed
• two wire smoke is great if you only have one smoke detector; otherwise 4-wire smokes that tell you the location of the problem aren't that much more
• my security monitoring company refuses to accept outdoor motions as burglary zones with reporting codes: there are too many false positives
• it looks like you have four (or maybe seven) doors, but only three keypads/arming stations -- if you enter from a door without a pad, will you be able to get to a pad and disarm before everything goes off?
• I didn't bother with a UPS -- I calculated capacity on the battery for almost 24 hours of high-current draw; a surge protection is a good idea though: there are a few threads about whole-house versus individual protection elsewhere in this forum.
• check power usage carefully -- depending on the current draw for sensors, you might exceed the Elk's power supply ability: again, there are threads here
• overwire everything, unless enough areas remain open for the future (ie. basement and attic unfinished). I already need two more wires and we've been in the new place for 3 months: think about futures:
  • audio zones/speakers: get the wire in the wall (and test it) before they get closed
  • lighting control -- any hardwired system is impossible to do afterwards
  • presence detection (lights/sound move when you move rooms)
  • video distribution -- I wired 6 RG6Q from the commdecks on the roof so future satellite TV/wireless internet/cable/... won't require exterior wires running down the walls and more holes poked into the building envelope; I also ran flexible conduit between the AV cabinet and the family room ceiling so we can install a projector when they cost less than a pound of gold
  • irrigation -- if you think you might want it, get the wires (and water) to the right place when building
  • conduits -- I need another one between my attic and the basement rafter space because I've already filled mine :-(

 

[Ira]

I'm just now mounting the M1G hardware, LAN switch, data/phone modules, etc. in the enclosure (the house was "pre-wired" twenty years ago), so I'm a little bit ahead of you. I've also purchased CQC. My questions...

1. Why are you connecting the CQC box via RS-232 instead of getting the Elk ethernet adapter and connecting that way? I've always assumed that CQC could talk to the M1G via the network, but maybe I'm wrong on that. Are you planning on using the two Elk software products, and if so, can they communicate via RS-232? I don't know the answer to that and I'm too lazy to look it up.

2. If you are planning to have a DSL connection, you may want to get a "ADSL filter/phone surge module" with a RJ-31x jack like the Channel Vision P-0411. It makes easy work of sorting out the phone line(s) with respect to the various types of connections (DSL/security/phone).

I got a TrippLite AV550SC UPS for my system. Delivered a few hours ago. Since I have the M1G connected to my LAN via a switch in the same enclosure, I want to ensure that other components besides the M1G have backup power -- the LAN switch, the M1G ethernet adapter. As mentioned in another thread, there are other (some cheaper) options such as getting a power supply with a battery backup, but that's a little more difficult if the devices use different voltages. I doubt I will plug the M1G into the UPS since it has its own battery. The downsides of the AV550SC that I can see immediately is that the battery is not documented as user-replaceable. Since opening the cover to find out for sure will void the warranty, I have to wait until the warranty is out before cracking it open. It does not have an outlet that has surge suppression but no battery backup on it like some UPS's do. If it did, I probably would have plugged the M1G into it for the protection. It does fit nicely into the typical enclosure (bottom left corner, preferably). I'm using a 50" enclosure for all the components and a 19" enclosure below it in the same wall cavity for the UPS, battery, wall warts, etc.

Ira

 

[dxp178]

This is the type of feedback I was looking for...thanks IRA...I just added the Ethernet adapter to my layout...Thanks!

 

[sic0048]

The ELK can only communicate to one program at a time. So if you are using the ELK RM software, the CQC driver will automatically disconnect until the Elk software terminates and the CQC driver can reconnect.

If you are using the ELK ethernet connection, this happens automatically. You can also do the same thing with the built in Elk serial connection, but you would physically have to disconnect the serial cord and swap ports - one for the ELK RM software and one for the CQC software.

In the beginning when you are constantly tweaking and making changes via the ELK RM, you'll be glad you spent the extra money for the ethernet connection.

 

[cornutt]

Make provision on the phone wiring so that you can have two lines, and be able to connect either one to your RJ31X for the Elk. This way, you can decide now or later if you want to get a second line to put the Elk on. We have ours set up that way; all of the house phones are on one line, and the system is on a second line that it only shares with a speakerphone in the office. This way, in an emergency, we can still make calls if necessary while the system is dialing out. Also, if an intruder picks up the phone to see if the line has been seized, they won't hear that, and so they won't know the system is dialing out.

 

[cornutt]

(the house was "pre-wired" twenty years ago)

Twenty years ago? What did they put in?

 

[mustangcoupe]

I see you are putting the ELK on a UPS, this is fine but now the ELK will not know if there is a power outage and report it to the CS or you. Consider removing the UPS OR adding a wall wort and relay connected to a zone to indicate a AC Mains power loss.

 

[Ira]

(the house was "pre-wired" twenty years ago)

Twenty years ago? What did they put in?

"They" was me. I wired all the doors and windows. Ran wires for several keypads. Ran wires for smokes, heat sensors, and an alarm. I actually purchased a full blown Moose security system at the time, but after spending a year as general contractor and electrician on the house, I never got back the motivation to hook it up. It's still in the original box in the closet. I live in a very low crime area, so we never really cared about not having a security system. After moving into the home, I kinda ignored everything that had to do with security systems and HA, because the few things I did notice didn't interest me very much and usually sounded pretty unreliable. A year or so ago, I started looking into monitoring/automating some things like energy usage, my water well system, irrigation system, standby genset, etc., and that brought me here and got me interested in doing a few things. I will end up hooking up the security parts since it will be easy enough to do, but that stuff is more of a side benefit for me.

Back then, I didn't even think about wiring for networking, even though I've been in the software business since the late seventies. I was smart enough to homerun all of my phone wires and TV cable, although the coax is all RG59 and the phone wire is just regular two pair. I've got a lot of attic access (one story home), so I've replaced most of the coax/phone wire with the good stuff wherever it is actually being used.

Ira

 

[gacevich]

This is the type of feedback I was looking for...thanks IRA...I just added the Ethernet adapter to my layout...Thanks!

+1 on the ethernet adapter. your system looks a lot like mine...elk, cqc, aprilaire. i just us elk battery for ups. do you have doorbell detector or telephone call detector. these are two events that you may want to use as triggers for other actions.

 

[ewiz]

Awesome thread. I'm in the same position. Watching this closely now. I thought one could send a list of sensors/keypads and other basic data to a reseller and they would suggest the parts list. Did you also go this route or are relying on the feedback here primarily? As much feedback as possible is obviously great. Just wondering.

 

[pete_c]

During construction in FL as noted above I added RG6 (4) on one side and after a bit of a site survey for a satellite window for DTV. I did it for the same reason as noted above and used these cables for initial setup. (these were located on the W facing wall with a S / N exposure up high). On the other side of the home (where the telephone and electric came in) I ran two more leads of RG6. One I used for an antenna and the other if I ever needed cable. I ended up switching from DTV to FIOS and ended up using the cables installed. If you every want to use external Video security / motion detection you might want to consider more cables. Along with your external sounder you may also want to add a strobe light (and cable for it).