Sensors

I am new to the DIY alarm system scene.

My old ADT system left behind a recessed rollerball contact on both the front and back door. I have them wired to my new Elk M1 and they work fine. Is there any reason why I should replace these with magnets now or should I wait til they fault?

The old ADT system also left behind two wireless smokes, a glass break sensor, and a motion sensor.

My first floor is fairly large and I dont think the placement of the glass break sensor in the center of the first floor supports all of the windows (exceed 25' from sensor). I am guessing the answer to this is to add another one to th 1st floor. Agree?

To expand on the old ADT hardware - I was going to add contact sensor to the sidedoor and possibly add conact sensors to the 13 1st floor windows. The windows are all double-hung sash windows. Do you advocate adding a sensor to both the top and bottom sash? Anyone have any tips/websites on how to best install the recessed magnet sensors in windows? Does only installing a sensor on the bottom sash pose a security problem?
 
IncrdblHulk9 said:
My old ADT system left behind a recessed rollerball contact on both the front and back door. I have them wired to my new Elk M1 and they work fine. Is there any reason why I should replace these with magnets now or should I wait til they fault?
I actually installed the rollerball type contacts on my doors (new install) I dont know why I just did. They work just fine.
 
Just got done drawing out my house's floor plan ...

I have attached it as a JPEG and was hoping the experts in this forum could help me with sensor placement. :D

I am planning on adding sensors to all 3 exterior doors (maybe even porch door) and sensors to the bottom sash of all 13 of the 1st floor doudle hung windows (going to avoid upper sash).

In the JPEG I have indicated the following ...
- location of the existing smoke detectors (seem good to me)
- proposed location for glass-break sensors (3 might be overkill - I just want to make sure that the sensor can monitor all the glass - most seem to have 25' range)
- exisiting location of the ADT alarm (points directly at stairs - is this good placement)
- any ideas on placement for additional motion detectors? do I need more?

Also, does anyone have recommendations on which glass-break and motion sensors to buy?

Thanks
Matt
 

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If you have trouble viewing the picture I attached - just right-click on it and then select "View Picture".

Firefox seems to have trouble opening the file.
 
I'm personally putting in motion sensors in every single room, so I can tell which rooms have activity and which don't.

Less important for security, more important for future HA purposes, such as automagic audio/video/lighting control.

EDIT: Here's one of my screens that shows room utilization.
 

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IncrdblHulk9 said:
- proposed location for glass-break sensors (3 might be overkill - I just want to make sure that the sensor can monitor all the glass - most seem to have 25' range)
I don't think that's overkill... in fact you may choose for more. That 25' is usually limited to perfect conditions - nothing in between and clear "sight" to the source. If there is a wall, curtains, etc that could reduce that range, I'd opt for more.
 
I am worried that adding glass-break and motion sensors to all the rooms on the first floor might be an eye-sore. Any advice?

I noticed the glassbreak sensors that flush mount (cylinder shape). That would at least make it look inconspicuous. What about the motion sensors - any tips on brands, mounting, placement? I dont want it to seem like everywhere you look is a sensor on the wall! What are you experiences?

Any comments on only adding sensors to the bottom sash of double hung windows?
 
Hi,

I use the Visonic CLIP-1 motion units for HA. The size of the unit is 2 3/4" tall 1" wide & 1" deep. We have 17 of them in our home and they look & work great. Also their is ceiling mount PIR/GB combo unit out there. Will have to ck to see who makes it, unless someone here knows.
 
I have in-wall speakers setup throughout the 1st floor of my house. 4 are used for home theater and another 4 are used to pipe music to kitchen and game room. The speaker locations happen to coincide with the wall locations that I was going to place the glass break sensors. Is that a no-no?

Will the speakers trigger false alarms?

What happens if their is breaking glass sound on a DVD?
 
Do you have white ceilings? I used the Sentrol 5820's and they are all but invisible on a 10-12 foot white ceiling. DSC makes the Bravo5/BV500 which I was going to use but they are not pet friendly (no ceiling mount PIR is).
 
IncrdblHulk9 said:
Will the speakers trigger false alarms?

What happens if their is breaking glass sound on a DVD?
Generally No - usually they are looking for specific frequencies, etc. However, if it's loud enough (DVD on a movie turned up), it could.

I have a glass break in my theater and I can trip it with loud (very loud and intense) movie at right frequencies (glass breaking, machine guns, etc)

What I've done instead is when I put my house into Theater mode - my HVPro bypasses the glass break in the theater. That way it's not an issue.
 
I do not have easy access to the ceiling on the 1st floor (2.5 story house). So I am planning on mounting all the sensors on the walls. The best walls (in view of windows) are also the ones with the speakers. So I guess I will just have to try it out. Does the M1 Gold support having a "Theater" mode?

I have narrowed the Glass Break Sensor to one of the following ...

Sentrol 5812RND Round Acoustic Glass Break, 25' Radius #713
or
Sentrol 5820A Recessed ShatterPro II Glassbreak Sensor #719

Sounds like the 5812 is newer (ShatterPro3) - is it better? It is alot cheaper than the 5820 at AO.

For the motion detector - I was going to give this one a shot. I have a 75lbs German Sheppard. Anyone have any recommendations on a good Pet Immune sensor other than the one below? Does it generate alot of false alarms?

Aleph Outdoor Dual Technology 80 Lb. Pet Imune Sensor #1158
 
I am nervous about using motion sensors in my house due to animals (75lb german sheppard and two cats).

Has anyone used PhotoElectric beams instead of motion sensors? Are they easy to use/conceal? I saw two listed on the AO site - but it does not mention dimensions.

Attached is an update to my floorplan with the proposed placement of a beam (light blue circles and line). I would be using that instead of the motion sensor (green circle).
 

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