I'm finally jumping in with both feet and getting an M1 and have a couple few lot of questions before I place the order tomorrow.
A little background -
I am planing to use a SWB28 in basement and the kit SWB14 in the garage to allow for expansion(irrigation/???) down the road. Planning on XEP, XRFTW, and DBH. The 2 main keypads will be KPNAV and the kit keypad KP2 will be kept with M1 for programming(based on research/reading I've done this is suggested over touchscreens).
Now the questions-
A little background -
- I currently have an ISY994i with a dozen or so Insteon switches/outlets/etc...
- 2 story home has unfinished basement with wiring already pulled to both keypad locations(garage entrance and MB)
- 3 basement windows have wiring for impact sensors
- 2 of 5 main level entrance doors are wired as well
- 2 adults, 2 kids, 1 dog
- I embrace my inner geek and enjoy home automation
- Error tolerance is low so WAF needs to be high
- Self installed and monitored
- Remotely accessible with notifications
- Integrated with ISY to turn lights on when doors open, lights off when armed, etc...
- Monitor 5 entry doors, 2 garage doors(open and closed sensors), 8 main level windows, and 3-4 glass break detectors on main level
- Intercom/custom recorded messages heard throughout home
I am planing to use a SWB28 in basement and the kit SWB14 in the garage to allow for expansion(irrigation/???) down the road. Planning on XEP, XRFTW, and DBH. The 2 main keypads will be KPNAV and the kit keypad KP2 will be kept with M1 for programming(based on research/reading I've done this is suggested over touchscreens).
Now the questions-
- Will the TWSF speaker/mic combos be enough to do intercom from the keypads or do I also need the TWA audio amplifier? Would there be a benefit to use the TWA(3 zones of amplified audio)? Assuming you can only speak from the keypad location do I just need 1/keypad and then use the SP12F anywhere I need to hear the messages? I expect I'll need 2 per level so 6 total speakers and each floor will have 1 keypad.
- Will the Elk 120 or 124 drivers be better suited for my desire for custom recorded messages? Do the "4 and 8 channels" refer to number of recorded messages? Why would one chose one over the other? I believe the M1 has siren sounds so I don't see the need for the additional sounds of the 120 and preloaded messages... what am I missing here? The goal is simply to playback some messages for the kids as reminders.
- Which wired glass break detectors and impact sensors would you recommend? I prefer these to be hardwired as the wires are mostly run already.
- Will an Elk 6022 3 zone sensor work to monitor each garage door? I could easily hardwire 2 sensors to each door to know if the door is opened or closed but it seems the 6022 with it's two hardwired zones would eliminate the need for the long home runs. Either way I thought I'd use two wide gapped magentic sensors on each door to monitor the open/close status. Thoughts?
- XRFTW wireless receiver- what is an average range?Terrible question right so how about this: what is best practice? Should I mount it in SWB28 in basement or should I put it in SWB14 in garage near the main floor on the opposite end of the house? Worst case scenario I can buy a second XRFTW and cover both ends if necessary, just wondering what gives me my best chance of using only one.
- How should I power the remote SWB14 in the garage? P212s?
- Should I put a DBH in the remote SWB14 as well?
- I don't think I'll have enough wired zones to need a XIN or see a need for XOVR or RB at this point... am I missing anything else?