Evohome security yet ?

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  • doni
    Automated Home Jr Member
    • Jul 2016
    • 24

    #31
    Originally posted by rcopus View Post
    You take the fob to bed with you and turn it off when needed before going downstairs.

    Or disarm it on the iPhone app?
    Or buy another tag reader panel and stick upstairs somewhere.
    Ah, my wife might get jealous if I take the fob to bed

    In all seriousness, that solution doesn't work when kids are involved or when I'm in a dazed state in the middle of the night. A second tag reader upstairs may work if the tag is stored on top of the reader - but it does sound like it's asking for trouble alarm e.g. alarm going off in the middle of the night as the wife forgets to disarm it.

    I guess I'm over thinking here. How is this solved with other alarm systems. Would you typically only arm the door contacts, or have a separate key pad upstairs?

    Don

    Comment

    • rcopus
      Automated Home Jr Member
      • Nov 2014
      • 49

      #32
      lol!

      Theres no way around that type of problem this unless you have multiple fobs or tags for each person.
      You'd have to set all the sensors in the places you want to be able to move around in as disabled during a part-set if you want to be able to go from A to B without triggering the alarm.

      In a traditional alarm your problem is 'solved' by either every person having a PIN to disable the alarm at the keypad once its started the sequence before triggering the bells OR by having the relevant sensors downstairs disabled during part-set.

      Like you and depending on your layout of your home, I wouldn't be the biggest fan of having the majority of sensors disabled during part-set.

      I think you need to start treating this alarm system a bit like your car, it will require some level of authentication (in this case tags/fobs) no matter what, just like a traditional alarm system needs the PIN. In your case it seems its just the users that need to adapt to your new proposed way of security rather than forcing the system to work around the users (which is less secure in your scenario).

      Comment

      • The EVOHOME Shop
        Site Sponsor
        • Dec 2014
        • 483

        #33
        Originally posted by doni View Post
        Hi Richard,

        I'm still not sure that solves the problem of how to disarm the alarm in the middle of night.

        Imagine the scenario where you have door contacts on the front and back doors, PIR's in the living room, downstairs hall and kitchen, and upstairs landing and bedrooms. When you go to bed at night, you'd want to partially alarm the system so that the downstairs is protected but not the upstairs. Now if somebody needs to go downstairs in the night or the first person up in the morning needs to be able to disarm the system. They'd need to be carrying a tag with them (or keyfob) in order to deactivate the system.

        Perhaps I'm over thinking this, and a partial alarm would only cover the door contacts? But how does that alert you to somebody breaking in through a window (that's how we were burgled about 10 years ago).

        Don
        Ummm, let me try and answer the questions.

        OK, so if you had a 'normal' alarm system this is the same situation you face. However, as mentioned by rcopus with evohome Security there are a few options to disarm.

        So, firstly you can choose exactly what door/window contacts and PIR's are on partial arm from the TCC online interface.

        Also Honeywell do have a specific glass break sensor, but I am just trying to get an answer if this is active when the system is partially armed (I assume it is but just want this clarified) - https://theevohomeshop.co.uk/honeywe...nsor-fg8m.html

        Comment

        • doni
          Automated Home Jr Member
          • Jul 2016
          • 24

          #34
          Richard, rcopus, thank you!

          I guess the bit I get stuck on with the tags for a part-alarm is that you have to carry something with you. Sitting back and thinking about it, a traditional alarm would have a keypad which you could disarm once it starts bleeping without needing to remember to have something with you. Ultimately I think it's something that I have to try (training the wife is harder than it sounds ) and if it doesn't work we just don't arm at night - which would be a shame.

          Is this a general trend with alarms to move away from keypads?

          Other questions:

          1. What's the value of the GPRS hub. Is this mainly aimed at where you have a monitored alarm?

          2. Is there anyway to power the external bell box? I'm guessing the answer is no.

          Don

          Comment

          • paulockenden
            Automated Home Legend
            • Apr 2015
            • 1719

            #35
            We have a tag-based conventional alarm system (not Evohome).

            Our routine is that the last person to bed sets the alarm in night mode, and leaves the bunch of keys used (with tag attached) at the top of the stairs, on the floor.

            It's pretty much impossible to walk over this in the morning, so the first person up picks up the keys, and unsets the alarm when they get downstairs.

            Seems to work well, but there's only two of us.

            Comment

            • doni
              Automated Home Jr Member
              • Jul 2016
              • 24

              #36
              Originally posted by paulockenden View Post
              We have a tag-based conventional alarm system (not Evohome).

              Our routine is that the last person to bed sets the alarm in night mode, and leaves the bunch of keys used (with tag attached) at the top of the stairs, on the floor.

              It's pretty much impossible to walk over this in the morning, so the first person up picks up the keys, and unsets the alarm when they get downstairs.

              Seems to work well, but there's only two of us.
              Thanks - that is a pretty good idea. My kids are old enough to at least be educated in how to turn the alarm off at night. My wife maybe a lost cause

              Don

              Comment

              • G4RHL
                Automated Home Legend
                • Jan 2015
                • 1580

                #37
                Wonder if the iPhone can be used to switch off using NFC? Problem may be it disarms when you don't want it to because the phone remains close to the panel even if in a bedroom. Presumably you can disarm from the iPhone app?

                Comment

                • rcopus
                  Automated Home Jr Member
                  • Nov 2014
                  • 49

                  #38
                  NFC only works across a few centimetres so fat chance of that.
                  Theres also no access to the NFC capabilities of the iPhone available to developers anyway so it would never be possible.

                  Comment

                  • G4RHL
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Jan 2015
                    • 1580

                    #39
                    Originally posted by rcopus View Post
                    NFC only works across a few centimetres so fat chance of that.
                    Theres also no access to the NFC capabilities of the iPhone available to developers anyway so it would never be possible.
                    Thanks, I forgot that Apple at locked it up.

                    I wonder how thick the tags are. Some phone cases come with a slot for cards and perhaps one could be used for the tag - until it drops out and an unworthy finds it!!

                    Comment

                    • The EVOHOME Shop
                      Site Sponsor
                      • Dec 2014
                      • 483

                      #40
                      Originally posted by doni View Post
                      Richard, rcopus, thank you!

                      I guess the bit I get stuck on with the tags for a part-alarm is that you have to carry something with you. Sitting back and thinking about it, a traditional alarm would have a keypad which you could disarm once it starts bleeping without needing to remember to have something with you. Ultimately I think it's something that I have to try (training the wife is harder than it sounds ) and if it doesn't work we just don't arm at night - which would be a shame.

                      Is this a general trend with alarms to move away from keypads?

                      Other questions:

                      1. What's the value of the GPRS hub. Is this mainly aimed at where you have a monitored alarm?

                      2. Is there anyway to power the external bell box? I'm guessing the answer is no.

                      Don
                      The GPRS version will work without an internet connection. I'm not really sure what value it adds in an era where broadband is very reliable and mobile phone doesn't work quite as well as it should. I suppose if the phone line was cut then the GPRS version would still transmit on 3G/4G.

                      There is no provision to take a power supply on any item - they are battery operated.

                      I have tested the partially armed setting and the glass break sensor does not work when partially armed, which seems a bit weird. I have raised my feelings about this with Honeywell.

                      Arm, partially arm and disarm can all be done from the app.

                      Comment

                      • The EVOHOME Shop
                        Site Sponsor
                        • Dec 2014
                        • 483

                        #41
                        Originally posted by G4RHL View Post
                        I wonder how thick the tags are. Some phone cases come with a slot for cards and perhaps one could be used for the tag - until it drops out and an unworthy finds it!!
                        I just measured one and they are 4mm thick.

                        Comment

                        • rcopus
                          Automated Home Jr Member
                          • Nov 2014
                          • 49

                          #42
                          I guess an advantage to the GPRS model is that if you don't have your internet connectivity running on UPS's then in the event of power failure you can still interact with the GPRS based system.

                          Comment

                          • rcopus
                            Automated Home Jr Member
                            • Nov 2014
                            • 49

                            #43
                            Originally posted by The EVOHOME Shop View Post
                            Anyone up for a group buy? I would be willing to do a deal for AH members if there was say 10+ interested?
                            Can't say I need it or that its adding too much over the alarm I have which was installed as the house was built in 2014, but I could be tempted

                            As with evohome for heating, I just wish Honeywell were faster with the innovation/updates. Both the heating and security system have so much potential but Honeywell seem to keep the level of customisation/feature-set too basic, with the justification they don't want to confuse us dear users.
                            I'd also like to see the prices of the security system reduced, the price for an external siren is extortionate given how basic the technology involved is. I don't know any UK homes that don't have an external siren so the fact it costs almost as much as an entire Honeywell wireless burglar alarm system from Screwfix is ludicrous.

                            If they treated the security system a bit more like the heating system, a few 'relays' could allow the use of peoples existing mains-fed bells/sirens too.

                            Comment

                            • peterf
                              Automated Home Guru
                              • Jan 2015
                              • 116

                              #44
                              I’ve had the system installed for a couple of weeks. I very much like the convenience of the app as a way of setting the system and the tag reader is neat and a doddle to operate.

                              I agree that it looks expensive but a lot of the other systems appear to be subscription based whereas this isn’t and that needs to be factored into the equation.

                              A few observations about the system as a whole. Firstly the installation instructions in the box are pretty abysmal covering only the individual components in pictographic style, but fortunately the downloadable one on the Honeywell site covers the whole process. Secondly, the door sensors can only be opened from one end when it comes to battery replacement which restricts mounting options as that end cannot be in the corner of the door frame and the actual sensor is at one end of the device. Thirdly, I am very impressed by the sensitivity and coverage of the camera/PIR device, but the image quality at 640*480 in a large room isn’t really adequate for facial recognition. Fortunately I have other devices that are but they don’t sound an alarm.

                              Update.

                              Just a further observation. I just set the heating to permanent Economy over the summer. I've noticed on a couple of occasions that it's reverted to the normal schedule when I've used it in conjunction with the security part of the app. I'm not sure if this is finger trouble on my part, but I wonder if anyone else has experienced similar?

                              The app is slightly less responsive with the security component compared to the heating part and it’s annoying that it requires the input of a pin to access the security side which I think should be user configurable but it otherwise works fine.
                              Last edited by peterf; 2 August 2016, 07:31 AM. Reason: update

                              Comment

                              • peterf
                                Automated Home Guru
                                • Jan 2015
                                • 116

                                #45
                                Attempting to add a peripheral today and having difficulty. The web page on the Honeywell site that shows the current configuration apparently hangs whilst loading and only displays when the browser gets a timeout message. You can see the configuration behind the timeout message but have no option other than to reload and the process repeats itself.

                                The app is similarly un-responsive which is a bit worrying if you're relying on it to set/unset the system.

                                The issue is with Honeywell Support

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