HomeKit simple home alarm

[jeyf]

appreciate in advance any recommendations:

looking for a SIMPLE home alarm:
-someone is always home
-urban area prone to a lot of early morning petty crime
-not interested in a monthly service
-keep things simple: no thermostat, light dimmer, camera...
-video camera is useless; police never carried through even when a neighbor had a license plate#


i have a few exterior home areas that I could place an IR Motion detector and make a big difference. Would like to have a couple of base stations in side the house to alert me or have my iPhone notify me.

maybe a modern hub based situation?

this old school setup might work:
amazon.com/Guardline-Wireless-Weatherproof-Detector-Perimeter/dp/B072BW6PTF/ref=sr_1_22_sspa/141-9241603-8296835?ie=UTF8&qid=1538324244&sr=8-22-spons&keywords=amazon+driveway+alarms&psc=1

 

[LiveM]

You mean an audible alarm, or would a notification do since someone is always home? An alarm is usually for indoor use.

Elgato Eve motion sensor is weather resistant. You can use HomeKit to receive notifications or trigger lights. They also have door and window sensors.

Netatmo has a great indoor camera and alarm. They also have a great outdoor camera with floodlight.

D-Link also has a good indoor camera with two-way audio.

 

[jeyf]

thanks for the reply

my bad not mentioned initially; but need 2 base units. a base unit to beep in the kitchen and another in a bedroom.

there is someone always home so if a base unit could just beep inside the house.
Nothing to loud since the raccoons moved in I anticipate false alarms.

homeKit based products would be fine but seems only a few products to pick from
something 5Ghz wifi would be good, maybe an associated app would allow the sensor to sound on an iPhone or iMac and no need for a base unit.
there are some old school propriety rf units for sale too.

An IR motion detector would work and yes we anticipate false alarms.
A neighbor has cameras and was able to give a license plate# to the police who in turn did nothing.

i want to know before they are in the house. Once engaged they seem very fast. The police are slow and have never taken less than 20 minutes to respond

 

[LiveM]

I would go for Elgato motion sensors outside. You can get notifications on your phone, and set whatever tone you like under your iOS settings for notifications. You could add an alert for doors or window being opened or closed or just check the status if you install the Elgato window and door sensors.

The Elgato products use Bluetooth so no hub but they wouldn’t work if you are not home and I would not expect an instant response plus you would have to be in Bluetooth range even when you are home. Personally, I use Phillips Hue motion sensors（not weather rated but that’s OK) which have an instant response, lower battery consumption and greater range as they connect to a hub via Zigbee. That also means lights are connected and I can set the sensor to activate them.

I also have my Schlage Sense front door lock set to alert me when it is unlocked or locked whether I am home or not and to turn on relevant lights. It can also be set to beep when opened or closed (as opposed to locked or unlocked) or to play an alarm if it detects some testing whether the door is locked / attempting forced entry.

I use my Apple TV as a HomeKit base.

 

[jeyf]

... I use Phillips Hue motion sensors which have an instant response, lower battery consumption and greater range as they connect to a hub via Zigbee...

-blue tooth is not a good match here
-just looking for motion sensors which trigger an alarm on a iphone
-again here there is always someone home

who's hub are you using with the Phillips Hue motion sensor?

thanks

 

[LiveM]

The Hue sensors are not officially weather-rated, but a version is pending.

With HomeKit you can set up notifications whenever it is triggered, even if you also get it to trigger lights and that is restricted to only at night or only below a certain light level.

I connect to the Philips hub, which connects to the router via Ethernet cable.

 

[jeyf]

... I connect to the Philips hub, which connects to the router via Ethernet cable.

again thanks for the replies.

wifi is where i need to go. I do NOT have access to the 2.4Ghz wifi band but other than that have strong excellent 5.0 coverage. Can the Phillips Hub and associated devices work over 5.0 wifi? Just a reminder i am interested in only IR motion detection devices??

 

[LiveM]

Do you have your own modem router for Internet access? The Hue hub connects to the Ethernet port on that. If you are sharing a neighbour's Wi-Fi and don't have a client such as an Airport Express set up as a wireless extender, and therefore cannot plug in a hub, you would need to use a Bluetooth sensor such as the Elgato one. Wi-Fi uses too much power for a battery-operated sensor, and has a short range, hence the Zigbee protocol employed by Philips.

 

[jeyf]

i have everything & more except just dont do 2.4ghz.
bluetooth dosnt have enough range.

ill look into the Zigbee protocol / Philips product tonight...
I do NOT want my alarm status out on the WAN side of my firewall. I mean since there is always someone home. Tho on the LAN side of things nice to have it notify a local cell phone for that person in the house.

by the way what is a good zigbee hub; easy setup & lots of configuration.


TKS!

 

[LiveM]

You will need the Philips hub or something like the Amazon Echo Plus with it built in if you are using Philips sensors or lights, et al, but by getting the discrete hub you will have better firmware support from Philips. There are no configuration options to worry about, it’s just plug and play.

With HomeKit you can set up the sensor to send notifications only if you are home.