I purchased an ELK M1 alarm system which I plan to install in the new year.

 

The alarm system will be outfitted with its own complement of motion and door sensors.

 

With Insteon and ZWave motion and door sensors available, what makes the best sense for installing in the house? Are the sensors attached to an ELK panel visible to the ISY in real time when you purchase and install the ELK module? Are those sensors available to be used in scenes or programs? Or, is it better to use the Insteon or ZWave sensors in parallel with the ones already used by the alarm system?

 

I noticed that some security alarm systems use ZWave sensors now. Is it better to go that route and integrate that type of alarm with ISY?

I haven't looked at "alarm" sensors with Z-wave, but in general, professional alarm system sensors will be better for security than consumer-targeted Z-Wave sensors, while the latter works better in an occupancy sensing role, as alarm sensors often have built-in delays before triggering or re-triggering.

 

Commercial alarm system sensors often come with adjustable lenses and masking strips.  This allows the installer to adjust the coverage area (e.g. to eliminate false alarms from hot objects).  They are designed to be "supervised" and otherwise tamper-evident, security features not usually found in Z-Wave sensors.

---

Personally, all the sensors that trigger my alarm are hardwired to the alarm panel, then I forward events from the alarm panel to the ISY994 so I can use my alarm sensors to augment my small number of Insteon and Z-Wave motion sensors.   I use Insteon sensors where I want the sensor to be a controller in a scene, e.g. turn on a light with minimal delay.

Edited January 3, 20178 yr by KeviNH

I have to agree, be sure to use alarm type sensors wired directly to the Elk M1. I wouldn't trust Insteon or Zwave device for security.

 

Once you add the Elk module to your ISY, you will be able to utilize all devices in programs and notifications.

Thanks for all the replies. Good to know that the alarm sensor states can be used by the ISY programs directly.

Edited January 2, 20178 yr by matapan