Security panel integration as HAI replacement

[dth930]

I am a long time HAI OmniPro user who has finally hit the end of the road with my failing and no-longer-supported system.  I am also a UD customer from the early days and currently have an Eisy that I use for some Insteon and other basic HA tasks.

I'm struggling to figure out the best course of action to replace my HAI system.

Some of the things I have integrated with the HAI that I would need to duplicate in the new system include X10 and Insteon dimmers, Omnistat thermostats, Somfy shades, Russound CAM.

I believe the closest thing to a true replacement would be the Elk M1 Gold.  I could retain most of my existing functionality but it feels like I'm buying into a technology and system that's similar vintage to the HAI I'm replacing.  I realize that Elk plans to continue supporting the M1 for the foreseeable future, but it still seems like it has a limited shelf life.  Of course, I could integrate the Elk with the Eisy to bridge the gap for any new integration protocols and requirements.

The security and home automation landscape has changed significantly since I installed the OmniPro.  At the time, there were no panels with IP interfaces.  But now maybe I should look at things differently.  Rather than trying to replace the hardware architecture that I currently have, would I be better off installing a more traditional and lower cost security panel and use something like Envisalink to integrate with Eisy?  Then I would have a modern and more capable platform to handle all HA tasks.  Of course, this assumes that I can get the Eisy to support the legacy RS232 devices that I currently have in-use.  I imagine I may need to replace the thermostats and possibly the Russound.  Besides more setup complexity, the only other downside to this approach that I can see is that I'll no longer be able to run HA routines and macros from the security panels.  Anything not triggered by security events will need to be initiated by the UD mobile or some other controller.

I'm sure others have faced a similar design decision.  Where did you end up?  Are there any other factors that I should be considering when planning a path forward?

 - Dave

[dth930]

Following up on a message from a few weeks ago.  I have a failing HAI OmniPro2 security/automation system.  Specifically, the network connectivity is failing.  It doesn't seem like there's a simple replacement option, so it looks like I'm going to keep it in place for security and augment it with an Eisy for anything networked that needs to be automated. 

That being said, I'd still like to be able to see and use the security events from the HAI to trigger actions on the Eisy.  I'd also like to be able to control the HAI from the Eisy.

Is there a way to interface with the HAI via RS232?  I didn't see anything in the nodeserver list, but I'm hoping someone may have done this before.

 - Dave

[Geddy]

22 hours ago, dth930 said:

Following up on a message from a few weeks ago

FYI - I merged the two posts to keep things orderly.

Also moved into the Polyglot area to perhaps get some attention from developers. Otherwise you could contact UD via their website "Contact Us" and see if they could put the request out to the developer community to see if anybody has experience with the system you're using to consider future plugin development. 

[William Olsen]

Sorry about the late post I hope this reaches you, I've been using this platform as an installer for around 16 years, I also did some development with them a number of years ago. Quite a well designed, robust and reliable control with a ton of peripherals:

Elk Products M1G at https://www.elkproducts.com/m1-security-automation-controls/

 

[bpwwer]

Most RS232 devices can be supported on a eisy via a rs232<>ethernet bridge device assuming someone creates the plug-in for that.  That's how the Russound RNET plug-in works.

There are a number of security panels supported via plug-ins, but not the HAI OmniPro.  Not sure why no one has created a plug-in for that.  Likely it would have to be someone capable of creating plug-ins and who has an OmniPro that they want to keep using.  I suspect that there's just not enough demand to make it worth while for any of the existing developers.

I created a plug-in for the DSC IT-100 interface (the RS232 interface for PC1616-1864 panels).  This plug-in is in the non-production store as I don't think there's enough demand to even make it a production plug-in.  The Envisilink plug-in and solution is much better. I interfaced to the IT-100 using Global Tach RS232 to Ethernet interface.  I would think that an OmniPro plug-in would be similar.

[dth930]

Thanks for the additional feedback.  I've looked into the Elk M1G.  I know they say they have no plans to discontinue it, but it's almost 20 years old now.  Regardless of any formal plans, I'm hesitant to invest the time and money into a platform that has a limited lifespan.  It may become EOL due to parts availability or other issues.

I'm sure someone could create a plugin for the HAI OP2, but considering the fact it's no longer available and was EOL'd several years ago, it doesn't seem like it's worth the effort.  The number of interested customer is dwindling.

I think the Envisalink solution is what I'm going to go with.  It will be a lot of work upgrading all of my infrastructure, but I think that separating security from automation is going to be the best solution and the easiest to maintain moving forward.

I think I have solutions for most of the elements I need.  The main question I have now is if I can control the HAI Omnistats with the Eisy.  I'm pretty sure they use a simple RS232 interface.

 - Dave