As a long-time fan of smart home automation, I’ve always been on the lookout for ways to integrate different systems seamlessly. My latest project has been getting my Vista128BPT alarm panel to work perfectly with my Vera controller. I’ve got to say, it’s been quite the adventure!
Why the Vista128BPT?
Well, it wasn’t just a random choice. I’ve had my eye on Honeywell equipment for a while now, and the discounts we get at work (where I happen to work for a company that sells Honeywell, Interlogix, and DSC, among others) made it a no-brainer. Plus, I came across a Vista fast pack at a distributor that was practically a steal. The icing on the cake? Access to a huge warehouse of parts at work. Talk about a win-win!
The Integration Challenge
Now, onto the fun part: integration. From what I’ve read, the AD2USB seems to be the go-to solution for connecting the Vista to Vera. But I’m curious—are there other methods out there? If anyone has a different approach that’s worked well, I’d love to hear about it!
The main question I have is about granularity. Will Vera recognize each point individually? For instance, if I hook up all my motions, DPS, and ancillary points on the Vista polling loop—some addressable and others on 4193SN modules—can I use those motions as triggers in Vera scenes? And what about using the controllable outputs of the Vista in Vera scenes? I’ve got some pretty specific scenes in mind, and they’ll only work if each point is visible individually.
If Vera only sees armed/disarmed or alarm/trouble signals, it’s back to the drawing board. But if it can see each point, I’m golden! I’d also love to see a screenshot of what this looks like in the Vera dashboard. Does it resemble the Z-Wave sensors I already have, or is it different? Curious minds want to know!
Next Steps and Exciting Plans
Once the integration is smooth, my sights are set on PLEG. I’ve had a license for a while but haven’t figured out how to make it do much yet. The logic I want to build is pretty specific. For example, a system that uses a weight sensor pad in my toddler’s bed, a door sensor on her bedroom door, and house modes to control other Vera functions.
Here’s how I envision it working:
- When the house is in Night Mode and her door is closed, arm the bed sensor.
- If her bed sensor becomes unoccupied and her door opens while still in Night Mode, turn on the master bedroom light, master hall light, and send a notification to our phones.
This setup is crucial because my daughter is already quite the little escape artist at 17 months old. She can open doors and even unlock deadbolts, so having this system in place would give me peace of mind knowing she won’t wander off unnoticed.
A Call for Input
If anyone out there has successfully integrated a Vista panel with Vera and can shed some light on these questions, I’d be eternally grateful! Any tips, tricks, or screenshots would be fantastic. Let’s make this project a success together!
Happy integrating, everyone! 