Alarm.com & Smart plugs - not good

[u/MarcPawl]

Expensive, CA$65 per smart plug from Telus for z-wave plug; jasco 79244.

The connection to alarm system was flaky until I got support to do it.

The alarm.com software does not support delays, when you arm the system the rules enact right away turning on it off the smart plug immediately, without waiting for the count down to be complete

On loss of power the smart plug turns on, versus polling to see what the state should be, or last state if off.

[u/xyzzzzy]

My opinion but ADC is one of the best alarm systems but a mediocre smart home hub. They prioritize reliability, which is cool, but at the cost of limiting features and compatibility. I still use ADC for security but a mix of Homey and Home Assistant for smart home.

[u/talon_262 → u/xyzzzzy]

ADC is not an "alarm system", it's a middleware provider for panel communications and remote access; there's multitudes of alarm systems that can communicate through ADC natively (Qolsys' IQ Panels/Hubs, 2Gig panels, etc.) and add-on cell communicators/SEMs ('system enhancement modules' that combine Z-Wave [and sometimes wifi dual-path for some panels, IIRC} functionality in the cell communicator) for older-style pad-and-control panel systems (DSC NEO, Honeywell Vista, etc.).

That said, it is true that home automation through ADC is going to be, at best, basic to middle-of-the-road, but at least it's there and is often more than adequate for most people; power users would likely never be completely satisfied with it and will just either use a separate Z-Wave/Zigbee hub like Samsung SmartThings or roll their own with Home Assistant, just as you have.

[u/realdlc]

Zooz Smartplugs are less expensive (it looks like in CA they are about $40). They are also configurable to restore previous state, or default to off or on. (Via the setting of a parameter or, on some models, via button press sequences.). Check out the ZEN04 and ZEN15 devices.

True on the lack of a delay in controlling a light after an arm action, unless it is a lock, those actions can have a delay.

Edit: A small workaround to the delay issue - Let's say you want a light to turn off 1 minute after arming away. You could write the automation rule to: When Armed Away, Turn ON that light for 1 minute, then turn off.

Not perfect, because it causes the light to turn on first, but it will, in turn, have the desired delay effect 1 minute later. Of course this workaround's usefulness depends upon your use case.

[u/realdlc]

Also - Just found the Parameters for your Jasco 79244. Parameter 42 controls the default power on state, but Jasco offers no definition to the parameter options that I can find. So, you'd have to try all three options:

Parameter 42 Byte Length 1 Options: 0, 1, or 2 (0 is default)

Depending on your alarm panel type you may or may not be able to set these parameters. If an IQ panel, you'd need the dealer code to set the parameters on the device. Here's a link to how to set a Parameter on an IQ: https://youtu.be/og4gvH_Irz0

[u/HuyFongFood]

Use an actual home automation hub that interfaces with your chosen alarm panel.

Home Assistant, OpenHAB, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, etc.

With a decent home hub, you can use the alarm to trigger a “macro” (scene, etc.) that does the proper delay you desire among other things.