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OPTEX DETECTORS AT HEART OF HOME AUTOMATION SYSTEM

BoundaryGard Detectors from Optex Europe are being installed by a home automation company to switch lights on and off, draw or close blinds and trigger CCTV cameras to start recording – all as part of an innovative security installation that gives the impression that someone is home.

Finite Solutions, based in Leeds, designs and installs top of the range home cinema and home automation systems, including media rooms, CCTV and security, lighting design and control. In properties worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pounds, the security of the residence, its contents and even the inhabitants is always a primary concern.

Most if not all of the houses they have worked on have external CCTV and lighting systems as part of the security solution, but have a further requirement for a detection system that would reliably alert them 24 hours a day on a tablet or smartphone as soon as anyone was on their premises.

The same detection device needed to be integrated with the Crestron home automation panel to control internal lighting. Anyone approaching the property would activate the external PIR, in this case a number of the VX402 and HX40 BoundaryGard detectors from Optex Europe. This in turn activates the Crestron panel to switch internal lighting on and off and, where applicable, open and shut blinds and curtains and switch on elements of the audio visual system to give the impression that the house is occupied.

Finite Solutions chose to use the range of BoundaryGard Detectors following recommendations from one of their colleagues who had specified them while working at a previous company, as Matt Wayne, Design Consultant at Finite, explains: “Other external detectors were regularly producing false alarm activations due to environmental issues,” he says. “Also they would activate whenever the client’s pets were roaming around in the garden, or any other wildlife was present on site.”

The Optex Boundarygard range eliminated all of these issues, with a smart, small animal immunity feature and double conductive shielding built-in to each device to prevent activations due to weather conditions.   

Different tones were used to indicate activity in different areas, allowing the client to respond accordingly. The system also incorporated an automated part set, night set and an away set, giving the client fully flexible use of the system. Part set and night set activate additional internal sounders and switch lighting on in restricted areas, with night set incorporating external voice warnings and other audible warnings as a deterrent.

When the system is triggered and the owners are home, it will bring up the CCTV on the TV and control panels and give them the option to respond (turn on lights, go to their panic room, call the police) or simply ignore the activation and return to their regular viewing.

“The detectors are all working perfectly and we have no record of any false activations since the system has been installed,” Matt adds. “We are extremely satisfied with the performance of the detectors and are in the process of expanding and promoting this business model to all of our existing and future clients.”

Paul Nicholas, Sales Manager for Optex Europe, says that the BoundaryGard range of detectors provide reliable external protection before burglars get inside. “The VX402 employs multiple detection pattern technology developed by Optex Europe. This prevents false activations from small animals and birds. Two discrete detection areas are created and only when an intruder is detected in both areas is an alarm output provided.”