I’m looking for a solution to allow me to open one of two garage doors and possibly some other OpenHab functions from outdoors. I want it as simple to use as possible – i.e, enter “1234#” to open one garage, “1235” to open the other, “2468” to turn on the patio lights, etc.
I’d like a keypad so you don’t have to carry anything (or could be accessed by a neighbor if I’m not home), but am open to other ideas.
I’m leaning toward an access control keypad with Wiegand output, with an Arduino inside the building to decode the Wiegand stream and issue mqtt messages that I can use within OpenHab to select the desired functionality and perform it. I’m not concerned about security – if you have access to my network, the functionality is already there for the taking.
Does anyone have any experience with something along these lines? How has it worked for you?
This is completely subjective, but I don’t consider keypads with multiple codes to be simple. They are when you’ve just set them up, but as time goes on you forget any codes that you don’t use regularly…though this could just be me and my terrible memory. If I have to write down the codes and then refer to them regularly, or guess which code does what, then simplicity is out the window.
That’s true, but it should be noted that your insurance company may not feel the same way. A DIY solution might actually be more secure than a store-bought one, but it’s still a reason they can use to invalidate a claim.
Your keypad would have to be physically installed somewhere, which means that you’ll always have to walk to that spot to use it. So instead, how about putting some Z-Wave or Zigbee scene controllers just inside of your front door and garage? Then there are no codes, and you can label which button does which thing. If someone needs to access them, then they only need to be able to open the door or the garage. You’re only losing the convenience of “able to use them when locked out of the house”, and by having them at multiple entrances you can actually increase the overall convenience (versus having a keypad in one location).
My primary use case is entering the garage from outside. I have all the control I need from inside now. My garage doors unfortunately don’t support keypads (they are old, but in excellent shape because they were rarely used by the prior owners); I already have OpenGarageDoor hardware integrated with OH, so I can control them from outside via the phone app, but I prefer to have the doors down when I’m around back gardening, etc., and don’t always have my phone at hand (and there’s no man door into the garage). Codes for extra functions are really just for convenience, I doubt there would be more than 4 or 5 total, so I’m not too worried about keeping track. On our prior house, we had 3 overhead doors with a keypad, and used xyz1, xyz2 and xyz3 for many years, so the numeric code concept is well tested for us.
Gotcha. I assumed that there already was a garage-door opener available outside that was limited to only opening the garage door. Unfortunately, I can’t offer any tips on a keypad that will do what you’re thinking.
If I have to write down the codes and then refer to them regularly, or guess which code does what, then simplicity is out the window.