Installing, Setting Up & Linking Hard-wired Devices in House Check

This article is an overview of information for devices hard-wired to the hub, which may be useful when setting up devices using House Check.

Hard-wired device basics

Hard-wired devices are devices that are physically connected to the hub for communication, instead of using wireless radio signals the way Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, and Insteon do.

Hard-wired devices are generally the most reliable devices that can be used in a smart home. They can be installed anywhere regardless of distance from the hub, or presence of dense barriers, and often can be continuously powered directly by the Devicebook Hub. 

The main draw back of hard-wired devices is that a physical wire must reach all the way to the device, which may not be visually appealing in situations where the wire cannot be hidden in a wall.

Hard-wired Installation and Setup

Install hard-wired devices according to the manufacturer's documentation. Generally, you will need to run a wire from the Devicebook Hub's GND and also a numbered zone wire to the device. Some devices, such as PIR motion sensors, may also require a 12V connection.

Siren - Note that only a single hard-wired siren device may be installed connected to a Devicebook Hub. One endpoint of the siren must be connected to the Siren+ pin. The other endpoint of the siren can be connected to Siren- or GND.

End-Of-Line Resistors - The Devicebook Hub is configured for EOLRs of value 5.6k Ohms. When you install devices such as Open/Close sensors and Motion Sensors with End-of-Line Resistors, you can specify this configuration when you set up the device in House Check.

You'll set up hard-wired devices to work with the Home Controller the same way you set up any other device: using House Check, in the Home Controller's user interface in your Devicebook App.

When you tap the "Set Up" button in House Check for any Wi-Fi device, Devicebook will ask you for configuration information about the device: Whether there is any EOLR installed, the zone number that the device is connected to, and whether any tamper zone has been configured. Then, Devicebook will walk you through finalizing setup of the device.

Common Hard Wired Device Setup Issues

I am trying to set up a Hard-Wired Device, but it is not appearing as a candidate.

1. Verify the device's wiring is secure.

2. Verify that the configuration of the device in House Check was set up appropriately (e.g. end-of-line resistor)

3. Verify the device is wired to the appropriate numbered terminal on the Hub, and that you've selected that number in House Check