Always Ready Detection
The GoControl Glass Break Sensor (GB00Z-2) is a great device that covers the space between Door And Window Sensors and Motion Sensors. Door/Window sensors and motion sensors are essential for any smart home, but they do have slight drawbacks when covering windows. Window sensors need to be placed on each window, and motion sensors cover high traffic areas or areas of suspected travel, so additional motion sensors would need to be added to cover all entry points. A glass break sensor can cover a up to 24 feet of windows and won't interfere with normal daily activities of the residents of the home.
The GoControl Glass Break Sensor effortlessly integrates with any Z-Wave hub, app, and other devices to alert homeowners when a glass break event has occurred.
The GoControl Glass Break Sensor effortlessly integrates with any Z-Wave hub, app, and other devices to alert homeowners when a glass break event has occurred.
We put it to the test
We found the GoControl Glass Break Sensor also under another name; Utilitech. Utilitech seems to be the device of choice for Lowe's Iris users, so we got one of these to see how it rates against the GoControl. Our reaction is both devices are the same; more details below.
We found a lot of non - ZWaveProducts customers having trouble with this device, contributing to bad reviews. We investigated each one of these points, to tell if this is a device we want to carry.
• Owners of SmartThings, FIBARO, Iris, Vera, and similar smart home hubs stated that the device would not pair, or the user had trouble pairing the device (40 minutes plus).
While we didn't have the trouble others saw, our investigation did reveal two things. 1. Many of these devices come from the factory pre paired. 2. Removing only one battery kept the sensor alive, so the users were not able to exclude it. Our advice: When you receive the device, do a factory reset before enrolling it in your system, and for best practice use the Z Wave utilities function of your hub to exclude the device before you try to pair it to your system. With the batteries in, press the button 5 times in 5 seconds. You will see the green light blink repeatedly, followed by a long blink. Now you can exclude the device using your hub Z-Wave utilities to clear any residual data and then attempt a fresh pairing to your hub.
• It does not work with many security systems.
Any security panel that uses something other than Z-Wave for sensors, will not allow this device to trigger alarms. You may be able to use Z-Wave Lighting for your security panel, but many require 319 or 345 MHz sensors for glass breaking or door/window/motion sensors.
• It does not show up as a "Glass Break Sensor" on my hub interface/app.
Most hub manufacturers have not created this sensor category at the time of this blog's creation. For our tests, we were pleased to call this a door/window sensor. It put the window icon in the app and allowed us to arm/disarm the sensor. The sensor triggered scenes just like any other Z-Wave sensor should.
• It doesn't respond when I play a MP3 of glass breaking on my laptop.
This is a case of two issues. 1. To eliminate false positives, the sensor requires a thump AND glass breaking to trip the alarm. I wouldn't go out and break any windows just to test the device. However, some people on the internet got creative with inventing their own testing apparatus. 2. Like any other Z-Wave sensor, this needs to be a trigger in a scene. Get quiet notifications or sound an alarm; the choice is up to you.
The GoControl Z-Wave Glass Break Detector is a smart, Z-Wave-enabled glass break sensor that is battery powered. It is ideal for use in properties where vulnerable glass areas are at risk of being broken to gain access to property or premises. Combine it with other Z-Wave sensors, like motion, door-window, garage etc. to secure your home from all types of unauthorized entry.
If you have any questions about this, or any other Z-Wave device, please feel free to contact us. Thanks for reading!