Marvin Lock Status Sensors

We recently replaced half of our windows and doors with new units from Marvin. We optioned most of these with Marvin's Lock Status Sensor system to conceal and hide our alarm system's hardware. Previously, we had the typical window and door sensors on the outside frames. If you opened the door or window, the magnet would move far enough away from the reed sensor,  letting the alarm system know of an open status.

​With a larger house and young children, this is especially useful. I can't tell you how many times the phrase "Max is loose!" is uttered in our house after he opens the patio slider to sneak out. We've also noticed that other people's kids act like they're raised in barns and just leave doors completely ajar or half-ass close them. In the middle of summer and winter, that's serious money going out the door. So our alarm system turns off the HVAC when certain windows or doors are left open more than 5 minutes. That said, get it together parents. Our 4 year old can close the door behind him -- your 9 year old can, too.

Old-style window alarm sensor

​While the sensors are very useful, they're not very aesthetically pleasing. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. This is why we opted for the Marvin system. It's hidden into the hardware, and it's open by design. Basically, each window/door has contact sensors built into the frame, with a pair of wires running to a compartment. If your alarm system is hardwired, you simply connect the window wires to your alarm's wiring during the window installation. If your alarm system is wireless, you can wire up the window's wires to your wireless alarm sensor. Stuff the sensor and wiring back into the door or window, and off you go. 

I learned a lot by reading this post talking about the system. It cleared up some questions that I had, but it also left some unanswered. That post mainly dealt with casement windows and inswing doors, but I had gliders and patio doors. Would it be the same? Mostly, yes. The gliders have a large area for the security sensor and wiring. I think the Marvin sensor specifications are a bit too strict on those. I'm using the Qolsys DW Mini Extended sensors in the gliders, and the DSC PG9945 sensors elsewhere. Why two kinds? Well, I prefer Power-G but the Marvin literature said the PG9945 wouldn't fit in the gliders. That's...a lie. The space up there is huge. It can easily fit a PG9945 if you trim off the excess 2 feet of wiring. Speaking of, Marvin gives you like 3 feet of wiring leads. It's not a problem on the gliders because there's ample space, but you'll end up cutting most of it out on the doors (it's tight in there). 

The PG9945 definitely fits into the glider frame. No idea what Marvin is on about. It's tight, but not unbearable.

Whatever sensor you go with, operation is pretty simple. Wire up the leads to the sensor, hide sensor and cabling, close up. For windows, it's great (except for our one miswired window from the factory). You don't see any alarm gear and things work 100%. The doors are...OK. The patio slider overall is fine. The inswing door only works on the thumb latch, it doesn't work on the multi-point latches (the vampire bolts that shoot into the frame). So if the multi-points are locked but the thumb latch is open, the sensor says the door is unlocked. Yeah nah the door is locked. Also, there's only a lock sensor, not a position sensor on the doors. I wish there were both. Again, shutdown the HVAC if the hellians leave stuff open for 5 minutes, but I don't want that to happen if the door is just unlocked (but closed). 

A couple of random notes on the hardware. The Qolsys sensors are easier to work with. You do need to drill out/carve out a hole in the sensor housing to route the wires, but that's super easy with a drill or multi-tool. I preferred to pop the sensor hardware out of the housing for easier wiring. Route the sensor leads through the exterior housing hole, into the terminals, screw down, pop the sensor into the housing, close up, done. The PG9945 sensors were harder to work with: screwdrivers required for opening (vs snaps on the Qolsys), pocket knife required to remove plastic over battery (vs pull tab on Qolsys), and a harder angle to fit the leads into. No deal breakers at all. I prefer the tech on the PG9945, but the Qolsys sensors were easier to install and work with.

Speaking of installation, you don't need your installer to do anything if you're using wireless sensors. Anyone can open the sensor bays with a basic screwdriver or whatnot. That makes sense if you consider that these wireless sensors have batteries which will eventually need replacing. The Marvin literature for operation and installation is actually very good. Read it to figure out where the sensors are and how to get at them. You'll also need to reference it for figuring out which alarm sensors to buy.

Removing the top panel is super easy with a flathead (in the instructions)

Everything tucked into the cavity before putting the trim back

One of the sensors disassembled. I think it's easier to handle this way, threading through the plastic case then screwing down on the terminals.

Tell the panel to use the auxiliary sensor in a normally closed state (as opposed to the reed switch)