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What you need before you start
This build has three essential parts: a Zigbee contact sensor, a Zigbee network connected to Home Assistant, and an alarm entity with an automation linking sensor activity to alarm state. Notifications and a siren are optional outputs.
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- Home Assistant: The system that will receive sensor updates and run the alarm automations.
- A Zigbee coordinator and integration: The coordinator connects Zigbee devices to Home Assistant through an integration such as ZHA. A contact sensor cannot join Home Assistant by itself.
- A Zigbee contact sensor: This detects whether a door or window is open or closed. Check compatibility for the exact model and the integration you plan to use; support can vary by device.
- A notification destination: Choose this if you want an alert on a phone or another notification target. The target and notification service depend on your Home Assistant setup.
- Optional: a Zigbee siren: A siren requires its own compatible device and pairing. Support for sirens as a device type does not establish that every model will work or expose the controls you need.
Check your existing Zigbee setup first
If you already use ZHA or another Zigbee stack, start there. Adding a second coordinator is not automatically a way to expand the same network; it may create a separate network or require a deliberate migration or coexistence plan. The steps below describe a ZHA build. If your existing devices are managed by another stack, keep the sensor and automation setup within that stack rather than following the ZHA pairing steps as if it were interchangeable.
For someone starting a new ZHA network without a coordinator, Home Assistant’s ZHA documentation recommends Connect ZBT-2. That recommendation applies to the coordinator choice, not to the compatibility of any particular contact sensor or siren.
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Choose and pair a contact sensor
Buy or use a sensor only after checking reports for the precise model and the Home Assistant Zigbee integration you intend to use. Home Assistant does not publish an official ZHA out-of-box compatibility list covering every individual device. A product being described as Zigbee is not, by itself, confirmation that it will pair or provide the expected entities and controls.
- Identify your integration. Confirm whether your Zigbee devices are managed by ZHA or another existing setup. Use the integration that owns the network you intend to join.
- Prepare the sensor. Follow the manufacturer’s reset or pairing instructions for that exact model. Keep the sensor near the coordinator during initial pairing if the manufacturer’s instructions allow it.
- Start device discovery in the integration. In the ZHA setup flow, scan for devices and add the device Home Assistant finds. If you use another Zigbee integration, use its own pairing flow instead.
- Give the device a useful name. Use a name that identifies the opening, such as “Front door contact” or “Kitchen window contact.” Clear names make it easier to select the right entity when configuring triggers and to diagnose a later alert.
- Test the physical contact. Open and close the door or window several times and watch the sensor’s entity in Home Assistant. Confirm that the reported state changes reliably in both directions before building an alarm around it.
What to check if pairing fails
- The sensor is not discovered: Recheck the manufacturer’s reset and pairing procedure, confirm that discovery is active in the correct integration, and review model-specific setup reports. Do not assume every device advertised as Zigbee is supported out of the box.
- The device appears but its state does not change: Check its placement and physical alignment, then repeat the open-and-close test while observing the entity. Do not proceed until Home Assistant reflects the actual opening state.
- The entity exists but is not recognized as a door: Check its device class. Home Assistant’s Door integration uses binary sensor entities with the
doordevice class. If the entity lacks that class, a Door integration trigger may not be available for it; use a normal state trigger or correct the classification where appropriate.
Confirm the entity and choose the right trigger
Home Assistant’s Door integration offers door-open and door-closed triggers for binary_sensor entities classified with the door device class. This is useful for a contact sensor on an entry door, patio door, or interior door when the entity has that class.
Do not select a Door integration trigger merely because an entity represents a contact sensor. First verify its entity type and device class. If the class is missing or unsuitable, use an ordinary state trigger based on the entity’s exposed state, or correct the entity classification if that is appropriate for the device. In either case, check that the trigger corresponds to the opening event—not the closing event—and verify it by physically operating the sensor.
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For multiple protected openings, decide which sensors should activate the alarm. Add a trigger for each of those sensors, or create separate automations if you want different responses by room or opening. Keep the names and trigger choices clear enough that you can tell which sensor caused an event during testing.
Create the alarm entity with Manual Alarm
Home Assistant’s Manual Alarm control panel integration creates an alarm system entity. It supports optional code checking and configurable arming, pending-delay, and trigger timings. This provides the alarm state that your sensor automation can check before it triggers an alarm.
- Add the Manual Alarm control panel integration. Use Home Assistant’s integration setup to create the alarm entity. The exact available controls and configuration depend on the integration’s current setup options.
- Decide whether to require a code. The integration supports optional code checking. Choose whether your household needs a code to arm or disarm the entity, and configure it accordingly.
- Set the arming time. This is the time allowed for the system to finish arming. Choose a value that fits how people leave after arming it.
- Set the pending or delay time. This is the delay before an opening event results in a triggered alarm, allowing for the entry routine you intend to support. If there should be no entry grace period, choose a setting that reflects that decision.
- Set the trigger duration. This controls how long the alarm remains in its triggered phase according to the integration’s configuration. Choose a duration deliberately, especially if another automation will send a notification or control an audible alert.
The Manual Alarm documentation lists global defaults of 60 seconds for arming, 60 seconds for delay, and 120 seconds for trigger duration. These are documented defaults, not security recommendations. The integration also supports state-specific settings that can override global values, so inspect the effective settings for the states you use rather than assuming one global value governs every case.
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| Setting | Documented global default | What to decide |
|---|---|---|
| Arming time | 60 seconds | How long people need to leave after arming |
| Pending or delay time | 60 seconds | Whether an authorized entrant needs time to disarm before the alarm triggers |
| Trigger duration | 120 seconds | How long the alarm should remain in its triggered phase |
Choose timings that match the actual routine and test them. A delay that is too short can trigger during ordinary entry; one that is longer than intended delays the alarm response. The right values depend on the household and how the alarm is used.
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The essential rule is: an opening event from a protected contact sensor should trigger the alarm only when the alarm entity is armed. Home Assistant’s Manual Alarm documentation demonstrates this pattern with a sensor state trigger, a condition checking the armed state, and the alarm_control_panel.alarm_trigger action.
- Create an automation for the opening event. Select the door-open trigger for a correctly classified door entity, or an ordinary state trigger for the sensor’s opening state if it does not qualify for the Door integration trigger.
- Add an armed-state condition. Check the alarm entity’s state before allowing the automation to continue. Without this gate, an opening could trigger the alarm even when the system is disarmed.
- Call the alarm-trigger action. Use
alarm_control_panel.alarm_triggerfor the alarm entity when the opening trigger occurs and the armed-state condition is met. - Include every opening you intend to protect. Add the relevant sensors to the automation, or make separate automations where different openings need different handling.
- Save and test the automation with the alarm both disarmed and armed. An opening while disarmed should not trigger the alarm through this rule. An opening while armed should follow the configured alarm behavior and timings.
Use the entity’s actual states and the integration’s available controls when configuring the automation; sensor entities can differ. The critical logic is the combination of an opening event, an armed-state check, and the alarm-trigger action—not a particular sensor’s raw state spelling.
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When to use a state trigger instead of a door trigger
Use the Door integration’s trigger when the sensor is a binary sensor with the door device class and you want its door-open event. If the entity does not have that class, use its exposed state with a standard state trigger or correct its classification where appropriate. Do not assume every binary sensor is included in the Door integration.
Add a phone notification or audible siren
Send a notification when the alarm is triggered
Create a separate notification automation that responds when the alarm entity changes to triggered. Select the notification service and recipient available in your Home Assistant setup, and include a message that makes the event identifiable, such as which alarm was triggered. This separates the question “should the sensor trigger the alarm?” from “how should a person be alerted?”
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Test that the notification arrives at the intended destination and that the automation responds to the triggered state. A notification is an automation outcome; it does not require a siren.
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Add a siren only if you need sound
An audible alert requires an additional physical siren. ZHA lists sirens as a supported device type, but that category-level support does not guarantee that a specific siren model will pair or expose the controls you expect. Check reports for the exact model and test its controls in Home Assistant before connecting it to the alarm workflow.
If you add one, create an automation that responds to the alarm’s triggered state and operates the siren using the controls the paired device actually exposes. Test both activation and whatever stop or reset behavior you plan to use. A siren is optional; the contact sensor and alarm automation can operate without one.
Test the whole sequence before relying on it
Test each stage rather than assuming that a successful pairing means the alarm is ready. Run tests with someone present to observe Home Assistant and the sensor.
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- Disarmed test: Open a protected opening while the alarm is disarmed. Confirm that the armed-state condition prevents the alarm-trigger action.
- Arming test: Arm the alarm and confirm that its arming behavior matches the value you configured.
- Entry-delay test: If you configured a pending delay, open a protected opening while armed and observe whether the system follows that delay before entering the triggered state. Test the intended disarming routine during the delay.
- Trigger test: Confirm that an opening while armed, with the applicable delay behavior completed, puts the alarm into the triggered state.
- Notification test: Confirm that the notification automation responds to the triggered state and reaches the selected destination.
- Siren test, if installed: Confirm that the siren responds as expected and that your intended stop or reset process works.
- Multi-sensor test: Repeat the relevant checks for every door or window included in the automation. One working contact sensor does not verify the rest.
Common design choices and trade-offs
| Choice | Use it when | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| ZHA with a coordinator | You are building or managing the Zigbee network through Home Assistant’s ZHA integration. | Compatibility and setup depend on the exact device; ZHA does not provide an official out-of-box list guaranteeing every model. |
| An existing Zigbee stack | Your household already manages Zigbee devices through another integration or coordinator stack. | Keep the new sensor on that stack unless you have a migration or coexistence plan. |
| Door integration trigger | The contact sensor is a binary sensor with the door device class. |
Entities without that class need a state trigger or an appropriate classification change. |
| Phone notification | You want Home Assistant to alert a configured notification destination. | The recipient and delivery service depend on your Home Assistant configuration. |
| Physical siren | You want an audible output in addition to, or instead of, a phone notification. | Device-type support does not establish compatibility or expected controls for every model. |
| MQTT alarm control panel | Your existing alarm setup already uses MQTT and you want to configure an alarm control panel through that route. | It is an optional integration path, not a requirement for the ZHA plus Manual Alarm build. |
Optional route: MQTT
Home Assistant’s MQTT integration supports alarm control panel entities and can be configured through the UI. Consider this route when MQTT is already part of your setup. For the straightforward build described here, the Manual Alarm control panel integration supplies the alarm entity without requiring MQTT.
What this build does—and what it does not establish
This setup connects contact-sensor events to a Home Assistant alarm state and can send notifications or operate a compatible siren through automations. Its behavior depends on the sensor, coordinator, integration, configuration, and the availability of the Home Assistant system that runs those automations.
The documented integration defaults and device-type support do not establish a particular contact sensor’s compatibility, a specific siren model’s behavior, or any measured improvement in security. Check model-specific pairing reports and verify the complete setup in your own home. No burglary-risk reduction, battery-life figure, or response-reliability rate follows from the documented integration features.
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