Doubled up connections to security sensors? was Re: Z-WAVE question

[Marc F Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 22:34:13 GMT, Frank Olson
<Use_the_email_links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
<Fby2g.60088$7a.59946@pd7tw1no>:

>We recently completed an
>installation where the customer (retired senior airline pilot) wanted a
>good deal more "bang" for his "buck".  He wanted to know status of
>practically everything in his house.  This entailed wiring relays in
>parallel to a number of lighting circuits controlled by X-10 switches.
>   This gives him accurate and up to the minute status on a specific
>partition display on his alarm system keypads, as well as on custom
>graphic displays located in his bedroom and office.  You could very
>easily adapt this to any partitionable hybrid (combination
>wired/wireless) security system out there.  We installed GRI PB-2020's
>in the door frames to monitor the status of all the dead-bolts as well.
>  It was a very interesting project, all-in-all.

What are the caveats to wiring two alarm systems in parallel to the same
sensor?  (This is different that what you describe above if I understand
correctly.)

My situation is that I have a complete, satisfactory Napco security system
for which the wiring was professionally installed long ago with the usual
mix of smokes, contacts, motion detectors, beams etc.

When I set up the HA system in this house 7 or so years ago, I tried to use
the built-in 'lighting vector' (aka "lighting path") feature of my
CyberHouse HA software. This uses multip[e sensors to determine the location
and direction of travel of a detected person  to turn lights on and off as
the person walks through a space. But the Napco firmware is slow in
reporting out through the RS-232 port to the HA computer. I've also tried
using Napco relays to follow the sensors but this was also too slow. So I
now I plan to use a different faster controller to create the lighting path
function and so would like to 'double up' on some of the motion detectors.

TIA  ... Marc
Marc_F_Hult