wireless home alarm system???

[CageFighter 236]

looking to install a new wireless home alarm in the vacation home. Anyone recc a brand? Honeywell? SimpliSafe, etc?   Not sure what is good or not.  Looking for appl via cell phone, control heating & touch screen.   Any insight is appreciated.  Havent found any recent posts lately. 

[CMJeepster 2,778]

I've got a Honeywell Lynx system.  I like it just fine.

[Newtonian 453]

What exactly is wireless? Is the main benefit of wireless that it still works if the power is out? This area loses electricity a couple of times a year. Interested. Are there systems that use a battery backup but are wired?

[CageFighter 236]

Im looking for a system that the sensors are wireless, not hard wired. I can use both, but it would take alot more time to hide all the wires to the sensors.  I thought the wirelss would be easier to install as well.  I think the panel itself is hardwired.  

[Shawnmoore81 623]

I have the adt pulse

[JonF 79]

I have a Livewatch setup with a Simon XTI panel with Z-Wave wireless lighting integration all with remote smartphone integration via alarm.com. I've had it about a year now and appreciate all the great features. Remote status check, arm, disarm plus remote control of lighting that you can also schedule based on time of day or by event (trigger, disarm, alarm, etc).

 

Install was super easy with the wireless sensors. Lots of add-ons that you can order from the outset or later to expand.

 

Zwave control is as easy as a plug in module for lamps or replacing a light switch for built in lighting. You can also get zwave compatible thermostats, door locks and so on to have a fully automated home system.

 

No break-ins, but i have had a garage door sensor trip under high winds a few times and response is immediate with followup.

[Barms 98]

Lots of wireless systems out there. But I don't think any have the ease of a Simplisafe with a video like Drop Cam ease. (Meaning no system does alarm plus video plug and play)

 

Also does anybody know about a wireless OUTDOOR capable camera? Both simplicam and drop cam are indoor only

[UNDERSCORE 0]

70lb Pitbull. Totally wireless. Very effective.

[45Doll 5,877]

Be sure to look at SuretyDIY. They use primarily 2GIG equipment. But the main thing is that their monthly monitor charge for a full two-way cellular connection with voice and all most all the features at alarm.com is less then $30/month. And NO contract. Their support is also excellent.

 

if you don't know it already, almost every alarm company is reselling alarm.com's infrastructure and network, and this is the best price I found anywhere for the full package.

 

The 2GIG equipment is non-proprietary (unlike Simpli Safe), so you can change vendors if necessary. I ordered a system and they set the whole thing up before it arrived. I just placed sensors wherever I wanted. I've already added some more stuff.

 

Do your homework before you sign up for a contract. And look at the total cost of the engagement over time.

 

http://suretydiy.com/    http://www.alarm.com    http://www.2gig.com

 

And no, he's not my cousin.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

Be sure to look at SuretyDIY. They use primarily 2GIG equipment. But the main thing is that their monthly monitor charge for a full two-way cellular connection with voice and all most all the features at alarm.com is less then $30/month. And NO contract. Their support is also excellent.

 

if you don't know it already, almost every alarm company is reselling alarm.com's infrastructure and network, and this is the best price I found anywhere for the full package.

 

The 2GIG equipment is non-proprietary (unlike Simpli Safe), so you can change vendors if necessary. I ordered a system and they set the whole thing up before it arrived. I just placed sensors wherever I wanted. I've already added some more stuff.

 

Do your homework before you sign up for a contract. And look at the total cost of the engagement over time.

 

http://suretydiy.com/    http://www.alarm.com    http://www.2gig.com

 

And no, he's not my cousin.

at the risk of sounding overly paranoid.........if you do monitoring through a site like this, aren't you generally exposing your habits, and your times in/out of the home?

[Dan 177]

Check out nextalarm.com. Been using them for years. They have their own system , but can also use other standard equipment.

[45Doll 5,877]

at the risk of sounding overly paranoid.........if you do monitoring through a site like this, aren't you generally exposing your habits, and your times in/out of the home?

Having a monitoring service is optional. You can rely on neighbors to hear a siren, or send messages to yourself and you can call the cops. That doesn't cut it for me.

 

The alarm service doesn't know if I'm home or not. Or my wife. Only the system status. And sometimes when we're home, the system is 'armed - away'.

[M1152 713]

What exactly is wireless? Is the main benefit of wireless that it still works if the power is out? This area loses electricity a couple of times a year. Interested. Are there systems that use a battery backup but are wired?

You have a couple of different wireless technologies in play. You could have wireless exchange between the panel and zones and from the panel to the Monitoring station.  The old way the system reported to the Monitoring station was over the phone line, now mostly everyone connects their system with either IP (Internet Protocol) or Cellular or both, we opted for the IP Bat or CBAT which is a Dual Path and does both IP and cellular. if IP fails it will revert to cellular, or you could connect it without and internet connection and it will always connect with cellular.  The CBAT does all the Phone App stuff but I don’t care about phone apps. The CBAT It connects to the keyboard terminals (four wires) and to the Telco connection (two wires), it works very well with Honeywell systems…

 

Each wireless zone has its own battery which could be either alkaline or lithium (depending on the device) which gets changed every two years or so. In the Honeywell Vista panels the batteries devices are supervised and will let the panel know it’s time to change them. It will show up on the keypad and if programmed your monitoring company will notify you as well. With Honeywell Vista panels wireless zones could communicate with the panel with either an add-on transmitter installed at the panel or a wired keypad with RF capability. The Vista panels (like most other panels) has its own battery back up in case of power loss, generally you stick a 12Volt 4 to 7 AH (AH=Amp hour) battery in the panel. How long it last is on battery back-up one of those YMMV deals based on the load such as hardwired keypads and hardwired motions battery AH and so on. If you have power issues in your area you could always add a cheap UPS to your alarm’s power supply, that would basically double your battery backup capability.

 

I’m not a professional but I have installed a few of the old Ademco panels over the years and I just installed to two Honeywell Vista 20P series system over the summer. Honeywell purchased Ademco a few years back. I like the Honeywell systems, they make great stuff and could be monitored by ANY UL Listed Monitoring Company which means you could shop around if needed when your monitor contract runs out. Otherwise if you buy a proprietary system you are locked-in with the company that sold it to you for monitoring.   

[Krdshrk 3,877]

70lb Pitbull. Totally wireless. Very effective.

 

He said Vacation home - aka a home he's not going to be at usually... Leaving a dog there would be negligent.

[JonF 79]

Lots of wireless systems out there. But I don't think any have the ease of a Simplisafe with a video like Drop Cam ease. (Meaning no system does alarm plus video plug and play)

 

Also does anybody know about a wireless OUTDOOR capable camera? Both simplicam and drop cam are indoor only

NONE of the alarm based camera are really any good for surveillence. They're marginal at best for grabbing stills but the framerates are choppy, the resolution low and general picture quality is poor. In the confines of a house with close proximity, you can likely ID known persons, but moving outside to low/varying light, longer distnaces and such and they quickly become useless. Even home surveillance cams with VGA/D1 resolution are not very good at getting quality stills. Ideally you'd want a separate dedicated surveillance system with HD cams that you can refer to in case there is an incident since the stills that the alarm will send you on a trip will be pretty useless. That may improve some day, but for now they are an expensive option both in equipment and additional monitoring fees that are not very effective.

[CageFighter 236]

70lb Pitbull. Totally wireless. Very effective.

 

i dont think my (2) cats would like the pit. 

[UNDERSCORE 0]

He said Vacation home - aka a home he's not going to be at usually... Leaving a dog there would be negligent.

 

Whoosh...