GENERAL ALARM INFORMATION:

I spoke with a gentleman that spent over 10,000 dollars cleaning up and repairing after a flood and he wished he would have invested in a complete alarm system and now he has one with flood sensors, temp sensors, smoke detectors that are monitored, COs and security.

Skip to the sections that you need information on and ignore the rest.

Insurance Company requirements:

Often insurance companies will require specific things besides just security for your home or business and many times it is more prevalent in specific areas.  

 

Some of these items can be Monitored Fire Alarm which can include smoke detectors, CO Detectors which are Carbon Monoxide,  heat detectors (Attic, crawl spaces, garage and kitchens) , fire sprinkler monitoring of the FLOW and TAMPER valves, flood sensors, temperature sensors if the home drops below 41 degrees so you can be alerted before the pipes freeze (when they thaw out often the pipes break and there is flooding).  Peak Alarm can install all of these items on your system either hardwired or wireless.

 

Other items that can be added to your security system:

 

Garage door control so you can remotely open and close your door from your phone. If you have ever wondered if you forgot to close the garage door this feature is for you.

 

Lighting Control or using Z-wave modules to turn anything on or off that goes into an outlet. Our President’s wife has a module on her curling iron because sometimes she wonders if she left it on so she can get on the app and make sure it is off and if it is still on she can turn it off.

 

Lock control so you can either use a numeric keypad or your phone to lock or unlock your doors. These locks will only work on specific doors so if your door is a specialty door we would need to look at it. These locks need to be put on a normal lock hardware opening and if the door is tight or needs adjusting that would be something you would need to have a locksmith do. There are batteries in these locks and these need to be changed periodically depending on use.

 

On business accounts and large residential we offer access control systems where you can have locking hardware installed even on specialty doors that will allow you to lock, unlock and add and delete users using an app. We have proximity cards, keytags, prox stickers that go on your phone and Bluetooth readers as well.  

 

Some locks use Z-wave technology so depending on the size of your home or business you may need additional Z-wave modules to extend the range to where you need it to be. The same applies to wireless security because repeaters are often needed on homes or businesses over 4000 SF or depending on what the home or business was constructed with such as metal walls etc…

   

Security items

 We have door status switches aka door contacts, weather resistant door contacts for gates or sheds, window contacts, varies types of motion detectors such as weather resistant for a garage, 360 degree, longer range and 90 degree motinos detectors. We have glass break sensors that detect the frequency of breaking glass within 25 feet and we have shock sensors as well. We have tilt sensors that can be put on paintings and we have other specialty items upon request.

 

Terminology among employees that work for alarm companies is often different than you may be used to and we apologize for this up front. When you say PANEL you may be referring to a arm disarm keypad and normally when we say panel we are looking for the headend which often has a large battery and it is in a metal box although with many new systems the PANEL includes the keypad, siren, cellular communicator all in one unit.

 

DMP and Qolsys will both integrate with CONTROL 4 if need be for home automation. If you need this make sure to let us know so we plan for it. Your AV company would arrange the programming of the CONTROL 4 and the integration.

Brands like WATER COP for main water valve shut off.

 There are different brands of water shut off valves that can be installed on your system. Most of them need to be installed by a plumber and then your alarm company can tie to them to monitor them as long as they have alarm outputs or inputs for that purpose. Some of these valves will shut the house water off if there are pressure changes so sometimes this can be a challenge if you are trying to fill a hot tub which would require you to adjust the settings or reset your device. There is not one set price for these so discuss the options with your plumber.  

 Qolsys has a water shut off valve that does not require that a plumber install it because it ties to the outside of the pipe and a specific valve type is needed for this to function properly. This valve will be activated when other flood/water sensors go into alarm but not with pressure changes. The price on this valve is less although the functionality is also different.

 Some differences between Qolsys and DMP

 Qolsys and DMP are two of the brands that we offer for security systems. Qolsys does a great job on most homes and small to medium businesses.  We typically use DMP on large residential and large commercial. Both have the 900mhz wireless receivers and transmitters available.  

 

DMP offers repeaters that are transceivers meaning they not only talk to the main receiver at the panel but they talk to each other and many wireless systems don’t have near the range because their repeaters only talk to the headend not to each other. DMP systems typically cost more.

 

Qolsys offers wireless keypads that use the WIFI in the home to operate and DMP uses the headend security system wireless on their keypads so depending on your application when you have multiple wired or wireless keypad often we will recommend DMP as the option to go with.

 

DMP has specialty keypad covers such as brass, different colors and different designs and when you want touch keypads let us know because DMP has simple work horse keypads or touch keypads.  www.dmp.com

 Qolsys website  www.qolsys.com 

Smoke Alarms are different than Smoke Detectors

Homes normally have smoke alarms that are 110 volt with 9 volt battery backup installed the contractor and there are smoke alarms put in each bedroom and in the hallways outside those bedrooms within 21 feet of the bedrooms. These typically are quite a bit less expensive than Smoke Detectors and they are not monitored so if the go into alarm they only sound in the home.

 

Smoke Detectors on the other hand are monitored and when they activate the UL listed Central Station that is monitoring your alarm will send the fire department.

 

There are hardwired Smoke Detectors and there are wireless Smoke Detectors

 

In business applications we cannot just install one or two smoke detectors because of fire code. In residential applications we can install one per floor or per area (normally every 30 feet) if you already have smoke alarms in the bedrooms.

WIFI Cameras verses hard wired cameras

Hardwired camera systems normally don’t include a monthly charge unless you have a full service warranty added which we can do so you will have a free app and you will need at least 5mbps upload speed on a hardwired camera system in your home or business.

 

WIFI cameras will need at least 2.5mbps upload speed at the camera location and  a110 Volt constant power outlet close to the camera location. There is a monthly charge of $10 per month for 1-4 WIFI cameras and another $8 per month when we add an SVR recorder to the system. When you just have the cameras you will get 3000 clips per month and once those are gone you will need to wait till the next month to get more clips so adding a recorder makes this less of an issue and allows you to search video with more ease.

 I prefer to install hardwired cameras wherever possible. When you have attic access we can hardwired a system or when you allow us to run the wire on the outside of the home if you don’t have attic access. We can install conduit or hide the wire under the roof line and then penetrate the home as needed to install the equipment.

 Monthly fees vary

When someone asks how much the monthly monitoring is the answer is that it depends. This sounds like a cop out, but it is not because there are several different services that you could have and different plans. As an example, you could pay a lower monthly rate although you would have a higher installation cost or you could ask us to pay a higher monthly rate so you install cost upfront is lower. When we add services to the monitoring such as cellular or Elite Control where you can arm and disarm remotely using your phone the fee changes as it does when we add alarm response for a guard to show up or when you add web access or other service.

 Alarm Response

 In certain areas such as Salt Lake City, West Valley and some other cities the police no longer will respond to unverified alarms although most departments will still respond to panic alarms. Some police agencies will respond to alarms although they will do it on a priority basis so it could take quite a while for them to respond.

 

Peak Alarm has a division which is Peak Security and in certain areas we will send a uniformed guard in a marked PEAK SECURITY vehicle to respond to your alarms. When we add alarm response you get 4 alarm responses per year and after that they are billed individually. Keep in mind that some cities charge you a fee upfront and if they have false alarms they charge for each false alarm.

 

We also offer KEY RESPONSE where a guard will show up to the home or business and we have a lockbox onsite with your key in it and we will check the perimeter and then enter the home or business to check on things. Example: If we found the heat was off we would report this and you can notify someone or a property manager to get that taken care of. When we find a breach, broken window or other suspicious circumstance we go back to the vehicle and call the police and we wait on site for police response. There is a different fee for alarm response and key response.

 

Notifications

 

With your app you can set up what notification you want to receive and which ones you do not want to receive it is customizable. If you have special instructions for us please let us know so if you do not want to be notified at 3AM for a low battery indicate those instructions on your emergency call list so we can make special notes in  your account because some people want to be notified for any item that could compromise their alarm system which protects their property and is a life safety issue.

 

Suggestions:

 

Install additional motion lights, trim your bushes and trees, have a friend pickup your mail and flyers that are put on your porch so it will not appear that you are gone. Have some of your inside lights on a timer to turn on and off at different times. (We can do this with the alarm system or you can busy plug in modules with timers for lamps)  Have a neighbor park in your drive way when you are gone. Make sure you get stickers for your windows and a yard sign from your security company. When you have sliding doors and windows get wooden dowels and cut them so those windows and doors cannot be easily opened if the lock is picked. You can also install security contacts on windows if you are more concerned with security when you are home.

 Repair agreement – Full Service Warranty

 When you have the full service warranty there is an additional monthly charge although this often is well worth the money because if you have a motion or other item on the system just stop working we will come out and fix it or replace it. This does not include acts of God or vandalism so if someone takes a hammer to your keypad or motion that is an insurance matter not a warranty issue. We will fix or replace items that stop working including batteries for as long as you are paying the repair agreement.

 

When you don’t have this added to your agreement then the current time and material rates would apply to service calls.

 Peak Alarm is one of the few companies that offer the extended warranty and also include batteries. Most companies will charge you separately for batteries.

 Product end of life

 Be aware that security systems are similar to cars, when you take care of them and perform maintenance such as changing the batteries, testing them and making sure the smoke detectors are cleaned on a regular basis they will last longer. Code recommends that your smoke detectors be changed every ten years for new smoke detectors. There will come a time when your equipment gets to a certain age that it will be at the end of it’s life meaning that the company will not longer support or sell replacement parts for that equipment at which time new equipment should be installed.  With phones that seems to be happening every couple years although when you take care of your security system it will give you many years of peace of mind and protection.

 

Phone technology changes that is why we had to change out the 2G to 3G and now to 4G

 

Having to make the upgrade from a lower technology cellular unit to a higher one has nothing to do with the alarm companies. The cellular companies took down all the 2G off their towers and that no longer functions. Any phone or credit card machine that was on 2G cellular has stopped working and the same thing is happening with 3G. Soon 3G will be removed from all the cell towers and those units will no longer work.  We have been contacting our customers to give discounted offers to replace those units. Understand that this is driven by the cellular technology and not by alarm companies. Our goal is to keep the customers happy so they will continue service so we hope we can help you with the transitions from one cell to the next each time with discounted rates on labor and equipment.

 

 General information on written agreements.

 

Typically the common Peak Alarm agreement is 36 months and it renews on a year to year basis after that. You can request that after the 36 months it will renew on a month to month basis when you are speaking with your Peak consultant.

 

We can do 24 month agreements or 12 month agreements as well or even a month to month although the installation costs will be quite a bit higher since non of the costs can be subsidized using the monthly.

 

Peak Alarm has no control if you maintain or test your system after the installation. Understand that Peak Alarm is not an insurance company so when you need additional insurance it is best to seek out an insurance company. It is your responsibility to test your alarm system on a regular basis to assure it is in working order and Peak is not liable if your alarm system wires were cut after the installation or if the batteries went dead etc…

 

 

Takeovers and expenses when you have an alarm company turn on an old system.

 When Peak Alarm takes over an existing alarm system understand that we plan on time to do this and if there are old parts that are no longer working we will alert you to this and get approval before replacing them. Often a motion detector will work for many years although the technology has gotten much better so it is your decision to change out old parts for new ones. Get pricing from your Peak consultant for any old equipment you want changed out.

 

If the old system has been powered down and when we power it up we find issues we will alert you to those issues. Often it is best to replace very old equipment with new headend equipment and new smokes, motions etc….

 

Brand issues:

 If a proprietary brand was used on an old system we may not be able work on it although some of the wiring may be useable.

 

One example is GE INTERLOGIX because they went out of business in 2019 and in 2020 we could still get equipment but replacement parts and panels are no longer available so we cannot support those systems such as NX8, NX8E, Concord etc…

 Alarm System Code suggestions:

 

When deciding on what four digit codes to use to disarm it is recommended that you don’t use easy to guess codes like 1234  2468 or 6969 or birth years such as 1982 or 1999 etc…. Change your codes often and have a different code for each person. If you are in a business and someone leave the company, delete their code right away. If you set up a code for a contractor, after they are done you can delete that code.

 

 Alarm Partitions

 

When you have an area in your home or business that you want to arm and disarm separately from the main system you can do this using partitions. You will need to let your Peak consultant know exactly what you want to accomplish so this can be addressed before the time of installation. Many people want to arm up the system all at  once and keep it simple and that is fine too.

 

Keep in mind that fire alarm, CO, heats, temp sensors and flood sensors are always activated and do not arm and disarm with the system so this protection is always on.

 

 STAY AND AWAY

 

When you arm in the AWAY mode then you leave the home and all the points will arm up such as motions and windows and doors.

 

When you arm the system in the STAY mode and you stay in the home or business then all of the perimeter points or items like door contacts, window contacts will arm up but the motion detectors will not arm because you are inside. If you open a door when you armed in the stay mode the system will go into alarm.

 

Delay doors can be set up so if you enter a specific door you will have 30 or 60 seconds to disarm. You can now arm or disarm using your phone as well.

 

If the door is not set as a delay point then the alarm could immediately activate.

 CONCERNS

 

If you are more concerned about security when you are away then some motion detectors in certain areas of your home and door contacts may be enough. When you are concerned more about security when you are home then you may want door and window contacts on every window and door.

 

 

SUBJECT:  ANALOG PHONE LINES VERSES DIGITAL VOIP PHONE LINES

 

Is your alarm panel in COM FAIL or missing self test signals?

 

 

Often when you are having phone line communication issues with your alarm panels it is due to switching to digital phone lines and then the alarm panel goes into trouble.  The quickest fix is to install a cell unit to take care of this.

 

1.       Analog POTS (Plain old Telephone service) traditionally have about 54 volts on the line and it is copper wire coming into your building and the line can be set up to be taken over when it needs to seize the line.

2.       Digital phone lines or VOIP lines will give you a dial tone but the voltage is much lower and often the alarm panels will not see 18 volts where they will see 54 on the line so they go into COM FAIL or communication failure.

3.       Typically the fire panel needs 2 analog lines and security panels use one and much of the time alarm panels will not work well with digital lines. Analog phone lines normally cost around $50 per month per line.

4.       When you are not paying $50 per line that is a good sign that the lines are not analog. Your phone company may tell you that they have converted them to analog although be aware that these digital lines that they tell you  are analog work well for voice calls but they cut the top and the bottom of the wave off so not all the signals are sent.

5.       We can also communicate over an AES radio or over the network although with AES you cannot arm and disarm remotely on your security systems and often the fire marshal will not allow fire alarm to communicate over the Internet since the internet equipment does not have UL listed backup equipment as is needed to meet code requirements.

A fix for this situation is installing a cellular communicator so you won’t depend on your phone line at all. Most of the time this takes care of the COM FAIL signals and gets you back up and running without missing test signals any longer.

 

The information above is basic information and not technically meant to be exact, it is a general information sheet. I welcome any corrections or additional information.

 

For more information you can do a simple search on the Internet and get additional information.

It is best to have a security company come out to your home or business and do an evaluation to determine the different options for you.

Larry@peakalarm

Company cell 435 710 7906

Personal cellular 801 898 6003