Alarm System Central Office and System Upgrade Questions

I have a hard wired alarm system that dials out on a Verizon land line. I’d like to switch to a cellular connection (its the only reason I have a landline, otherwise I use VOIP which I understand is not good for alarm systems). The newer DIY systems that use cellular can’t do a backwards integration and I prefer not to junk a perfectly good system. Any ideas of who might be able to swap out my land line communications for a cell connection and what it costs? Also, my central office contract is almost up and I am shopping around. Does anyone have recs for other providers and what they cost?  Finally, I am wondering about swapping out my hardwired smoke detectors for combo smoke/CO2 units. Is that practical? I’d love to avoid changing batteries ever again. Thanks as always.

housepoor

in Alarm 12 years and 9 months ago

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200line | 12 years and 9 months ago

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We have been using Next Alarm for a little over 5 years.

200line | 12 years and 9 months ago

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We have been using Next Alarm for a little over 5 years.

200line | 12 years and 9 months ago

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We are in a similar boat and use Next Alarm (www.nextalarm.com).  They have a VOIP-like adapter that plugs into your existing alarm panel (with a regular telephone wire).  You then plug an ethernet cable into the adapter (and from there to your router).  As a backup, you can also get a cellular dialer from them.  Their central station monitoring is UL-rated, and we have never had an issue (they dispatch police, fire, etc. just like every other alarm company).  The price is a fraction of ADT, etc.   There are also a couple of side benefits.  For example, when our alarm goes off, not only do we get a call from the alarm company, but we also get an instantaneous email listing exactly which zones were tripped.  Generally, we get the email about 5 seconds before the phone rings.  We also get emails if our cable modem is down (since their service monitors its connection to our alarm)–thanks, Time Warner.  Finally, we can set it up to send us emails for other alerts (like when our cleaning lady turns the alarm on and off) and can see all alarm activitiy, including when people come and go on their website.   My experience is that the system is very reliable, but that Time Warner goes out from time to time (and my router and cable modem would fail if I lost power).  As a result, I like having a redundant cellular back-up.  The cellular just transmits alarms, but does not transmit the extra detail, like people coming and going.  I am not sure I would rely on cellular alone.

200line | 12 years and 9 months ago

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We are in a similar boat and use Next Alarm (www.nextalarm.com).  They have a VOIP-like adapter that plugs into your existing alarm panel (with a regular telephone wire).  You then plug an ethernet cable into the adapter (and from there to your router).  As a backup, you can also get a cellular dialer from them.  Their central station monitoring is UL-rated, and we have never had an issue (they dispatch police, fire, etc. just like every other alarm company).  The price is a fraction of ADT, etc.   There are also a couple of side benefits.  For example, when our alarm goes off, not only do we get a call from the alarm company, but we also get an instantaneous email listing exactly which zones were tripped.  Generally, we get the email about 5 seconds before the phone rings.  We also get emails if our cable modem is down (since their service monitors its connection to our alarm)–thanks, Time Warner.  Finally, we can set it up to send us emails for other alerts (like when our cleaning lady turns the alarm on and off) and can see all alarm activitiy, including when people come and go on their website.   My experience is that the system is very reliable, but that Time Warner goes out from time to time (and my router and cable modem would fail if I lost power).  As a result, I like having a redundant cellular back-up.  The cellular just transmits alarms, but does not transmit the extra detail, like people coming and going.  I am not sure I would rely on cellular alone.