There are a lot of different security systems on the market, and each of them have many different benefits. Since there are so many different alarms on the market, it can be really tough to decide which security system is right for your home. A very important aspect of your security system is going to be the control panel. The control panel is essentially the brains of the security system, and it is responsible for most of the features that are found with the security system. Since it is such a vital piece of the system, here are a few of the different aspects you should look for in the control panel.
Voice Over
A very nice feature of some of the best control panels is voice over. This is where the control panel has the ability to connect you to the monitoring station directly, and they are able to talk to you over the control panel. This allows the monitoring company to have a very fast response. In the event of an emergency, you are going to want to have the fastest response time possible, and voice over allows the alarm response to be very quick. Voice over also significantly decreases the odds of having a false alarm. Since the monitoring company is able to talk directly to you, it cuts down on the false alarms.
Anti–Smash-And-Grab
A tactic that is used a lot by burglars is to actually smash the security control panel, and then rip it off the wall. This would actually shut off some of the older security systems. If the alarm is not going for more than a few seconds, then the monitoring station may not recognize it as an emergency. You are going to want to make sure that the control panel you have has an anti–smash-and-grab feature. This actually notifies the monitoring station if it has been smashed, and automatically ensures an emergency response.
Cell Technology
Old systems would usually go through the phone line when there was an emergency. However, burglars would simply cut the phone line before breaking into the home, and this would disarm the alarm system. Make sure that the alarm system that you buy utilizes cell technology to call out to the monitoring station. This will ensure that, no matter what, as long as there is service to the cell chip in the control panel, your system will be able to notify the monitoring station.