Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - New Construction Suggestions

My family and I are building a new residence in the South Metro Atlanta area. Consequently, I have the ability to prewire and select any alarm system and intercom we desire. I welcome any insightful recommendations, please!

Thank You,

Gary

First of all, home run each opening back to the panel location. It's more work and more wire, but gives you a lot more flexibility and troubleshooting ease.

Your choice of final system will have a lot to do with just how elaborate and intergrated you want the final system to be.

Some are a lot more DIY friendly than others.

This is really going to come down to what you want to do with the system and how much you are willing to spend.

Personally, I like the ITI line of products - Concord Express, Concord, and (if you really want all the bells and whistles) the Advent Home Navigator. These systems are simply the easiest to install and program out of all the systems on the market today. They all support wireless sensors in some way, and the Concord Express and the Concord RF systems come with wireless built-in.

The DSC Power series and Ademco Vista series are also great panels, but much more difficult to program.

As for intercoms, NuTone is good, but if you want the best, go M&S :)

Let us know if you would like more help designing, prewiring, and installing your systems.

Both Ron and Brandon have excellant suggestions for you, their knowledge is direct results of years of experience and the advice they give are good. My only addition would be that if this is a do it yourself project and your builder and codes people are ok with it, then there are a few small details you should know too. You don't have to home-run all openings but it is extremely, extremely recommended because it saves soooooo much headaches in the future especialy for troubleshooting plus any good alarm tech will respect you for this. Additionally, the wires for openings (door/windows) should have AT LEAST 2 conductors and your powered devices(Keypads, Motions, Glassbreaks, Smokes, Carbons Monoxides, Moisture detectors, Keychain Remote Controls, Telephone remote access controls, etc.) should have AT LEAST 4 conductors. Sirens/Bells should have at least 2 conductors. You should also run at least a 2 conductor for power plus a seperate ground wire. And don't forget a telephone wire even if you don't want it monitored(you may change your mind one day). It's always better to have more conductors than the minimums in case of potential dammage to the wires in the construction process. Coordinate with your builder to safeguard your wires as much as possible, Put them in blueboxes if possible but beware sheet-rockers and trim guys have a bad habbit of accidently cutting or driving nails into the wires. Make sure that they are aware of your wires and what they are for. Make sure your electricians don't hook them up to high voltage (it's been known to happen). It's also a good idea to run spares to the attic and crawl space (if applicable) for future expansion or if there are any accidents to the wires. If you are looking for a company to do it for you, there are a lot ot there. Your big companies like ADS, ADT, Brinks, Monitronics, ect. and even the mid-size and smaller guys usually do pre-wires for security in addition to other things, like home automation, surround sound, structured cableing, ect.. Do your homework! make sure they know what they are doing and have the licensing and insurance to do it. You do get what you pay for. Sorry for the long post but hope it helps in some way. :)