Alarm.com has a new look

Have an Alarm.com account to remotely manage your security and automation system?  Well, be prepared – tomorrow, Jan 5th, you’ll see a new look when you login to your account.

Here’s the official announcement:

“Based on consistent feedback, you will see a new look when logging into your online account. Changes have been made to provide you with a more stylish, refreshed website to manage your security system settings. All of your account features and functionality are still the same. We hope you enjoy the updated Website powered by Alarm.com the next time you log in.”

Need an Alarm.com account?  Just contact us!

Home Control & Automation Made Easy (And Affordable too!)

Today’s electronics are really amazing and awe-inspiring (Awesome, if you will…) devices.  The possibilities of your average home electronics are endless.  You can do just about anything you can imagine with you cell phone these days.  Heck, why are even still calling them phones?  Voice communications are certainly a secondary function of “cell phone” in modern times.

Your home is filled with a number of high tech, amazingly advanced electronics.  You televisions, blu-ray players, home security systems, audio/video equipment, lighting control, and HVAC system are all modern day miracles of invention in inspiration.

Most likely, each of these systems, or as we like to call them, “sub-systems” are working great in their own little realm of your home.  Your thermostat keeps you warm and cool, your security system keeps you and your property safe, etc, etc.  That’s great, they are doing their job.

However, Vantage Voltage contends that it isn’t enough to simply have all your devices working.  No, a house full of working equipment just doesn’t cut it for us.  All of your gadgets need to be working together! 

Imagine using your iPad or other tablet to adjust lighting, blinds and your alarm settings while sitting on the couch enjoying a great movie.  Lost your remote?  No problem, just pull out your cell phone to adjust the volume on any TV in the house.

Working Together?  What exactly does that mean?

Well, it can mean any number of things, really only limited by imagination, and budget.  It means that rather then all your systems just functioning in their own little realm of your home, all alone, they communicate with each other and work together to do more then any of them can do alone.

For example, Energy Management:  This is a great example, as it can be done inexpensively and provides for a great return on your investment, by saving you money on your energy bills.  Let’s see how it works:

Your HVAC system, lights, and security systems all tie together to a central controller, or processor.  When you leave your home and arm the security system in the away mode, a command is sent to the central processor telling it that you have left the house and armed  the alarm in away mode.

The processor then communicates to your thermostat and lowers the temperature (or raises it, depending on the season) a few degrees.  This saves you money on your heating and cooling costs.

The processor also checks all the lights in the house, and turns off any lights that you forgot to turn off when before you left.  This saves you money on your electric bill.

In turn, you can also program the system to reverse these steps when you come home.  It can turn on lights when your garage door is opened, so you can easily see your way to the alarm keypad and not kill yourself on all the toys your kiddos left out.

How about when you wake up in the morning, press one button on your iPad or Android Tablet, and and have specific lights turn on in the house, your favorite TV or radio program turn on in just the right rooms, to just the right volume, and perhaps a coffee maker or toaster turn on to help you start your day?  All with one button.  Easy.

Vantage Voltage makes it happen within your budget!

We love this stuff.  We eat and breath automation and control systems, we’re rather geeky that way.  And proud of it.  We are also proud of our design team, and their ability to work up a great system for your home, at an amazing price.  The thing about home control and automation is that you can spend a little, or a lot on it.  It’s really up to you.

Our team will meet with you at your home or place of business, and discuss your needs, wants and budget.  Several options will then be worked up and presented to you, at which point revisions and changes can be made until the system is just right for you.  Our professional installation crew will then install the system in your home, and give you training on how to use it.  (Although you won’t need much training with our systems, they are very intuitive, easy, and fun to use!)

Our consultations are totally, 100% free, and our sales staff is NO-PRESSURE!  We just want an opportunity to present our company and capabilities to you, our company and products sell themselves – we don’t need high pressure sales staff to do it.

Contact Us Today to setup a free, in-home consultation.

New 2GIG Touchscreen & Firmware

Got a 2GIG alarm?  Want an additional touchpad keypad installed?  The new TS1 wireless touchscreen keypad is now available!  Along with the new keypad, is version 1.8 of the firmware, which adds some new features, such as backlight control, and silent arming.  You can view all the details of the new firmware here:  Version 1.8 Release Notes

This is a great add-on for your wireless security system!  Place an additional touchscreen in the Master Bedroom, or near another door the family often uses to come and go.  It can easily be placed just about anywhere in your home, and provides affordable convenience and security.

Call Vantage Voltage today to get your new TS1 installed, and to upgrade your security system to the latest firmware!  1-888-HEY-UTAH

Top Ten Reasons to have an Alarm

Top Ten Reasons to have a Home Alarm System:

• Alarms today do much more then protect, they also provide home automation and energy management features, and almost pay for themselves!
• Typical home owner’s insurance policies offer a discount between 2 – 20% for having a monitored alarm system.
• Nearly half of all burglars break-in through the front door, 32% via the back door, and 22% via a main floor window.  The rest are through other areas, such as garage, basement, or 2nd story window.
• The number of homes with an alarm system has increased nearly 40% over the last 5 years!
• 1 in 6 American Home Owners have invested in an electronic security system, and say they feel safer by having it.
• Burglars are more likely to break into your home during working hours (9:30am – 4:00pm), not so much at night.
• Your chances of suffering a break-in are greatest right after moving into a new home, as burglars know that an alarm probably hasn’t been installed yet.
• According to the National Fire & Burglar Alarm Association (Now the Electronic Security Association), homes without an alarm are 3x more likely to be broken into then homes with an alarm!
• The average loss from a break-in is $1,300.00 per incident!
• A burglary is committed in America once in every 10 seconds.  This adds up to 13 million homes, that’s one out of every 20 homes!

Don’t delay – CONTACT US TODAY to get your FREE or No-Contract Alarm Installed NOW!

The Three Types of Alarm Monitoring – Which is best?

Despite the fact that there are many, many alarm companies in the U.S., and that Utah seems to be the capitol of the alarm world, when you boil it all down, there are really about three different types of alarm monitoring to choose from.  We’ve done our best to summarize the choices here so you can see which type fits your lifestyle the best.

While we are a little biased on who we think you should choose for monitoring, we don’t really have a preference on any of these three types of monitoring.  They all have their place in the world, and we offer versions of all three.

1 – “No-Contract”

2 – “Contract”

3 – “Self Monitored”

 ”No-Contract” Alarm Monitoring Option

This option is just as it is titled – alarm monitoring without the burden of being tied into a long-term contract with any company.  Usually month by month, with some companies providing discounts for paying quarterly or annually.  A “contract” typically is required, in the sense of signing a document agreeing to the price, terms, and conditions of the monitoring, but not locking you into any specific time frame, the contract will explicitly indicate that you are on a month to month service and may cancel at any time.

This choice is usually best for those who already have a security or fire alarm system installed in their home or business, and are just looking for the monitoring service.  Very rarely will you find any company willing to give you a “free alarm” with a month by month monitoring agreement.

You will usually get the best service out of this type of contract, due to the fact that there is nothing keeping you from going to another company if your current company isn’t making you happy.  The same goes with price increases – if your monitoring company threatens to raise your rate, you simply remind them that you are free to change to any other company in a heartbeat.

“Contract” Alarm Monitoring Option

This is probably the type of alarm service of which most people are familiar with.  Typically you get this option when you sign up for a “Free Alarm” offer.  Much like the cellular telephone companies, when you sign up for a 3 – 5 year monitoring agreement, they company will give you a free basic alarm system in exchange.

This may be a good method for those who are on a tight budget, but still want the peace of mind and convenience of an alarm system.  In essence, this is a loan.  Your credit will typically be pulled, and if you qualify, you will receive a free alarm system, usually around $700 – $800 worth of equipment, up front.  You then pay for that system over time via the monitoring contract.  In actuality, the system isn’t free, you are just buying it over time.

Usually this isn’t a bad deal – in fact, Vantage Voltage offers these packages ourselves.  For around $15.00 a month more then you might pay for monitoring alone, you can “finance” a “free” system.  Not too bad.

What you need to watch out for:  Most companies, even once your contract is up and you have paid for the system, will not lower your monitoring rate.  The best thing to do is to cancel service after your contract is up, and sign up for a “No-Contract” monitoring option in order to reduce your monthly bill now that your hardware has been paid off.

“Self Monitored” Alarm Monitoring Option

Cell phones are barley even a phone anymore, you can do so much more with your phone then anyone imagined you could even 5 years ago.  The last statistic I heard, was that there are over 5 Billion cell phones in use, with only a little over 6 Billion people on the planet!  That’s insane.  But, that is the direction that everyone is taking these days, and why not integrate you alarm system into your phone as well?

With services such as Alarm.com, you can have your Smart Phone become a total control center for your alarm.  You can be notified of any system event, such as actual alarms, troubles, or status changes in your system.  Even with the system disarmed, you can be notified of a liquor or gun cabinet being opened, or notified when a child comes home and uses their code to shut off the alarm.

This service can be used to self monitor your alarm system. (But can also be bundled with either of the two options above.)  Rather then paying for a monitoring service, you can be the one to receive and respond to all signals from your alarm system.  This can save you money in the long run, as the service fee for this is typically half of what you might pay for traditional alarm monitoring.

Notifications can come in the form of email or text message, but there is also a free app for Android, Blackberry and iPhone.

Keep in mind, however, that you are it.  If you are unavailable, outside of the coverage area, or just turned off your phone for some peace and quiet, you won’t be protected.  With traditional monitoring, someone is always there 24/7 watching your alarm, not so with a self-monitored solution.  Also, a commercial fire alarm system cannot use this option – they must be tied to a UL Listed, professional monitoring center.