Tag Archives: SMARTHOME

Blog: You have a leak… What’s next?

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You were smart and added flood/leak detectors all throughout your house. Do you have one under the kitchen sink, each of the bathroom sinks, near your water heater, and even one behind the fridge.
Then comes the dreaded notification on your phone: leak detected, kitchen sink. Questions race through your mind: now what? How bad is it? Why did that happen? has it ruined anything irreplaceable?  Is my insurance going to cover it?  As these questions raced through your mind inevitably you come down to one very important question: what’s next?
You could begin by racing home (if you’re not there already) and checking on things. Maybe you already know how to turn the water off on your sink, maybe you’re calling a plumber as you drive.  What you WANT to do is stop the water from flowing, but how?  Enter IQ water valve. Installs in just minutes over your Water main, no plumber required. Pairs wirelessly with the IQ panel using Z wave plus 700 series, the fastest and best Z wave connectivity yet.  Now, when One of your water sensors detects a leak, that shuts off the water to the entire house.  The only water that gets on the floor: only what was left in the pipes, and that’s easy to clean up.

Blog: Saving Construction Power for Builders

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Constructing a new house requires power, and subcontractors are rarely concerned about managing it effectively. Once lights are installed it’s common to see them left on for hours if not days. HVAC contractors install heating and air-conditioning ducts, units, and thermostats and then leave them running.  The heater is off and cranked up to dry the mud and tape placed over the seams of the drywall, but rarely turned back down again. All of these add up two increase the construction power paid for by the builder.
Using IQ panel in the early stages of your finish work can significantly reduce The energy Used with our “vacant home used with our “vacant home” feature. Before an interactive account has been activated, The IQ panel can automatically turn off smart lights, adjusting thermostat to Energy conservative levels, and even make the home more secure by locking the front door. Even a single home can use a lot of energy when all the lights are on and the heater or air conditioner is “blasting“ for days on end, and for builders constructing large numbers of homes, the savings add up quick.

Blog: PowerG long range security and life safety sensor technology

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PowerG wireless technology is the best way to ensure your security and life safety devices perform at their peak efficiency.  With ultra long range, these devices boast the industry’s best encryption and feature two way communication for battery efficiency and remote troubleshooting, saving you a technician visit and getting results fast.  With over 60 available channels these devices automatically avoid interference, eliminating hackers ability to jam the system and ensuring you always have a clean fast signal.  With the ultra long range these can easily replace wired sensors without the need to run conduit, rent forklifts, or run wires through existing walls, saving time and money on each job.  Rated for residential or commercial use and with a robust portfolio covering a variety of use cases you’ll always have the solution you need.

Blog: Upgrading to LTE

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AT&T will stop using their 3G cellular towers in February 2022.  Verizon will cease their 3G support shortly after that.  In Canada, 2G cellular technology will stop by the end of 2021.  We call it the 2G/3G sunset, and like the actual sunset at the end of the day, it’s a gradual decline, not a point in time.  These towers are already starting to come down, and entire cities are finding themselves without 2G/3G cellular connectivity.

In the past security system used landline phone connections to send their signals, but over the past 10 years, security industry manufacturers and installers have relied heavily on 2G/3G cellular technology to keep their systems connected.  As the industry faces the 2G/3G sunset everyone recognizes a massive workload ahead of them: Millions of end users face the possibility of owning a system that no longer has the capability to contact their monitoring center unless action is taken.

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Blog: 2020 Has One Final Gift

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For money 2020 has been the worst year in their entire existence. Covid-19 has hit some areas hard, resulting in pay reductions, job loss, and even the passing of loved ones. Combine that with raging forest fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and other natural disasters and it’s no surprise that many are excited to bid this year adeu.
2020 has one last gift for all of us: New Year’s Eve. It’s the holiday celebrated around the world that will have more significance this year than any before it. As you think of your resolutions and what 2021 might bring, consider adding these to the list:
-Be kinder to strangers. You don’t know what struggles other people are having, and perhaps a kind word from you will be the best thing that happens to them all week.
-Embrace your technology. From smart phones to smart homes, we have technology to make our lives safer, easier, and energy efficient. Don’t push against it or save it for tomorrow, get it set up now so you can start the year right.
-Choose happiness. One of our favorite quotes from an unknown author is “life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you choose to react.” We believe that no matter how difficult the situation, you can choose to be positive, find the good, and move forward.  There’s always a little lemonade in that bowl of lemons if you choose to look for it.
No matter how challenging 2020 has been for you, remember it has one last gift to give: a fresh start on January 1, 2021.

Blog: The Nightly Shutdown

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During the holiday season many of us decorate with strands of lights on a tree, around the house and even on the exterior. These decorations can help us bring excitement and joy to those around us, but even the most energy efficient lights still require energy we wouldn’t normally use during the rest of the year. As such, it’s not uncommon to see higher energy costs during the holiday months of November and December.
The price conscious employ a routine to minimize these extra costs when not needed: waiting to turn these lights on until dusk, and manually turning them off again before they retire for the evening. This routine often requires straining to reach a plug hidden behind a Christmas tree, or walking outside in the cold December air and unplugging lights from an exterior outlet. It’s a sacrifice dedicated to saving a few household dollars and comes with the additional reward of feeling like one is helping reduce one’s carbon footprint in some small way.

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Blog: Thankful for technology

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As we enter the holiday season we cannot help but turn our minds towards home and family.  In 2020 travel to your quaint hometown for the holidays might be different.  Perhaps you plan to live stream your dinner with multiple families.  Maybe you’ll share favorite recipes or send treats through the mail.  If you do plan to leave home, be sure to remember the following things:

  1. Lock your doors
  2. Close your garage
  3. Arm your IQ Panel in “Away” mode
  4. Turn off all your appliances
  5. Set up your lights to automatically turn on throughout the day and evening to give your home that “lived in” feel
  6. Ensure your indoor, outdoor, and video doorbell cameras are working
  7. Make sure your flood sensors, smoke detectors, and Caron Monoxide detectors are working.  (You may want to test your system!)
  8. Ensure your mobile app can connect remotely so you can view and control anything you “forgot”

Isn’t it wonderful to know you can manage any and all of these items remotely?  We are truly grateful for the amazing technology that makes it all possible.  Stay safe this holiday season, and don’t worry about your home while you are gone, we’ll take care of it for you!

Blog: 2020 Is The Year Of The Upgrade

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2020 has been the year of the upgrade.  Many of us sent home during the early months of the pandemic spent our first month fixing things.   Home repairs ranged from gutter cleaning to window washing, picking up clutter and setting up home offices.  During this process we realized that our internet needed an upgrade, the router powering our home wireless network hadn’t been replaced for many years, our laptops were outdated and it seemed like everywhere we looked there was technology that needed to be improved.  For those facing the impending 3G sunset we looked at our old security panels and thought “I’ve got to be eligible for an upgrade, right?  Its about time for a touchscreen…. and maybe we should add a smart door lock...  and one of those video doorbells… it would be nice to have a camera on the driveway… and we never put smoke detectors in the kid’s rooms…. And..  and.. The list keeps going.  As you look at your home and consider all the things it COULD do, talk to your security and smarthome provider to find out what’s possible.  Maybe, just maybe, your new upgraded security and home automation system could be the thing that finally makes 2020 great...

Blog: Protecting your apartment from Fire

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You never expect a fire to occur in your home or apartment, but when you do the first thought is, “Is everyone safe?”

The shrill siren of the smoke alarm can be absolutely terrifying, especially if it happens unexpectedly. Sure it’s annoying when you burn the toast or singe the turkey, but you anticipate that triggering as smoke fills the room.  It's completely different when it occurs in the middle of the night.  After the initial wave of terror and shock, several questions might smack you in the brain:

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Blog: So, you got a new Apple Watch?

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The new Apple Watch Series 6 is amazing, and if you’re like me, you are checking your Blood o2 levels, heart rate, and performing Electro Cardiograms hourly.  But what can you do with the Alarm.com app?

The Alarm.com app for App Watch is elegant and easy to use.  The first screen has easy to touch menu system that shows off all the different aspects of your smart home that you currently have installed. For me scenes is at the top of the list, giving me access to the scenes I’ve created on my phone including home, away, sleep, opening and closing my garage, and my personal favorite: Movie Time.  With a single touch an entire series of actions cascades across my home: doors lock, lights turn off, and the security system arms.

Probably the coolest function of the Alarm.com app on Apple Watch app is the ability to view cameras on your wrist.  Get a live stream anywhere.  See the puppy, check on the kids, peep the driveway, or check for deer in the back yard.  Its easy, fast, and fun.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on the cat…