Home Alarm Systems in Toronto: What You Get and How It Works

What is in a home alarm system?

Most homes need the same core pieces. On a typical DSC Neo system we install, that means:

• Control panel. The brain of the system, usually tucked away in a closet or basement.
• Keypad. Mounted by the main door. You arm and disarm with a code, and it has panic buttons for fire, medical and police.
• Door and window sensors. Small magnetic contacts that tell the panel when a door or window opens.
• Motion detectors. They watch hallways and main rooms, in case someone gets in another way.
• Indoor siren. Loud enough that nobody wants to stay.
• Backup battery. Keeps the system working during a power cut.
• Cellular communicator. Sends alarms to the monitoring station without a landline.

Optional extras include smoke and heat detectors, flood sensors, glass-break detectors and an outdoor siren. You can also add the ability to arm, disarm and get notifications on your phone.

How the pieces work together

When you leave, you arm the system at the keypad. If a door or window opens, or a motion detector sees movement, the panel gives you a short delay to enter your code. No code, and the siren sounds and the alarm is sent to the monitoring station.

When you are home at night, you can arm in "stay" mode. Doors and windows are protected, but the motion detectors stay off so you can walk around inside.

Monitored or not?

An alarm without monitoring only makes noise. If nobody nearby reacts, nothing else happens. With monitoring, a central station receives the alarm and starts a response around the clock. At Blaze Alarms the station first tries to reach you and your contacts, private guards respond to burglary alarms, police are called when a break-in is confirmed, and fire and medical alarms go to the fire department and ambulance. We explain each step in what happens when your alarm goes off.

Monitoring is also what most insurers look for before they offer a discount. More on that in our post on insurance discounts for alarm systems.

Wireless or wired?

Newer homes and most renovations get wireless sensors. They install quickly with no holes in finished walls, and the batteries last years. Older homes sometimes already have wiring from a previous system, and we can often reuse it. The panel, keypad and monitoring work the same either way.

Five questions to ask before you sign

1. Who owns the equipment? Some companies lease it to you, which makes it hard to leave later.
2. How long is the contract? Ask how long it runs, what you owe if you cancel early, and what happens when it ends. Ours is 36 months, then month to month.
3. Who responds to an alarm? Ask exactly what happens, step by step, when your alarm goes off at 3 a.m.
4. Does it need a landline? It should not. Cellular is the standard today.
5. Who installs and services it? A local company with its own technicians is easier to reach than a national call centre.

Already have an alarm?

You may not need a new system. Many existing panels can be reconnected to new monitoring, and older panels can often be upgraded with a cellular communicator. See how switching monitoring companies works.

Frequently asked questions