noob looking for an alarm system

[silverracer]

I have been looking for a good alarm system for awhile now and i came across this forum.  Ive been reading a lot and found out so much about the different types of alarms systems.  

My question is that I just moved into a house about 1400 sqft.  I have: 2 entry doors; 1 sliding door; 6 windows; no landline but i do have highspeed internet so im thinking its a fairly basic install.  I thought GE Simon xt was the best alarm system on the market but now Ive found out so much about ademco vista20p, dsc 1832, concord 4, and so on i just cant decide on which one to go with.  

Which one of these will suffice for me and would be a breeze to install.  I want nice panels, backup battery, transmitters, sirens, motion sensors, door/window sensors, glass break sensors.. the works.  I eventually want to have light control, cameras and appliance control all with my cell phone.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and thanks for the help and recommendations.  (sorry if this is a re-post.. you can paste a link for me to read if easier.)

Edit:  Merge posts

Budget: depends on how good the system is, preferably a starter kit/package
Construction:I can run wires if i need to.
Location:TX (random weather here)
System- I'm thinkin about 4-8 zones right now
System- hardwire, wireless, hybrid which ever is better.
Partitions- for what and how will they be usefull
Outbuildings- none
Outdoor: cameras and flood light eventually

[danb35]

To the extent you can run wires to the contact locations, your individual contacts will be less expensive and more flexible than if you go wireless.  Wireless will be easier to install (since you don't have to run wires), but the sensors will cost more, and in most cases you'll have to buy sensors from the alarm manufacturer.  Most "wired" systems allow for adding wireless zones as well, with the addition of a wireless receiver.

For monitoring without a landline, you have a few options.  You can get an IP communicator designed to work with your panel, which will communicate over the Internet with an intermediary, who will then notify your central station.  You can get a cellular module designed to work with your panel, which will do the same basic thing (except, obviously, that it won't rely on the Internet).  You can get a "universal" cell module.  All three of these options involve some additional monthly cost in your monitoring, as I understand it.  Finally, some monitoring companies sell special-purpose VOIP routers, which will route the alarm panel's call over the Internet directly to the central station.  You'd buy this up-front, but there's no additional monthly cost--I chose this option, but be aware that it won't work if your Internet is down for any reason.

You mention wanting home automation that you can control with your cell phone.  Does this have to be part of the alarm system, or can it be separate?  If you really want it to be all in one integrated system, you'll probably want to look at the Elk M1 Gold, but it's kind of pricey.  Otherwise, you can do the home automation with a Z-Wave controller and do the alarm with the alarm system (and depending on the Z-Wave controller and alarm system you use, you may be able to control the alarm with the Z-Wave controller).

The other features you mention (backup battery, sirens, motion sensors, door/window contacts, glass breaks) will be supported by any decent alarm system.  I'm not sure what you mean by "nice panels", but if you mean that you want the keypads to look good, that's going to be a subjective call on your part.

Partitions would be helpful if you had a distinct area that you wanted to be able to arm/disarm independently of the rest of the house.  An outbuilding would be one example.  I have a workshop in an outbuilding; if I wanted to protect that with my alarm system I'd probably set it up on a separate partition (and will likely do that some day, but haven't gotten to it yet).  I've heard of partitions being used for safes and such as well.

For number of zones, I tend to feel like it's best to have a zone for each contact/sensor.  So, each window, door, motion, glassbreak, etc. gets its own zone.  Add up what you think you'd want.  Looks to me like 3 doors, 6 windows, a motion or two, a smoke or two=11-12 zones.  Yes, you can combine wired contacts onto a single zone, but it seems better to me if they're all separate.

I'd suggest a hybrid system--run wires for the contacts you can readily reach, and use wireless for the others.  I have an Ademco Vista 20P which seems to work well; I've seen other recommendations for a DSC Power 1832 or 1864.  All of these can be expanded to support a large number of wired zones, and can have wireless receivers added to support wireless contacts as well.

All of this said--I'm far from an expert here.  I'm a homeowner who worked a bit on the installation of my system, and I've read up a bit on other systems and options, but there are others here who know a lot more than I do.  I'm happy to answer any questions I can, though.

[silverracer]

Thanks you have been a big help with all the info provided. I know you have the ademco but is their a reason you didn't go with a DSC system and what do you think about the GE simon alarm systems.  Thanks again

[danb35]

The short answer is that the builder of my house had already bought the Ademco, so I wasn't about to buy a different panel when I had a brand-new one there.  If I'd been buying, I might have bought DSC, but the differences between the two are pretty minimal from what I can see.

I don't know anything about the Simon beyond what I see on websites selling it, so I can't comment on reliability, durability, etc.  It appears to be a basic all-in-one (the keypad is integrated into the control panel*) wireless system.  It does support up to two wired zones, but that's all; all the rest are wireless.  That's fine if you want to use wireless sensors for everything.  As I said, installing wireless is easier, as you don't have to run wires, but the sensors are more expensive, and the sensors add up.  Figure about $30 each for wireless door/window sensors, and < $5 each for wired, for example.  The starter kit you buy will have a few sensors, but you'll need to add to that to cover your home.

Because the keypad, control panel, and siren are all in the same wall-mount unit, the Simon is vulnerable to a burglar just smashing the unit to disable it.  This risk can be mitigated by putting the main unit somewhere else (like in the master bedroom), and getting an extra keypad at the front door, but the siren will still be coming from wherever the control panel is.  You'll want a keypad in the master bedroom anyway, so that isn't necessarily a big problem, but it's something to consider.  It will also need to be mounted near a power outlet and a phone or Internet connection, unless you're using a GSM communicator.

From what I've seen of available wireless systems, if I were buying one, I'd be looking at the DSC Alexor.  On that model, the control panel, keypad(s), and siren(s) are all separate units, and can each be installed where it's most appropriate.  The panel can go out of sight, near power and phone/Internet; the keypads can go in convenient locations (at each regularly-used entry door and in the master bedroom); and the siren can go out of sight where an intruder would hear it.

* In alarm terminology, the keypad is the thing with the buttons you press to arm/disarm/control the alarm system.  The control/panel/control panel is the brains of the system.  On the Simon, and most other wireless systems, they're the same device.  In most hybrid and wired systems, they're separate.

[silverracer]

Thanks for all the info and I will take your advice and go with a dsc alarm system.  I'm really leaning towards the alexor all I have to do is find out what I need to start it like a good starter package.