How do I find out which make/model home security alarm system I have ?

Congratulations for taking the first step in attempting to find out more about your alarm system. The hardest part is knowing exactly the make/model and some peripheral equipment that you may have installed in your house.

The first thing you'll need to do, barring some "oddball" panels, such as the Lynx, Simon, and older ITI panels, is to identify the manufacturer. The more information you can gain at this stage, the better off you will be.

First, you'll need to locate the control panel (not the keypad). The control set is located in a steel box, which can vary from 10" square on up. It can be grey, beige, white, or if you had an overzealous prior owner, any color under the sun.

It can be located in the basement, a closet, or even some pretty strange places if an installer didn't care too much about servicing the system. It may be locked or screwed shut. If it is locked, look for a key prior to forcing it open. If the key can't be found, you can do two things, either force the enclosure open and bend/damage it, or carefully and slowly, drill the lock's guts out, which is the neater method.

Once the control set is open/unlocked, look on the inside of the door for a schematic (drawing describing the system). They almost always will list the panel's model number and other important information.

Ok, now you've got to be feeling like a real pro, some manufacturers offer multiple keypads for their systems, some of which are necessary for programming certain data fields, other systems it may not make a difference. Usually on Ademco and DSC equipment, the keypad model number info is on a sticker on the back (wall side) of the unit's base plate. Barring removing the whole unit from the wall, sometimes it's stamped on the unit's circuit board. In worst case, if you have a newer system, you can compare your unit's keypads to ones presently for sale.

There may be other modules installed on your system, depending on manufacturer, ranging from remote phone access units or expanders, be it wireless or hardwired. Some units have stickers that were installed on them providing a schematic, some may be noted inside the main panel, others you may need to investigate your house and system further, such as if you have wireless equipment, but can't see anything that looks like it has an antenna going to it.....

Using this guide, you should be able to get enough information to know the make/model of your system.