Press Releases Posts

We strive to have some of the best pricing on the internet for security products. When prices are reduced for us, we do our best to quickly pass off those savings to anyone who has made a purchase here.

In the last week, we have reduced the prices on over 100 items an average of 6%. Our Lyric kits have all seen price reductions between 6% and 19%.

Below is the list of all items whose price has been reduced. We hope you enjoy the savings!

Alarm Grid has been beta testing the Lyric Controller for about 6 months now, letting users install it on their own using their DIY resources.

“We were the only DIY company to test and release the Lyric to end users. And our users have loved the system,” said Sterling Donnelly, President of Alarm Grid. “Even though the system is more advanced than any other system Honeywell has released to consumers, our videos and FAQs have made the installation process a breeze for anyone who wants to take advantage of the new features of the Lyric.”

In a unusual move, Honeywell announced the new system in January 2015 at CES. The buzz surrounding this new, modern, HomeKit compatible system was astounding. “The day that Honeywell made their announcement, we started getting inquiries,” said Joshua Unseth, Alarm Grid’s director of marketing. “We wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted to get a Lyric was able to as soon as they were released.”

Alarm Grid made good on that promise, releasing the Lyric some 5 months ago. “Since we released the system, it has become our most successful launch to date,” said Unseth. “The system has sold better than the L7000 and L5210 combined, and the response by the do-it-yourself community has been astounding. Our users love the Lyric.”

Needless to say, there are a number of features that make this panel different than any other security system ever developed. Most notably, perhaps, is the way the wireless sensors, themselves, communicate to the main board. While previous systems had been developed allowing one-way communication between the mounted sensors and the panel, Lyric’s SiX sensor technology, allows for two-way, fully encrypted communication between the panel and the sensors. This means that sensors themselves can receive firmware updates and that the communication between the Lyric and its sensors is uninterruptible. Moreover, for those that have invested in the older 5800 Honeywell technology which was standard with all wireless systems before the Lyric, the sensors are backwards compatible.

“Users can upgrade their old system without having to buy all new sensors,” said Donnelly. “They can get all the functionality of their old sensors, and the new functionality available as part of the Lyric at a really affordable price.”

To date, the Lyric was only available to dealers who were approved by Honeywell, which meant that the panel was difficult to get. But now that it has been tested for some months in the field, Honeywell has opened up the distribution of the system to all dealers. “We hope that the work we did with the Lyric will help other dealers deploy this state-of-the-art panel successfully,” said Unseth. “We have worked with Honeywell closely to suss out some of the early software problems that the panel suffered, and Honeywell has been extremely responsive in rolling out updates. We think that our partnership has been extremely beneficial to the project, and are excited to see the Lyric end up in the hands of more and more consumers.”

When asked if there were any features that end users would dislike, Unseth said, “the Lyric lock program will allow companies to lock end users into their service. If an end user wants to unlock the panel, they really can’t. We recommend that end users ask their alarm technicians if their company locks the panel when it is installed. Get in writing that they do not or will not. We never lock panels,” said Unseth, “but we understand why companies do. Companies work hard for their accounts, and unscrupulous companies will often try to swoop in and steal customers. That said, customers should do what they can to retain control of their options for monitoring. One way to do that is to politely ask their dealers not to lock their Lyric controller after the installation.”

“We strongly believe this is going to be the most popular DIY panel of the next 5 to 10 years,” said Donnelly. “It’s easy to install, it provides a unprecedented level of security, and it looks really good on the wall. For those looking to get this system affordably, or to upgrade their old system, give us a call, we would love to help them get the best security system on the market at a cost they can stomach.”

Alarm Grid provides resources on YouTube, and encourages anyone with questions to email them at support@alarmgrid.com.

One of the most common questions asked by our customers is: Can I use my Honeywell WIFI thermostat with Total Connect? For years, this question required a complicated response that ultimately resulted in the answer, "No, they do not work with Total Connect 2.0." Well, Honeywell has responded to this customer feedback by integrating WIFI thermostat control with Total Connect 2.0! Before getting into the nitty, gritty details of how this integration works, let's take a step back and review the Total Connect Comfort and Total Connect 2.0 apps. For obvious reasons, these two apps are commonly confused with one another.

Total Connect Comfort is a free app which allows users to control and view status of their HVAC system. This app requires a compatible Honeywell thermostat that communicates using WIFI or Honeywell's RedLink technology. The WIFI thermostats simply to connect to the wireless internet in your home or business and connect to the TC Comfort app. RedLink is a proprietary technology that allows HVAC components to speak to each other wirelessly. Air handlers can wirelessly control boiler and condensing units without any wiring! RedLink thermostats require a RedLink Internet Gateway (RIG). Instead of communicating directly to the WIFI router, the thermostat wirelessly pairs to the RIG. After the RIG is connected to your router with an ethernet patch cable the RedLink thermostat will also be available for interactive control via TC Comfort.

Total Connect 2.0 is technically a free app in the app store but it requires a paid subscription with a Honeywell AlarmNet dealer. This app is designed to control and trigger customizable text and email alerts with a compatible Honeywell security system. The Honeywell system will need a compatible AlarmNet internet and/or cellular communicator in order to work with TC 2.0. This app also supports remote automation control in the form of Z-Wave technology. Essentially, a customer will add a compatible Z-Wave controller to their Honeywell alarm panel and be able to control and configure alerts for Z-Wave lights, locks, thermostats, etc.

Up until late April 2016, the only way to control a thermostat through TC 2.0 was to purchase and install a compatible Z-Wave thermostat. The issue here was that some TC 2.0 customers already had TC Comfort and wanted to keep their thermostats. Other customers required HVAC technologies such as "Dual Fuel" or remote thermistors and humidistats that cannot be found in Z-Wave thermostats. Unfortunately, the Z-Wave thermostat landscape is not very diverse and the technology built into these devices are not very advanced. Also, depending on your alarm system Z-Wave controllers can be expensive. Anyways, the WIFI and RedLink tstats offer a much wider range of features. For all these reasons we are extremely excited that TC 2.0 now supports TC Comfort (TCC) thermostats!

Currently this can only be accomplished through the iOS app on your mobile apple device (i.e. iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) running iOS 7.0 or higher. The last app update on April 27, 2016 (Version 3.10.5) added the ability to add TCC thermostats through the automation section on the app. Keep in mind that you will need to be enrolled in Total Connect 2.0 service and have "remote automation" services enabled. Some dealers may charge extra for this service but it will give you the ability to integrate Z-Wave devices and just recently the TCC thermostats and August locks.

Assuming you have already setup remote automation services with your alarm company now you can integrate your TCC devices with TC 2.0. After you click into the "Automation" tab on the app, press the icon on the top right (3 horizontal bars). Then press "Add/Remove TCC Thermostat." Now you can enter your login credentials (email and password) for your TCC app. After you login, you should be able to control TCC thermostat from the TC 2.0 app. This is a brand new integration so the details around setting up scenes, rules and scheduling are still being fleshed out. The good news is that Honeywell acted on customer feedback and now you can control even more devices in your home right from TC 2.0!

Total Connect 2.0 can be offered standalone for self monitoring customers or bundled together with central station monitoring for those interested in getting phone calls and dispatching the local authorities when needed.

**Please Note**

Your Honeywell VISTA system must have a Z-Wave module installed for you to use Total Connect 2.0 Automation features. On an all-in-one LYNX Touch or Lyric wireless system, TC2 automation can be added to any TC2 account. However, if you have a traditional VISTA security system, you will need to have a Tuxedo Touch WIFI touchscreen keypad or VAM module connected to your system to take advantage of the TC2 automation features. The Tuxedo and VAM are physical Z-Wave controllers for upgrading VISTA systems to home automation features. Even if the TC2 automation you are doing doesn't require a local z-wave controller (like integrating in the Honeywell WIFI Total Connect Comfort or Redlink Thermostats or integrating in WIFI August locks for instance), the automation TC2 feature can't be enabled without a Tux or VAM MAC/CRC combination being added to the TC2 account. While these cloud based TC2 integrations are a nice way to integrate various home automation into on application, you don't need to upgrade your VISTA panel with a Tux or WIFI if you don't plan to ever do any physical Z-Wave devices as you can always continue to control your TCC/Redlink thermostats and August locks through the existing separate apps that are offered for those devices now.

For the last year, we have had to field questions about why we aren't a part of the Better Business Bureau. Well, those questions are now a part of Alarm Grid's ever-lengthening history; with our 1-year anniversary behind us, we have finally been given a rating and a page on the BBB!

An A- rating has been issued as a result of our short time in business, and we are excited to make sure that we not only keep that rating, but we continue to make it better by serving you the best that we can.

We're pretty sure that Alarm Grid has the happiest customers, and I think a quick perusal of our reviews will confirm that. And when you're done there, saunter on over to our customer testimonials. All of these have been written by real customers who have taken the time to submit their opinions of Alarm Grid to other websites and to us. Our commitment to you will always be the same.

So for everyone who was willing to get on board before we had the Better Business Bureau rating, we want to thank you for making our first year in business a wonderful one. And we're hoping that the year ahead, now that we are a part of the nation's most trusted business network, even more of you will want to join the Alarm Grid family.

The decisions we make as a company will always be toward ensuring that your experiences with us are jaw-droppingly wonderful. If that's been the case, we'd love for you to tell the world. And if it's not, let us know what we can do to improve your Alarm Grid experience.