Security System Design in Tucson

Alarm.com

The question to answer when selecting a security system design is: How long do I want the burglar to be inside any room of my home, or business before the alarm detects them?

Most everyone’s answer is “immediately, or before they get in”.
This is why a comprehensive well designed multi-level system is necessary. Otherwise you choose to allow the burglar to be inside an area of your home or business as long as they want. They become in control, not you.

The cost to you of the burglary both financially, and emotionally, and the damage done while breaking in, is greater than the cost to have a comprehensive system professionally installed by Elite Security. The feeling of violation lingers a long time.

Security Design: There are 4 important aspects of a security system design. Without all of them being provided for, a design is incomplete. Each aspect has its individual priority level. They are listed below in order of importance.

• Communication: Security is Communication. If the communication of criminal or threat of life safety activity is not received, no action can be taken against the criminal activity or to protect you, your family, your business and employees. The communication of activity to the 24 Hour Monitoring Facility is most critical. Phone lines are not reliable, only convenient. Full Cellular Communication is the best form of security communication.
• Local Monitoring: This is critical to quality monitoring services, and your security. Elite Security’s Local Monitoring accepts 100% of your system’s performance. Most security systems are capable of 100 and more different individual types of signals (information).

Monitoring can and should receive EVERY SIGNAL POSSIBLE FROM YOUR SYSTEM, to include a SUPERVISED DAILY COMMUNICATIONS TEST SIGNAL. Most monitoring facilities do not want this, and many cannot supervise the daily test signal.

Elite Security specializes in receiving all signals possible from your system, and is unique in supervising your daily communications test signal, letting you know when it has not been received as scheduled.

Out of state monitoring companies (and those outside Tucson) do not want any signal sent except “the siren is sounding” type of signal. They intentionally restrict 95% of your system’s communications, saving themselves the cost of sending those signals on their 800 number programmed into your system (which they pay for, per call).

• Comprehensive Interior and Perimeter Security must be balanced, and requires both to be effective.
• Interior: Interior detection of intrusion is the most comprehensive form of protection. Interior Motion detection is essential to reliable security. This also needs to be supported with Glass Break detection which is both interior and perimeter protection, when interior motion detection is turned off in occupied areas. Glass Break detection allows for protection on fixed glass perimeter windows as well as opening windows.

Perimeter security is two fold, both being important to identify approach to and intrusion of the surrounding area.

• Perimeter: Doors and window openings can provide essential coverage, but must be supported by interior intrusion detection to be complete. Openings can be contacted for intrusion, remembering that windows and doors can be penetrated without opening them. Providing Glass Break / Interior Motion Detector sensors are equally important.
• Outside Perimeter: This is providing for identification of intrusion for the surrounding area outside the home or business.

There are 3 basic elements of video camera systems: light, viewing perspective, and documentation.

Without these being properly designed for, every video system will fail in its duty to provide the information expected, when the event occurs. These elements are controlled by selecting the proper video camera technology for the application, the number of video cameras utilized, the recording method and duration.

There are hundreds of cameras to choose from. Most cameras that are available to the consumer direct are low performance cameras. These become disappointing to the user in their performance and waste the financial resources of the person buying them.

Many security “professionals” do not understand the camera/ lens technology necessary for the application they are working with. Lenses play a crucial role. Cameras create the view with the proper lens selection (camera specifications, lens focal length, resolution, and light gathering properties).

Placement and the number of cameras create the video surveillance coverage. Many video systems use too few of cameras to cover too large of an area with inadequate lighting conditions that are constantly changing. They also do not choose the best placement for the camera to gain the optimum view using the advantages the lens can create for the image detail.

Security “professionals” make these mistakes when designing the video surveillance system, because they don’t understand the rules of photography. They only think of the electronic connection / hardware installation for the construction of the system. They do not educate the client on the value of proper image capture at the highest performance possible to achieve the expected results.

Once the event has occurred, and the system has failed to capture the necessary video image detail, it becomes a lost opportunity to be successful in the client’s goal.

Video Surveillance system design is an art form, just as any painter creates the image using the same visual techniques to accomplish their artistic goals. Still photographers use special technics to create the images they photograph, with special lenses, filters, lighting, framing of the image in the camera view, etc.. These technics also serve the video surveillance system designer in the same manner.

Documentation of events and real time awareness is a valuable tool in providing a comprehensive security design.

• Video Camera(s) with Recording: Video cameras can be an important aspect of your security. Live views of activity provide information that creates awareness to your surroundings. Recording provides documentation of events that occur while your not there or unavailable to view them.

Business has long understood the value of video surveillance systems. Homeowners are just beginning to understand the value of video surveillance for their homes. Front door and driveway cameras allow homeowners to know who’s at your home without exposing yourself to strangers. Intercoms can be incorporated with cameras, to complete the protection provided.

• A DVR (digital video recording) or NVR (network video recording) system can provide long term high quality, comprehensive documentation of all activity while home or away (1 week to several months). It only needs to record when you’re gone, if you choose.
• Cloud Storage of your system’s recorded events provides an offsite advantage of protecting any events documentations from theft, and can eliminate onsite recording expense and maintenance.

Remote access (from hotels, office, while on vacation, etc.) through a computer with high speed internet, smart phone (iPhone / android) or tablet or iPad with wifi or cellular internet can be provided with a DVR/NVR system or Alarm.Com Cloud Storage account.

Fire alarms should be a priority in any system design plan.

Fire alarm systems provide for life safety while home, and property protection while away. You, your family, your employees, and your customers only need to concentrate on evacuation, not calling for help or to put out the fire if it is too big to take the risk. The greatest risk to anyone in a fire is not from burning, but from suffocation by inhaling smoke and toxic fumes.

Residential and commercial fire code, NFPA – National Fire Prevention Association Code Standards, dictates the design based upon the occupancy, cubic feet of each space / room, building material, and air flow. Neither the installing company nor the property owner selects the minimum design. The AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) has the final approval of any design.

Many security / fire alarm companies do not follow NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association) codes as required for their licensing. They use lower cost residential security control panel for business and commercial sites, to add on a few smoke detectors, to keep the cost down so they can get the job. These code violations can and will violate your insurance coverage and any claims made for cost recovery due to fire, smoke & water damage. These non-code installed systems will also risk life safety due to not properly supporting fire alarm detection and reporting. The fire alarm control panel and keypad must be in a red housing or cabinet and requires either 2 analog phone lines (non VoIP) or cellular communications support.

We specialize in Cellular Communications for Commercial fire alarm system monitoring. This replaces BOTH of the high cost land lines normally used. This FACP (fire alarm control panel) Cellular Communications system is certified for commercial fire alarm use and replacement of both phone lines normally required.

• The combined monitoring services cost and the full data cellular communications including the SUPERVISED 24 hour communications test signal required by NFPA codes, is far less than the cost of just the 2 commercial phone lines each month.

Access control design can incorporate many applications (video surveillance systems, security systems, fire alarms), multiple doors networks, or be for a single door.

Your home or business security system is an access control system, if each system user has their own unique access code, with arm / disarm documentation support from the monitoring facility.

There are several different technologies available for access control. Keypad numeric code, card swipe (magnetic strip or bar code), or both, proximity (placing a card or key fob close but not touching the reader) by itself, or also with a keypad numeric code, iris scan (reading your eye’s iris pattern), or fingerprint.

The number of users can be from 1 to 10,000 or higher. You can use it for your homes front door for keyless entry by family members, health clubs can use this technology for membership access, and gated communities for it’s homeowners. It can be designed for safe rooms / panic rooms, hidden rooms for collections and valuables or cabinets for guns and jewelry. The uses are unlimited.

We can design hidden rooms and cabinets with secret access control release of hidden doors.

For Safe Rooms and other designs please contact us for a discreet consultation.

• Security requires a constant awareness and attention to details, for design, performance, and continued operation.
• Murphy’s Law will always rule the day if you do not keep a strong awareness toward active security measures to include Cellular Communication, and Video Surveillance with Alarm Activation Video Monitoring.

Systems: We are a local, referral based company for 25 years. We provide our services to a select clientele who want a local, reliable, professional, and responsible full service security company. We do not have sales staff, marketing programs, or advertising (other than this official company website).

The risks of selecting the wrong security company:

• We do not provide marketing gimmicks, “free” systems, and misleading priced packages. These are offered by “out of town mega monitoring dealer programs”, providing restricted communications monitoring.
• Every system provided in “no equipment purchase required” marketing scams, do not provide enough coverage. They are over priced and under supported, both in design and monitoring performance.
• 90% of “security companies are “dealer program sales marketing agents” for wholesale monitoring companies (like the ones with pop up adds on the internet, and TV commercials). These “security marketing companies” sell your contract to ‘out of state wholesalers’ or are ‘mass marketing’ companies. You have no choice who has access to your personal, financial, and security system information. You are traded like “white elephant gifts”, bought and sold frequently. The larger the company, and having non-local monitoring services, the more you become only a contract to enforce.
• We do not offer the “one size fits all” systems as other companies do. This does not work any better for security than it does for buying shoes.
• We do not do “door knocking” sales, or have someone show up at your door without a scheduled appointment. This scam is going around providing false or misleading information to get your personal and financial information, or to switch your monitoring services to another company with a “free system or replacement / upgrade”. >> Identify these individuals, their license plate, their ID, and the company they are promoting, then report their fraudulent scam to the Arizona State Attorney, to be investigated and prosecuted. They are not licensed, and are not legitimate security company employees.
• See our “Blog” page on this website for more information on current and past security marketing scams and other issues relating to your personal safety and security.

Each location and each client is unique, so we design each system to the specific needs of each unique location and each unique client. Please call 750-0002 to receive a free consultation.

There are minimum basic starting points which can be common for every application. This minimum would be 2 entry doors, and 2 motion detectors for areas around those doors (see System Design page of the website).
We design the additional system features and coverage based upon the additional unique requirements of the client.

24 / 7 Local (from Tucson) Monitoring Services are a critical feature of every system. Our monitoring rate for a security system, using a proper home or business land line phone service, is $22.00 per month.

Our Cellular Communications is an additional monthly cost, bundled with your monitoring services. Additional monitoring features can be provided and bundled into your total system monitoring service plan (Cloud hosted services for video recording, garage door remote control / status, lighting control, thermostat, door lock control / status, etc).

We can monitor your existing security / fire system. There is no additional cost for activation of your existing system, as long as you own the system, it is non proprietary, and not locked out by your past or current service provider.

• Call for a Free Inspection / Consultation of your system, for receiving our Personalized Local Monitoring Services.
• Insurance Certificates are provided , for receiving an homeowner’s or business owners insurance discount, for every system we monitor.

There may be additional costs for any part of the existing system that is not functioning properly at the time of our monitoring activation, battery replacement, or selected features and new connections to communications (depends on the type and status of the the communications).

Communication pitfalls to know about: VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), and many of the new Digital phone services are not compatible for security monitoring technology. Cellular Communications may be the best or only choice for system communications based upon your current choice of phone services.

Systems We Install, Service and Monitor

>> See “Quote” page on this website for finding out about your unique system needs and desires. <<

Residential Security / Fire / Lighting Control –
Commercial Security / Fire

• We specialize in Domestic Protection Security, and the unusual system needs for residential and commercial applications.

Video Cameras (Residential / Commercial)
Access Control (residential / Commercial)
Smart Phone Control (System Support and Remote Access)

DIY (do it yourself) Security and Video Camera Systems: a do it yourself system may also include monitoring support and tech support as needed.

Alarm.Com Services for residential and commercial.