Keypads & Controls
Most professionally installed burglar alarm systems consist of five major parts:
- Control Panel
- Keypad
- Intrusion Detectors
- Audible Alarm/Siren
- Interconnecting Wire (wired system)
Some alarm systems, usually wireless, combine the control panel with the audible alarm/siren and keypad. What is important to understand is that the control panel is the heart, brains and central computer of a burglar alarm system. It communicates with all the intrusion detectors, activates a silent or audible alarm/siren and if properly programmed, communicates the location(s)
of activated detectors to a central monitoring station. The central station will then contact the alarm subscriber, law enforcement and/or a private security alarm response service. An alarm system subscriber can also be notified of the intrusion via an automated email through the central station, if it’s part of their service.
The control panel is where all alarm system components connect. This includes a back-up battery for power failures, and where a phone line is connected for communication with a central station.
Another important component of an alarm system is the keypad. The keypad is where a burglar alarm system is armed and disarmed with a personal code, one button function key, or a remote fob. The most common types of keypads available today are LED, LCD and Color Touch Screen. LCD and Color Touch Screen keypads provide more detailed information, more functionality and alpha-numeric characters (a limited number of other languages are also supported by some manufacturers). Many keypads today can handle multiple users with different codes and even tell the times different users entered and exited a business or a home. Keypads also contain function buttons for emergencies, that through a central monitoring station, summon the police, fire department and medical emergency personnel.
