Home Security Monitoring with iControl

We are very excited here at SafeMart.  Over the next couple of months, we'll be rolling out our new interactive monitoring service, LiveWatch Broadband.  LiveWatch Broadband will be powered by iControl, an interactive self-monitoring service that gives you complete control over your home security and automation systems anywhere in the world.  To give you a teaser, your system is connected to the iControl Hub which is connected to the internet via a broadband internet connection.  You can receive emails, texts, web notifications anytime that an event happens at your home.  You can arm and disarm your system remotely, view your security cameras online, and much more.  You can even control any z-wave home automation devices you've attached.

Keep your eyes on this blog over the next few weeks as we roll out some podcasts and blog posts detailing set-up and use.  Trust me, this is going to be huge for home security.  See you soon.

Alarm Monitoring: Livewatch

You may already know about alarm monitoring.  You may already have it up and running.  And if you do, thats great.  Your home is safe and your security system is working to its fullest capacity.  However, you probably don't know about some of the additional features available for certain security systems.

If you have a GE Simon 3, GE Simon XT, or GE Concord, your system is compatible with SafeMart's Livewatch service.  So, what is Livewatch.  Well, first, here's what its not.  Livewatch is not a central station monitoring service.  It is an alarm monitoring feature, but purchased by itself, LiveWatch will not do what central station monitoring does.  It is intended to be purchased in conjunction with alarm monitoring, not in replacement.  However, if you choose not to have central station monitoring, Livewatch does increase the level of self-monitoring.

Essentially, Livewatch allows you to control your system remotely and receive remote notifications of any events or alarms.

1. You can arm or disarm your system easily via internet access.  This can also be done quite conveniently from your PDA (Blackberry, Razr, etc).

2. You will recieve voice, text mesage, and email notifications (depending on your customization) of any events at your home, whether your system is armed or not.

3. If you have central station monitoring, alarms will be routed through your Livewatch system directly to your central station.

You do need to purchase a GSM module for this (I've discussed GSM Modules before here).  Basically Livewatch gives you a whole new level of control over your home security system.  It also gives you the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you can monitor your system activity anytime, anywhere.