We currently have a GE Concord 4 system with a Z-Wave-enabled GSM Module that allows us to have a pretty connected home and access to alarm.com (which we like a lot). However, we are getting tired of some of the limitations of the Concord system and also having to pay our monitoring company every time we want to add or remove a device. We would like to move to the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ with the free trial while also leveraging the existing hardwired sensors that the Concord 4 is currently using. I don’t know alarm systems, but am relatively tech savvy, so I think I could do the install with a little direction. If you can provide me with the step by step process/hardware needs for moving from the Concord 4 to the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ while also using the existing hardwired sensors, you have yourself a new customer!
Apologies if this is not the right forum or if this has already been addressed, but I could not find it. Thanks!
Are you currently using all hardwired sensors? If you have any wireless sensors, they would be directly compatible with the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ (319 MHz version)
The IQ Panel 2+ is remarkably easier to program and maintain than a more traditional panel like the Concord 4.
Replacing the Concord with an IQ Panel 2+, no part of the original Concord system would be used aside from the sensors. A Hardwire 16S (or Hardwire 16F) will allow you to connect all of your wired sensors and reuse them with the IQ Panel as encrypted wireless zones.
The primary preparation I would suggest would be labeling your zone wires individually. This is rarely done by installers and makes further troubleshooting or swapping from one system to another much easier.
The Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ uses a primary cellular communication method built into the panel itself, so the existing keypad locations may not be best suited for the IQ Panel. The panel can be plugged in without being mounted so you can test the cell strength in various locations.