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June 5, 2026
How to Automate Landscape Lighting with Alarm.com
Good landscape lighting does two jobs at once. It makes a house look its best after dark, washing the facade, lining the walkway, and lifting a few trees out of the shadows, and it quietly improves security by removing the dark corners that intruders prefer. The one thing most landscape lighting cannot do is talk […]
Continue readingMay 29, 2026
How to Automate Your Pool or Spa Pump with Alarm.com
Your pool pump is probably the quietest expensive thing you own. It runs in the background, hour after hour, on a mechanical timer bolted to the equipment pad, and most of the time you never think about it until the electric bill arrives or the water turns cloudy. According to the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program […]
Continue readingMay 25, 2026
Digital Outputs in Home Security and Automation: Dry Contact vs. Open Collector
If you have spent any time wiring security sensors or home automation devices, you have probably heard the phrase “dry contact.” If you have dug into the installation manual for a Qolsys, DSC, or 2GIG panel, you may have also come across “open collector output” or “PGM output.” Both terms describe a category of electrical […]
Continue readingMay 12, 2026
How to Help a Parent Age in Place with Alarm.com
There is usually a single moment when an adult child realizes that a parent living alone is taking on more risk than anyone in the family has been comfortable acknowledging. A minor fall in the bathroom that did not come up for three days. A missed call from the doctor’s office. A morning when no […]
Continue readingMay 1, 2026
Vivint vs. Alarm.com: A 2026 Buyer’s Guide for Homeowners
A Vivint salesperson knocks on your door. They have a clipboard, a Vivint shirt, and a deal that, conveniently, expires tonight. Maybe they tell you a neighbor down the street just signed up. Maybe they say the installer is already scheduled for Thursday. Maybe they offer to waive the activation fee, but only if you […]
Continue readingApril 27, 2026
How Wi-Fi Motion Sensing Works: The Physics Behind the Technology
How Wi-Fi motion sensing works is, at its core, a story about a Wi-Fi radio measuring tiny changes in the way its own signals travel through a home or business. When a person walks across the room, the radio waves bouncing around the space change in small but precise ways: some energy is absorbed by […]
Continue readingApril 24, 2026
Wi-Fi Sensing Is Coming to Home Security. Here Is Why It Matters.
The security camera on the front door has become dramatically smarter over the past few years. AI detection. Facial recognition. Smart deterrence that can warn a stranger off the porch through a speaker. The cameras have deserved the attention they have been getting. The alarm sensors inside the house, though, the motion detectors in the […]
Continue readingApril 19, 2026
Why Your Alarm.com Camera Keeps Going Offline (And How to Fix It)
Your camera was working fine for months. Then one morning the Alarm.com app says it is offline. You open the live view and get a spinner. You reboot the router and it comes back; next week it is offline again. If that pattern sounds familiar, you are not alone, and the good news is that […]
Continue readingApril 17, 2026
Monitoring an Alarm.com System You Already Have: How To Switch to Surety
You already own an Alarm.com compatible system, built around a Qolsys IQ or 2GIG panel, and you are shopping for a monitoring and service provider. You do not need new equipment. You need a new dealer. The DIY security community’s answer to which provider to use in this situation is consistent and has been for […]
Continue readingApril 13, 2026
Best Outdoor Security Cameras for Your Home in 2026
Walk into any home improvement store or spend twenty minutes on Amazon and you’ll find dozens of outdoor security cameras that all seem to offer roughly the same thing: HD video, motion alerts, night vision, two-way audio, app control. The specs look similar on paper. The prices are all over the place. And the reviews […]
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