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June 29, 2026
Why You Should Use Z-Wave Long Range in Your Alarm.com System
If you are adding smart locks, lights, switches, a garage controller, or a thermostat to your Alarm.com system, there is now a fork in the road that did not exist a few years ago. Those same Z-Wave devices can join your panel in one of two very different ways: the traditional Z-Wave mesh that has […]
Continue readingJune 16, 2026
Surety Home Opens Early Access to the nami Agile Security System
An affordable, professionally monitored Alarm.com-powered security system with Wi-Fi motion sensing and Thread mesh networking, that you can easily install yourself in an hour or two. We’re excited to share something we’ve been working toward for a while: early access to the nami Agile Security System is open now at suretyhome.com/nami. If you’ve followed Surety, […]
Continue readingJune 10, 2026
Automate Your Exhaust, Whole-House, and Attic Fans with Alarm.com
Almost every fan in your home depends on someone remembering to flip a switch. The bathroom fan stays off through a steamy shower because the last person out never touched it, and then it runs all afternoon because someone else forgot to turn it off. The kitchen fan sits idle while smoke drifts toward the […]
Continue readingJune 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 […]
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