New Home Security System

Hi there,

I moved to a new house where everything is prewired for home security equipment.

I need help in deciding what type of equipment that will be suitable for my house.

I’m interested in Qolsys, but unfortunately there isn’t enough information online that helps in understanding what’s needed and what’s not.

Also, is it possible to have a clean installation of Qolsys without this ugly transformer attached to the wall socket?

Thank you

I moved to a new house where everything is prewired for home security equipment.

Do you have wired alarm sensors installed on doors and windows? If so and the wiring is run to a central location the IQ Pro may be a good idea.

The IQ Pro is a hybrid wired/wireless system with wired terminals on board.

The three panel options we sell are found here. You would choose one of those, then go from there.

The IQ4 Hub and IQ Panel 4 are both all in one panels with a touchscreen and communicator inside. You can use secondary touchscreen keypads if needed, and a wired to wireless translator like the IQ Hardwire PowerG to make use of existing wired sensors.

The IQ Pro is a more traditional panel that would be in the basement/utility room with communicators on board, and you would use wired or wireless keypads to control it.

Also, is it possible to have a clean installation of Qolsys without this ugly transformer attached to the wall socket?

Keypad wiring for the IQ4 Hub or IQ Panel 4 is often run through the wall to a basement to plug in for power. The plug in transformer has to be used, but it doesn’t need to be visible.

Were any keypad locations pre-wired for your home? You could reuse existing wiring meant for keypads if it was run, and connect the plug in transformer at the end in the basement/utility room.

Thanks a lot for your informative response.

Yes, doors, windows, 3 keypad boxes, 3 glass breaking detector boxes are all pre-wired.

All the wires terminate at the utility room, but they have no tags about which one is which as it can be seen below!

Based on your comment, I understand that the system needed here is as follows:

  • IQ PRO (Quantity 1) to be installed at the utility room.
  • IQ Panel 4 (Quantity 1 or 3?) with a translator (Quantity 1 or 3?).
  • IQ wired glass breaking detectors (Quantity 3)
  • What else?

Thanks!

Based on your comment, I understand that the system needed here is as follows:
IQ PRO (Quantity 1) to be installed at the utility room.
IQ Panel 4 (Quantity 1 or 3?) with a translator (Quantity 1 or 3?).
IQ wired glass breaking detectors (Quantity 3)
What else?

The IQ Pro and IQ Panel 4 are both main panels. You would use one main panel, not both.

If you go with the IQ Pro, you would not use an IQ Panel 4 or hardwired to wireless translators. Instead, you would use keypads like the IQ Remote here. You can use 1 or 3 if you want to use all the keypad wiring locations.

So either:

  • IQ Pro
  • 1-3 IQ Remote keypads
  • Any sensors you need that were not pre-installed. You could use wireless PowerG or wired sensors.

OR:

  • IQ Panel 4 (which would be mounted in a keypad wire location.)
  • IQ Remotes if desired for other keypad locations
  • Hardwired to wireless translator.
  • Any sensors you need that were not pre-installed. You could use wireless PowerG or wired sensors.

All the wires terminate at the utility room, but they have no tags about which one is which as it can be seen below!

Is there anything written on the wire sheathing at all? No numbers or names marked on there with a pen?

If the installers did not label any of the wires that will require testing and trial and error to identify what goes where. You would need to use a multimeter/ohmmeter to test continuity and identify which wires in the utility room correspond to which locations in the home.

For the doors and window sensors you can close all the sensors then one by one open them until you find the one that opens on the mulimeter reading. For the keypad and glass break wires you would need to twist them together/short them.

Once you identify one, label it, move on to the next. After all the wires are identified it will be easy to wire them up.

Testing a bundle of unlabeled wires can be daunting but will go quicker if you have someone that can help.

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide all the details. This is super helpful. Finally, a real clue on how to solve this mystery.

Hello Jason,

I’m almost done to check out, I just need to know if you sell IQ PRO Metal and wired glass break detectors?

Thanks.

We do not sell the metal versions of the IQ Pro at this time, those are typically a good bit more expensive than the plastic housing version I believe.

We also do not currently stock wired alarm sensors, those can be obtained from any source online. For glass breaks I have most often used the FG-1625 but any wired 12vdc glass break will work.