Earlier this year, our house was burglarized while my family and I were sleeping. They stole things I can never replace, including my computer and camera with irreplaceable pictures and videos. I’ve been trying to figure out how to at least get alerted if someone enters while we’re asleep. For now, I have cheap door alarms that are getting old fast, and I want to move to a wired security system. I’m also wondering if I should add smoke or carbon monoxide detectors to the system. I’d love your thoughts on these decisions I’ve made and the questions I have!
Decisions I’ve made:
I don’t care about a monitoring service. Protecting possessions is important, but I have safes and cloud backups now. What matters is alerting my family and me to an intruder.
I don’t want wireless sensors. It’s a reliability issue since my old house has thick plaster and metal mesh, which messes with wireless signals. Even strong mesh Wi-Fi isn’t great here.
Questions:
Is the Vista-20p system still a good choice?
Are wired reed switches from Amazon reliable?
How do zones and zone extenders work?
Are zone sensors wired in series or individually?
What gauge cable should I use for sensors? Can I use regular phone cables?
What’s the purpose of the resistors I see in different setups?
If you’re serious about this, Vista is a great choice. Check out Bounder97 on YouTube—he has a 28-part series on alarms, specifically related to the Vista-20p. Most of your questions will get answered there.
@Richards
Thank you! I’ll check that out. I’m still deciding on which sensors to get—seems like many systems are moving to wireless, but I’d prefer wired for reliability.
You can definitely add smoke and CO detectors to the system, but many places require that anything related to fire safety be installed by a licensed pro. This is for safety and insurance reasons, and some recommend monitoring for fire alerts too.
Honeywell is the industry standard for security systems, but I’d suggest consulting a pro for programming and installation.
Reed switches are common for burglar alarms—usually just a sensor and a magnet.
A zone is a specific area of the house, like your front door. If you have multiple windows in a bay, they could be daisy-chained into one zone. Zone extenders add more zones or cover areas that are hard to reach.
Most zone sensors are wired individually, but sometimes they’re daisy-chained in certain areas. Home runs are usually preferred, though.
You’ll need 22/4 cable for alarm systems. While Cat5e might work, it’s not recommended since it’s more brittle and thicker, making it harder to install along windows and doors.
The resistors measure the resistance in the wires to see if the zone is open or closed. This helps the system detect issues in the wiring. Check your panel’s manual for specifics.
Cameras are also a good idea. While they can’t stop a break-in, they give you video evidence to help with investigations and charges.
@Maya
Luckily, there are no smoke or CO requirements for my house, so I’m not too worried about those rules. We also don’t have gas, so a CO detector might not be necessary. I’ll definitely add battery backups if I install them.
I’ll check out Lutron, but my main focus is a simple system that alerts me to a break-in.
Thanks for the clarity on zones! I didn’t realize each sensor typically runs its own wire back to the panel. Can you explain how a zone extender works? Would wiring up remote areas with zone extenders be a good idea?
Why use a 4-conductor cable if sensors only need two wires?
I already have cameras and motion-sensing lights, but I really need something to wake me up if someone enters. That’s the main purpose of this setup.
Candy said:
You might want to get a professional installer for this.
I’ve done similar installations before and already wired my house with Cat6e. I’m confident I can handle this. I’m just looking for some specific advice on the system and setup.
@Sav
If you’re set on doing it yourself, go for sensors from reputable manufacturers, like Honeywell. Avoid using twisted-pair cables—get proper 4-core security cables instead. They’re more reliable for this type of work. For long runs, use thicker cables to avoid voltage drops. Resistors are used at the sensor end to help detect issues like tampering with the wires.
The Vista-20p is a solid system, and it’s flexible. Read the manual before buying parts, as it’ll answer a lot of questions. I prefer using the factory software to configure it.
The best reed switches are GRI or Honeywell. Avoid cheap imports.
For wiring, standard 22 or 24 AWG 4-conductor cable works fine, though some prefer stranded cable. Nowadays, I’d run Cat5e to each sensor location just for future-proofing.
End-of-Line Resistors (EOLR) help prevent tampering. Fire and smoke detectors should be listed for your panel and installed with UL-rated fire cable.
Don’t forget about a loud siren or horn inside the house. You want intruders to leave as fast as possible. In some places, exterior sirens are required.