Alarm Panel With A 12v Output ?

[musketter]

I will be moving to a new house soon and I am trying to sort out the Alarm system in advance. It will be fitted by a alarm fitter (Brother in law) so I am not to worried about which panel I use. As he lives 200 miles away, he is unable to offer to much in the way of advice regarding the panel , but he will be doing all the rest of the planning.

I am after a Panel which will give a 12v output rated high enough to switch a relay when armed. My current alrm panel has a 12v output for latching PIR's but only at 40 ma which isn't high enough. The relay is to overide the thermostat on the central heating as I work set hours 5 days a week including weekends, but on a almost random pattern and I don't want the heating to heat up a empty house. I know I can programme it, but to set it up daily is a pain, plus I can often double shift at very short notice.

I have worked out the heating side of it with a way off overiding the alarm so the house is warm for my return, but I am unable to find a way of switching a relay with just 40ma. If anyone knows of a panel with a higher rated output, or even better, a way of switching 12v with 40ma so I can use any panel. I have been told it is possible, but not how. The current flowing through the relay is very low.

Please keep it simple, as unlike you lot I am not a expert

Thanks in advance,

Keith

[Guest Alarm Guard]

Teecom R8+ will do it .......... although I can't see how you will be able to use it to control your heating?????

[arfur mo]

I will be moving to a new house soon and I am trying to sort out the Alarm system in advance. It will be fitted by a alarm fitter (Brother in law) so I am not to worried about which panel I use. As he lives 200 miles away, he is unable to offer to much in the way of advice regarding the panel , but he will be doing all the rest of the planning.

I am after a Panel which will give a 12v output rated high enough to switch a relay when armed. My current alrm panel has a 12v output for latching PIR's but only at 40 ma which isn't high enough. The relay is to overide the thermostat on the central heating as I work set hours 5 days a week including weekends, but on a almost random pattern and I don't want the heating to heat up a empty house. I know I can programme it, but to set it up daily is a pain, plus I can often double shift at very short notice.

I have worked out the heating side of it with a way off overiding the alarm so the house is warm for my return, but I am unable to find a way of switching a relay with just 40ma. If anyone knows of a panel with a higher rated output, or even better, a way of switching 12v with 40ma so I can use any panel. I have been told it is possible, but not how. The current flowing through the relay is very low.

Please keep it simple, as unlike you lot I am not a expert

Thanks in advance,

Keith

hi musketter,

as your switching you heating, mains potential at a lethal voltage level is present, please for your and others safety get competant advice and help from a qualified electrician before you or your relative decide to wire or connect anything up to the alarm panel.

my first concern (alarm speaking) is if you will have any backup from your relative who lives 200 miles away if it mis-behaves, and it seems a little odd to me your brother-in-law who you say is an 'alarm fitter' cannot sort this out for you. beleive me it is not complicated to any experienced engineer (worthy of the name) should not even raise a sweat bead.

he/she should know there are readily available 'of the shelf' modules to increase the current available via a further relay called 'transistorised relay'. these have a circuit which can operate from a low current signal/output like your old panel had, to switch a higher current to the external device as required via elay springs. higher end panels have bespoke module's, or on board relays and very sophisticated program options available which would do what you wanted with the heating i'm very sure, but they need more specialist knowledge to use them.

again please be very careful, seems you might be a potential client to one of us, but if your dead you are less likely to call on one of us, you can see we are a very concerned caring bunch of guys on here especially where potential money earned is involved or loss of .

regs

alan

[Guest]

although I can't see how you will be able to use it to control your heating?????

System sets, fires relay, cuts power to heating system. Stick it inline on the switched live side of a programmer before the roomstat.

I would comment on what arfur says but I don't understand it, think it's something about using a panel with programming options for complex output logic, not neccesary here.

[Guest Alarm Guard]

I have worked out the heating side of it with a way off overiding the alarm so the house is warm for my return

System sets, fires relay, cuts power to heating system. Stick it inline on the switched live side of a programmer before the roomstat.

That doesn't seem to be his intention..

[Guest]

That doesn't seem to be his intention..

Hmm, see what you mean. Several ways of doing it, sure the OP will let us know in due course!

[arfur mo]

hi guys,

as i understand it the op did his best to exsplain he wants to have an overide from his alarm system and if he go's out sets the alarm it will shut off the heating if he forgets, and also turn it back on (timer program allowing) as he comes in, or in some way which he has sorted himself.

so if he forgets to turn it off, or ends up doing overtyime it won't come on saving some dosh.

so what have i got wrong with that lot then?

he may have a nifty remote connection via his home phone line/internet and computer to turn the heatin on remotely, i'd suggest he did it this way for on and off in case his alarm failed to set.

but then the simplest idea's are the hardest sometimes .

just cutting the wire to the thermostate might not be a wise thing to do, as depends how heating is configured for anti-freezing during bad weather, bigger concern is pipe's freezing up if a minimum temp is not kept when he is out.

a reall bad winter many years ago i attended many houses where after a freeze the pipes thawed and places flooded out and ruined because the owners went away and shut off the heating.

because of it i alway turn of the water main especially if away for a long period during winter to prevent this.

regs

alan

[norman]

I use a Vocaliser for the same result, the idea was there but I have hardly ever used it to pre heat the house, but the G does turn off the heating when we leave as the wife was a bugger for leaving the heating on when she went shopping all day etc, and as I was born in Jockland......

[arfur mo]

AFAIK frost stats and rrom stats are seperate things but id also break the stat circuit for this purpose, you could always add a frost stat to overide anyway, but i think the op need 2 stats. A normal stat in series with his current stat and a frost stat set at about 8 degress that will work all the time, and the veritas will give all you need but as arfur states few basic panels will give high current 12v outputs but you can use a trans relay to fire you big relay

hi james,

so was i right then - i'm confussed now

regs

alan

[breff]

Use an SD2 it has a temperature sensor built in.(still need a relay though), you could also dial into it and manually overide the output.