Smart home, access control and intercoms, Northern Beaches

What the Alarm.com app runs

Alibaba Security is an Alarm.com dealer. The app that arms your alarm also runs the things below, from the couch or from the other side of the world.

Video: Live pictures and recorded clips from your cameras and the doorbell.
Locks: Lock and unlock, hand out codes, see who came in and when.
Garage door and gates: Driven off and not sure it is shut? Check, and close it from the car.
Lights: Switch or dim them, on a schedule or when a door opens.
Air conditioning: Set the temperature from anywhere and hear about it when someone changes it.
Z-Wave: The wireless standard that links locks, lights and switches to the alarm panel. It is built into the panels Andy installs.

It also works from an Apple Watch, by voice through Amazon Alexa and Google Home, and on the TV with Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.

Diagram: lock, light, climate, camera, garage door and door sensor connected to the alarm panel

One tap as you walk out

A scene sets several things at once. Leave the house and the lights turn off, the doors lock, the aircon stops and the alarm arms. Try the three scenes.

At home Out Asleep

Alarm: Disarmed Armed Armed, stay mode
Front door: Unlocked Locked Locked
Garage door: Standing open Shut Shut
Deck lights: Switched on Switched off Switched off
Living room: Cooling to 22° Aircon off Aircon off

An example. Your scenes are set up to suit your house.

Black Yale keypad deadbolt and lever on a white door

Smart locks put codes in place of spare keys

The Yale Assure keypad deadbolt has no key cylinder. There is no key to lose and nothing to pick or bump. You open it with a code or from your phone.

A code for each person: Family, the cleaner, the dog walker, a tradie for the week. Delete a code or give it an end date, and nobody has to hand a key back.
You know who came in: Your phone tells you when a code is used. Handy when the kids get home before you do.
A heads-up when something is off: If the door is unlocked at a time it never usually is, you get an alert.
Fits where your deadbolt is: The lock replaces the deadbolt you have. The look of the door stays.

Bought a smart lock somewhere else? Andy installs that too. One question worth asking before you buy: does it talk to your intercom and your alarm?

No Wi-Fi at the property? The lock still answers.

For Airbnb, holiday lets and remote properties without internet: the alarm panel carries its own SIM and reaches the lock by Z-Wave. Mobile reception is all it needs.

Lock and unlock from wherever you are.
Give each booking its own code and change it when the guests leave.
Turn off the lights and the aircon after check-out, or run the irrigation.

Needs an Alarm.com alarm panel with a paid plan.

Ask about your property

Video doorbells and intercoms

See who is at the door and talk to them before you open it. There are two ways to get there, and which one suits depends on the cabling.

Wire-free video doorbell

It runs on a rechargeable battery, so it goes where no cable runs: the front door, and the back gate as well. Fitting it is quick, which keeps the cost down.

Answer on your phone or Apple Watch, wherever you are.
With a connected lock, let the courier in from the call screen and lock up again.
Silent mode rings your phone and leaves the chime quiet.
Tells people from animals and cars, so the possum does not set it off.
Comes with one plug-in chime that also extends the Wi-Fi. Add more in a large house.

Needs Wi-Fi at the door. Rated to 50 degrees, so it wants a spot out of the full sun.

Hard-wired Aiphone intercoms

The monitor inside is wired to the door station. The call gets through when the internet is slow or down, and the sturdy door stations are made for the street.

JO series: a 7-inch touchscreen inside, and the call also rings up to eight phones or tablets.
Open the door or gate from the screen or from the app.
The monitor records calls, so you see who rang while you were out.
JK series: two wires, a 170 degree view of the entry, pan, tilt and zoom on the picture.
Door stations with a keypad take two codes: one for the gate, one for the garage.

Already have an older Aiphone? The JO series replaces it and adds the phone app. For a simple door there is the audio-only chime set with door release.

Access control by Presco

Keypads and card readers for gates, front doors and business premises. Andy sells and services Presco and has fitted it to beachfront homes in Palm Beach, Whale Beach, Mona Vale and Newport.

Split designKeypad outside, controller inside: The keypad only sends the code. The part that releases the door sits indoors, so pulling at the keypad wiring opens nothing.
1 kmBetween gate and house: Controller and keypad can sit up to a kilometre apart. Long driveways are no obstacle.
16 doorsRoom to grow: Start with one or two doors. With the event logger the system runs up to sixteen and records who came through.
IP67Built for the coast: The outdoor keypads resist weather, vandals and salt mist and keep working in full sun, up to 70 degrees.

The controller drives electric strikes, drop bolts and magnetic locks alike.

Other ways in

Stand-alone keypads

Keypad and controller in one housing. Simpler and cheaper, a good fit for a side gate. Less secure than a split system, so it matters that it is installed properly.
Fingerprint readers

Weatherproof readers and fingerprint locks for doors where nobody should carry a code or a card.
Access control in the browser

For sites with many users: add and remove people and export reports from any phone, tablet or computer. No software to install, and it grows door by door.

Keyless locks for a single door

Not every door needs a system. These locks work on their own, without an app and without wiring to a controller.

Lockwood 001Touch

The 001 deadlatch has secured Australian homes for more than 30 years. This one has a touch keypad where the cylinder was. It opens by PIN or key card and relocks itself after five seconds. A visitor PIN can run from three hours to fourteen days. For timber doors.

From $337 incl. GST, plus installation

Lockwood Code Handle

A lever handle with the code buttons built in. It takes up to nine codes and locks out after five wrong tries. Made for an office, a store room or the study at home. Indoors only, the handle is not weather rated.

Yale Assure keypad deadbolt

Works by code on its own. With an Alarm.com alarm panel it joins the app, and then you can lock it, hand out codes and get alerts from your phone.

Neptune keypad and card kit

A waterproof keypad in a zinc alloy case that shrugs off vandals, with an electric strike, power supply, cable and cards. It holds up to 2,100 users. A good fit for gates.

Kit $389 incl. GST, supply only

Prices are for the hardware. For the installation you get a fixed price after an inspection, or after sending photos by SMS.

Questions about smart locks and intercoms

Do I need Wi-Fi for a smart lock?

No. The Yale lock talks to the alarm panel by Z-Wave, and the panel uses the mobile network. The wire-free video doorbell is different: it does need Wi-Fi at the door.

What do I need for the Alarm.com app?

An alarm panel that works with Alarm.com and a paid plan. Locks, lights, the garage door and the doorbell are then added to the same app.

Can you install a lock I bought myself?

Yes. Call before you buy if you can: many locks work only on their own and will not talk to an intercom or an alarm.

What happens when the internet is down?

A wired Aiphone still rings the monitor inside and opens the door. The keypad on a smart lock keeps working as well. Only the phone app has to wait.

Can my old Aiphone intercom ring my phone?

Not the old one itself. The Aiphone JO series replaces it, keeps a wired monitor in the house and adds an app for up to eight phones or tablets.

How do I get a price for a lock or an intercom?

You get a fixed price after an inspection, or after sending photos of the door, gate or old intercom by SMS.

A fixed price before any work starts

Andy looks at the door, gate or intercom, or you send photos by SMS.

Call 0414 552 600 Request a fixed price