APL or Advanced Protection Logic was introduced with LYNX Touch as a way to combat “smashing” the control keypad before an intrusion alarm can be sent to a central station.
Traditional hardwired systems such as the Honeywell Vista-20P, have a control panel which contains the intelligence of the security system, hidden somewhere out of sight, usually in a closet or basement. The location is picked by ease of wiring (all hardwired sensors have to run back to the control panel), as well as security. How long would it take an intruder to find and disable the control panel? Smashing the keypad of a hardwired system will not disable the security system nor prevent an alarm signal being transmitted to the central station.
However with an all-in-one system the control panel is more visible to an intruder since it’s generally mounted to a wall in a central location of the home making it easy for family members to interact the system. This makes most all-in-systems extremely vulnerable to an intruder disabling the system before a siren even activates, and certainly before any alarm signal can be transmitted. Advanced Protection Logic (APL) however eliminates this risk because a pre-alarm signal is sent as soon as the entry delay (door opening) begins. A second signal, pre-alarm cancel, is sent when the security system is disarmed which indicates to the central station everything is OK – if received within say 60 seconds of the initial pre-alarm signal. If the panel is “smashed” before it can send the second pre-alarm cancel signal, then the central station will assume there is a valid burglary in process and take appropriate response.
The Honeywell Lyric and Honeywell LYNX Touch all-in-panels have APL built-in. While APL itself will not prevent a break-in or your system potentially being destroyed, it can ensure notification to your local police of a robbery in progress and hopefully limit any loss since intruders won’t have hours to spend in your home.
Of course having central station monitoring is critical since without it the panel smash risk has not been removed! Landline connection to a central station is fine for normal alarm signalling, but is not APL supported and requires a backup communication path such as Internet or cellular. Only the Honeywell LYNX Touch L5210 still supports landline communication. Also Self-Monitoring which could include Honeywell AlarmNet with Total Connect 2.0 for remote arming/disarm and Z-Wave control for example, will not however remove the panel smash risk. APL was designed for central station dispatch use.
To summarize, APL is used to eliminate panel smash risk and is only supported on the following panels using interactive service (Honeywell AlarmNet) and UL Central Station monitoring:
SecureNet Interactive Services also features their version of APL called Smash and Grab. It works basically the same as Honeywell’s APL and is used for alarm systems (both wired and wireless) that utilize SecureNet for interactive services via IP Internet or cellular. Example wireless panels that can use SecureNet with the capability for Smash and Grab protection: