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How to Save Money on Landline Connected Alarm System Monitoring
Introduction to Landline Alarm System Monitoring
What is Landline Alarm Monitoring?
If you’re still relying on a traditional home security setup, chances are it uses landline monitoring. Simply put, landline alarm monitoring connects your alarm system to a monitoring center using your home’s telephone line. When an alarm is triggered—whether it’s for burglary, fire, or medical emergency—the system dials out using the landline and alerts the central station.
Although it might sound old-school compared to cellular or internet-based systems, landline monitoring still holds a strong place in the world of home and business security. In many areas, it remains the most reliable method, especially where cellular signals are spotty or internet connectivity is inconsistent. Plus, many legacy systems were designed to run on landline infrastructure, making it an efficient choice for long-time users.
This method of communication is particularly valuable in rural areas and regions prone to natural disasters where cell towers or internet might go down. Landlines tend to remain operational during emergencies when other networks fail. That’s peace of mind you can count on.
Why People Still Use Landline-Based Security?
There are plenty of reasons why landline monitoring continues to attract savvy homeowners. For starters, if your security system is already set up to communicate via a landline, switching to a different form of monitoring might not only be unnecessary—it could be expensive. Why rip out something that works perfectly just because it’s not the newest thing on the block?
Moreover, for homeowners who are conscious about costs, landline monitoring provides a low-overhead solution. Since the infrastructure is already in place, there are no added hardware or upgrade costs needed to support it. And when paired with a provider like SafeHardCentral.com, the savings can be substantial.
Another bonus? Many landline monitoring systems operate independently of Wi-Fi and power, especially if you’ve got a backup battery in place. This keeps your system functioning during outages, which are typically the times you need security the most.
So, while the tech world races ahead with new gadgets and smart systems, there’s wisdom in sticking with a tried-and-true method that still gets the job done effectively and affordably.
The Hidden Costs of Traditional Monitoring Services
Monthly Subscription Fees That Add Up
Most homeowners never realize how much they’re spending on alarm monitoring until they stop to do the math. A lot of traditional providers charge anywhere from $30 to $60 a month for landline monitoring. Some even bundle unnecessary add-ons, driving your bill up to nearly $100 per month.
Now, take a second to think long-term. Paying $40 monthly translates to $480 annually. Multiply that over five years, and you’re dishing out $2,400—often for basic monitoring that could be done for a fraction of the cost.
Even worse, these higher-priced services aren’t always offering better protection. You’re essentially paying a premium for brand name recognition or outdated business models that rely on hidden fees and bloated service plans.
For those with legacy alarm panels and active landlines, switching to an affordable provider like SafeHardCentral.com, which charges just $8.95/month, can lead to staggering savings without compromising on safety.
Long-Term Contracts and Cancellation Fees
Another hidden trap with traditional alarm monitoring services? Contracts. Lengthy, restrictive contracts that lock you in for 12, 24, even 36 months. They come with fine print that can feel like navigating a legal maze, and breaking these contracts early can cost you hundreds in cancellation fees.
These contracts are designed to keep you tied to overpriced services, even if you’re unhappy. Want to switch to a more budget-friendly option? Too bad—there’s likely a penalty fee waiting.
Thankfully, SafeHardCentral.com does away with this nonsense. With their no-contract approach, you’re free to come and go as you please. That means no commitment, no penalty fees, and no pressure. It’s a refreshing shift from the outdated “sign-and-suffer” model.
Why SafeHardCentral.com is a Game Changer
Unbeatable Price at $8.95/Month
In a market where the average alarm monitoring fee ranges from $30 to $50, SafeHardCentral.com is a breath of fresh air. Their pricing model is simple, transparent, and incredibly affordable—just $8.95 per month. No hidden fees, no complex tiered plans—just reliable service at a price that finally makes sense.
Think about it: that’s less than the cost of two coffees a month. Over a year, you’re looking at $107.40 in total, compared to hundreds you’d be shelling out to a traditional provider. It’s a no-brainer for budget-conscious homeowners and renters alike.
Plus, this isn’t a stripped-down version of monitoring. SafeHardCentral.com offers full-service professional monitoring through UL certified stations, which means you’re still getting top-notch protection—just without the corporate markup.
No Long-Term Contracts or Commitments
Commitment-phobes, rejoice. SafeHardCentral.com doesn’t tie you down with contracts. This flexibility is particularly appealing to renters or those planning to move. It also gives you the peace of mind to try their service risk-free.
Whether you’re testing the waters or just sick of being shackled to a company that no longer serves your needs, going contract-free means you call the shots. Cancel anytime. Pause when needed. Upgrade if you want. It’s home security on your terms.
Trustworthy Monitoring with UL Certified Central Stations
What UL Certification Means for Your Safety
UL certification isn’t just some technical label—it’s a stamp of quality and reliability in the security world. UL (Underwriters Laboratories) is one of the most respected safety certification organizations in North America. When a central monitoring station is UL certified, it means they’ve met stringent standards for staffing, response times, equipment redundancy, and overall performance.
In short, your emergency calls are being handled by professionals who are held to the highest standards. That’s not something you can say about every monitoring service out there.
With SafeHardCentral.com, you’re not trading cost for quality. You get the best of both worlds—affordable pricing with certified professional monitoring that’s on par with the most elite systems.
Insurance Benefits and Certificate Access
Here’s a bonus many folks don’t realize: a monitored alarm system—especially one through a UL certified station—can actually reduce your home insurance premiums. Most insurers recognize the added protection and offer discounts of 5% to 20% for professionally monitored systems.
SafeHardCentral.com provides the certificate you need to claim that discount. Just show it to your insurer, and you could easily shave more off your annual premium—making the already low $8.95/month fee even more worthwhile.
Overview of 2GIG Edge Panel Features
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The Lyric system controller is backward compatible with the earlier Honeywell 5800-Series wireless sensors and detectors allowing upgrade customers to reuse existing devices on the new platform. Likewise, the new SiX-Series line of wireless devices are easy to install, easy to maintain and provide a higher level of security. This includes the Lyric secondary keypad (
The Lyric Controller can receive voice commands to control Z-Wave automation smart scenes and other features with the use of it’s built-in microphone. There are three basic commands the Lyric alarm control panel will understand Hello Lyric, Hello Lyric home, and OK Lyric. Once the trigger word has been stated you can then follow with your automation smart scene name such as Returning Home, Wake-Up, Evening Time, or Bedtime. These scenes can include an array of Z-Wave connected devices to lock/unlock a door, lower a connected thermostat, turn on/off or dim lights, close or open your garage door.
The Honeywell Lyric Controller has also added integration with the 
While we see the Honeywell Lyric LCP500-L Security Controller as a hit with great features, there is a glaring negative we see as well. If you signup for AlarmNet for Interactive Services and possibly Total Connect 2, you are sort of “locked” to your selected dealer for monitoring services. You can still change dealers at any time of course but it will require a factory reset (defaulting the panel) which blows away all existing panel settings and zone configuration. Honeywell has decided, and just for Lyric it seems, to make dealer “takeovers” of monitoring accounts very difficult since they now require the new dealer or DIY homeowner to reenter/reprogram all wireless sensors and more into the controller from scratch. If you start with a good monitoring vendor this will never be a problem but we have an issue making it so burdensome for users to switch if their dealer service levels fall or their pricing is no longer competitive.
Your home is your castle as they say. It’s where you go to escape and find peace in a world full of madness. For this reason, it’s imperative that you create an environment that is safe for the sake of you and your family. A 
The first signal sent by your control panel will alert monitoring personnel at the central station, who will call to notify you and confirm whether it’s a real emergency, or a false alarm. If you don’t respond, the monitoring service contacts the proper local agency to dispatch emergency personnel to your address. Some security systems offer additional features, such as immediate alarms which don’t depend upon a confirmation call (keypad fire alarm for example) or silent alarms that don’t alert intruders and give them a chance to disable the system before the follow-up signal is sent.
Voice over IP (VoIP) and broadband Internet communication are options, but they are not considered reliable paths by themselves like land lines. They can also be cut by a burglar and more importantly they highly vulnerable to power outage. Most people do not have backup power for their home networking equipment such as a modem and/or router. If power goes out so may your Internet connection. Has this already happened to you during a storm?
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is a leader in certifying and inspecting central station standards and performance capabilities. UL has rigid standards and only a select percentage of monitoring facilities qualify for their listing. Annual inspections of listed central stations by UL are made to ensure continued compliance.
Unmonitored “local” alarms can still provide benefit, though limited. There is no monthly expense to deal with especially for multiple years with the big guys. If you’re home, the alarm noise lets you know there’s a problem and allows you to take necessary action. The noise may even frighten off some less-determined intruders. Many emergencies however are too serious to deal with by yourself, especially if you’re disabled or otherwise incapacitated. In most cases you’ll want police, fire, or medical professionals on the scene as soon as possible.
We all have smartphones. Why not use them to control your home security and automation devices too? This is at the top of the wish list for most DIY homeowners.
By this point, you understand the basics of home security alarm monitoring. But there are some other key things you should keep in mind when choosing monitoring options. Some things you may have already discovered through previous research. But others you may be surprised to learn about with regards to alarm monitoring.
First let me say that Connect+ is different from other wireless systems on the market because it was designed from the start to be controlled by smartphones and tablets. That doesnt mean you can’t also use traditional keypads on the wall, they have multiple styles, its just that you don’t need to invest in one (or more) if not needed. Because the panel does not have a keypad built-in it becomes easy to install the Connect+ panel anywhere in the home where you have access to the Internet (Ethernet or optional WIFI) as well as 120VAC for power. Many people locate the controller by their entertainment center or by their office desk since network and power is generally there. No longer is there a search for a spot on the wall that is near an AC outlet to fish a power line!
OK, let’s discuss installation. What is generally the hardest part maybe the simpliest with Connect+. Just find a location with power and access to your router or within range of your WIFI network. Snap-in any optional modue cards such as WIFI or cellular. Plugin the backup battery and connect the transformer to your AC outlet. The system will bootup (takes about a minute) and you are ready to add your wireless sensors. Dealers (and DIYers!) can program the panel locally using the bluetooth Alula Connect+ Installer App which is a free download for both iOS and Android smartphones/tablets. Alternatatively dealers such as 
Some other great add-on modules for Connect+ is their Z-Wave card (another simple snap-in device) which allows control of Z-Wave compatibe lights, locks, and thermostats. Most of these home automation devices can also be found at your big-box stores such as Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy. For homeowners who are upgrading from an existing hardwired or wireless security system, Alula has a snap-in wireless to wireless translator that can convert the signals from 2GIG, GE, NAPCO, DSC, or Honeywell (5200) wireless devices. This is a money saver if you already have lots of older, but working wireless sensors. Alula also makes a hardwire to wireless converter as well so you can reuse those existing hardwired zones too. You just connect the hardwire zones to the converter which would be mounted by your existing control panel allowing Connect+ to see each zone as an encrypted wireless zone.
Besides Internet connectivity there are snap-in cellular modules as well You can go with AT&T (3G) or Verizon LTE currently. We recommend going with Verizon because they have the broadest US coverage as well having the most current 4G (LTE) format. We expect to see a 4G AT&T card soon but until then stay with 4G.
Interactive Services is a popular service that is part of alarm monitoring. This is what allows remote arming and disarming of your Connect+ system, as wel as status, bypassing, alarm notification, etc. from anywhere your smartphone has service. You can add home automation and be able to control your Z-Wave devices from the same Alula app. Video services are also available which Alula has been beefing up recently. We started with the Helix panel and Securenet for Interactive Services back in 2016 but today we use Alula’s own Interactive Services (previously part of ipDataTel) for an end-end security solution. The end-user experience with the Alula app is great (just as good if not better than Honeywell’s Total Connect 2) and very responsive.
An interior motion detector is used to “backup” the magnetic contacts on the doors and windows. PIR motion detectors can sense a moving heat source (such as a human body) within a room. The range of these sensors vary but most are rated to detect intruders 35 to 50 feet from the sensor. It must be line of site with no blockage such as glass in between the protection area and the motion sensor. PIRs do not detect objects moving beyond your windows or see through walls. Security manufacturers offer many Pet Immune models that can also accommodate pets such as dogs or cats. While they do work pretty well they accomplish this by reducing the detection sensitivity of the unit somewhat. My professional recommendation over the years has always been to only use motion detectors in areas without pets. For instance if you lock your dog in your bedroom at night then motion detectors on the first floor are fine. With the introduction of better Pet Immune models I’m now rethinking this advice. 
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.
This is the brains of the system and in wireless systems may also be the primary keypad and siren. Think of it as an all-in-one system. In a traditional hardwired system the control panel was hidden away in a basement or closet with just a remote keypad on the wall. Today’s wireless systems have the wireless transceiver built-in so just mount on a wall, or better yet a desk stand and just begin mounting wireless sensors.
Wireless Protection Sensors
But many people, and for good reason don’t have this anymore. They were an expense no longer needed with cell phones and landlines with alarm systems have the risk of tampering which could cut you off from the monitoring center. Today cellular communicators/cards are the standard. They draw their power from the control panel with its backup battery and connects directly to a cell tower avoiding cut phone wires. AT&T and Verizon are the primary choices for alarm systems currently in the US. Be sure to look for a 4G/LTE model since this technology will be around for a while while 3G and CDMA will sunset soon just like 2G did a few years ago.
Interactive Services (IS) between your security control and the central station when using either the Internet or cellular for connectivity. They are a service provider that routes your alarm notification to the proper central station when there is an event. This is charge plus the cellular service is generally included in your overall alarm monitoring bill. IS allows you to remotely control your security system and functions as well as home automation and video streaming if equipped. 
There are many Z-Wave home automation locks, light modules/switches, thermostats available that can be controlled by an app on your smartphone. This is where Interactive Services shines. Almost all new systems have IS compatability today. The actual service provider will vary by control panel manufacturer however since they build their communicators to work with the particular IS provider. There is Honeywell Alarmnet Total Connect 2, SecureNet, Alula Connect, Alarm.com just to name the top few.
As alarm dealers and DIY homeowners move away from hardwired alarm systems its natural to want to know if today’s wireless security systems are actually secure? The labor to run cabling to hardwired sensors on doors and windows, motion sensors, smoke detectors etc. is intense, or at least is for most homeowners. Wireless sensors are the craze today because the labor time per opening has been cut to 1/4. Yes the equipment cost is higher, but as they say, time is money and most dealers would rather send a 1 or 2 man team to your home for an hour or two rather than 3 to 4 for two days installing an alarm system. A non-techie homeowner can install a wireless system in one or two hours on a Saturday morning. Yes wireless sensors are a great advancement, but what about security?
Wireless sensors have been around for more than 20 years and reliable from a maintenance point of view but security was not a design concern. For example 
Today however Honeywell and others such as 
Bottom line is use encrypted sensors when you add transmitters assuming the panel you own can handle encryption. If you have the older Lynx Touch 7000 (which is still sold today) it can only use Honeywell’s 5800 series non-encrypted wireless transmitters. Their Lyric wireless panel however can use both the 5800 series (perfect when upgrading existing alarm systems) as well as the new secure SiX series line of wireless transmitters.
The words robbery and burglary are frequently utilized interchangeably in motion pictures, TV shows, books and on the web. Burglary and robbery are two extremely unique criminal offenses with different criteria, investigative procedures and implications for the victim.
In plain English, if an individual attempts or takes to take something from another person and has either been violent to or terrified the victim, this is a robbery.
Burglar alarms today are quite easy to install as compared to the professional security systems installed in banks and other large institutions if you’re concerned with your residential home. DIY home security alarm kits are less expensive, easy to understand and operate, and most importantly, easy to install.
It is best if you can find an alarm which is of top quality to ensure your home’s safety, and of course your family’s safety. Beware of DIY burglar alarms at big box stores (example Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy) which are very cheap, because they may not be reliable. Stick with the brands used by the large national alarm companies such as ADT. They standardize on 
It’s all over the news, crimes like robberies, hold ups, burglaries happen everyday and are the typical news that you’ll see all over television or hear over the radio. Criminals are not scared anymore, and perhaps the best step to take is to install a good quality