Newbie has Couple of Questions on Home Security

[apostolakisl]

When you say one zone- do you mean one wire run? So one wire per door, one per window bank? (I figure I can just use some phone or Cat5e/6 I have).

I would use real alarm wire, not cat5. If memory serves me it is 22 gauge 2 or 4 stranded.

And yes, I think you understand about the zone wiring. You should do a home run to each door and a home run to each bank of windows. Once you get to the bank of windows you daisy chain the windows together putting them in series electrically with your end of line resistor on the last one. Doing a home run to each individual wire is way overkill in my opinion and will result in a mass of wires that will just kill your day (or week, or month) trying to organize and hook up.

Also consider smoke detectors. pull 4 stranded for those. Also pull 4 stranded for you motions. Cat5 is good for your touchpads.

 

[Del91574]

I would use real alarm wire, not cat5. If memory serves me it is 22 gauge 2 or 4 stranded.
. Doing a home run to each individual wire is way overkill in my opinion and will result in a mass of wires that will just kill your day (or week, or month) trying to organize and hook up.

Also consider smoke detectors. pull 4 stranded for those. Also pull 4 stranded for you motions. Cat5 is good for your touchpads.

Fire alarm should always be solid conductors wherever possible: Reason being if the strands end up getting broken or nicked, it's either a go/no go vs. a minimal connection. Terminals on detectors with the clamping washers tend to cut through stranded wire as well.

C5 has it's purpose, but really not in an alarm for protective circuits. 22 AWG is far more appropriate compared to a 24 (or lighter) AWG. Homeruns is the only way to go, if at all possible, (exception being fire alarm) because it makes troubleshooting 10X easier. You may use a little bit more wire, but management isn't too difficult and splicing is no different between in the field or in the panel.

Personally, I like solid for my "permanent" wiring and use stranded where flexibility is needed or I/A/W a specific manufacturer's directions (such as with weigand readers, etc.) Most people tend to knock solid conductors because they don't know how to work with them, crank terminals too tight or nick the conductors when stripping....

 

[daurtanyn]

A wired "zone" is made up of a single wire loop and a sensor or sensor group. Since some sensors need power, a second pair is often needed. Acoustic glassbreak sound sensors or motion sensors are examples of types which need separate power.

Cat5 is a little bit of overkill in most cases, since it has four pairs inside the jacket. And for Cat6, the internal pair separators make for bulky a cable.

I believe the "one per window bank" statement indicates a single home run to the security panel, but a daisy chain of individual sensors on a set of windows. Zone inputs are expensive and, usually, you just want to know if an "area" is breached.