Texecom Premier Elite 64-W Burglar Alarm Kit, LCDLP Keypad KIT-1086

What this Texecom Premier Elite kit is for

Wiring every door and room of an occupied building is slow and disruptive. This Texecom Premier Elite kit starts from a wireless panel, so an installer can protect a property with far less cable.

It can suit installers fitting a burglar alarm kit in a home or small business, and it gives the end user a keypad and tags for everyday use. The kit is a starting point, and the job may need more parts.

How does this wireless burglar alarm work?

The panel is the brain of the system. Detectors and contacts report to it by radio, and it decides whether to raise an alarm.

• Ricochet mesh: in a mesh, a wireless device that cannot reach the panel directly can relay its signal through another one nearby. This helps where walls or distance weaken radio.
• Zones: a zone is one monitored point, usually a detector or contact. The panel starts at 32 wireless zones, and expansion modules take it to its 64 limit.
• Areas: areas split the system into parts that arm separately. Four is enough for a house with a garage and an annexe, or a shop with a stockroom.
• Proximity tags: a tag is a small fob read by the keypad. The user presents it at the keypad instead of typing a code.

Where to use it

A panel at EN 50131 Grade 2 is generally aimed at low to medium risk premises, which covers most homes and many small businesses. Texecom's wider range also includes Grade 3 panels.

A wireless layout is handy where walls cannot easily be cut into for cable, such as finished or listed interiors, or where only part of a building is being protected. The keypad still needs its own connection.

What the figures mean in practice

• 32 zones to start: the kit fills just 4 of them with its three detectors and door contact, leaving 28 for further devices.
• 50 user codes: enough to give each person a separate code, so a code can be removed without changing everyone else's.
• Up to 4 keypads: a second keypad at a back door or bedroom saves walking to the first one.

Installing it

• Keypad connection: decide where the keypad will sit before fixing the panel.
• Programming: an installer who knows another Premier Elite panel should find the programming familiar. Texecom's software tools cover upload/download, diagnostics and remote maintenance.
• Adding zones: Texecom's range includes the Premier Elite 8XP-W and 32XP-W wireless expanders, so confirm the right expander for this panel.

Planning your system

Alerts that must leave the site need a communicator, so choose one early.

• Signalling: Premier Elite ComIP sends alarms over a computer network to an alarm receiving centre, the control room of a monitoring company, and ComGSM provides SMS text messages. Texecom Connect SmartCom is an ethernet and WiFi communicator.
• Phone control: the Texecom Connect app lets a user control the system from a compatible smartphone or tablet, so check which communicator the app needs.
• Extra control: the Premier Elite SmartKey is a wireless keyfob for arming, part arming and disarming.
• Linking other systems: Premier Elite panels are designed to work with leading access control, CCTV and home automation systems, so check the system you plan to link.

Standards explained

• EN 50131 Grade 2: EN 50131 is the European standard for intruder alarm systems. Grade 2 means low to medium risk, with an intruder expected to have limited tools and some knowledge of alarms. This grade is for the panel, so the finished system's grade depends on every device fitted to it.