If your alarm system has been installed within the past 10 years by a professional alarm installation company then it is most likely to work on the Epicus platform, however our engineer will carry out a full system check on the day of the switchover and advise if any additional works need to be done in order for it to operate.

A maintenance plan ensures your system is kept in good working order and also ensures 24 hour availability of our Service Department in the event of an emergency. The certificate of conformance to EN50131 (which is required by insurers and for Garda Response) will lapse one year from the installation date unless a maintenance plan is in place.

Our Basic plan of Single path alarm monitoring with one maintenance will suffice for small to medium sized domestic premises. For commercial premises and larger homes with a greater level of risk we recommend our Premium plan which includes dual path alarm monitoring with two maintenance visits per year. We also have a service plus option which includes a fully comprehensive, lifetime parts and labour warranty of your system.

An Garda Siochana will only respond to verified alarm activations received from a premises with a valid Unique Reference Number (URN). Epicus’s monitoring control room uses various types of verification technologies to distinguish between false alarms and real intrusions and will immediately notify the Gardai/Ambulance/Fire Department when an alarm signal is verified. We cannot, however, guarantee the speed of the emergency services response as it is outside of our control.

Domestic intruder alarm systems with 10 zones or less, and CCTV systems with 8 cameras or less should have a minimum of one routine maintenance visit per year in order to ensure it remains in perfect order. We recommend that all Commercial systems and larger Domestic systems should have a minimum of two visits.

A GSM Blocker is a small electronic device that can effectively block any radio signal in the local area where it is activated. There are a wide variety of blockers available with different abilities to block wider radio frequency ranges over wider distances. It is important to note that any device which transmits via a radio frequency can be blocked.

An intruder will typically position a blocker beside or on the roof of a premises which they have targeted. When the device is switched on, the intruder will cut the PSTN landline. When the intruder breaks into the building the intruder alarm panel will try to alert the monitoring company by the phone line which is cut, it will then send the signal via the GSM back-up device. However, that signal goes nowhere. It is also important to note that the intruder alarm panel and the GSM back-up unit do not know that the alarm event has not been sent to the monitoring centre. The intruders can spend as long as they like in the premises without anybody knowing until the next morning when you or a member of staff first arrives to work.