Eliminating the landline phone in your vacation house is a great way to save money. But having no landline phone poses a problem if you want to use a home freeze alarm to protect against frozen pipes since freeze alarms communicate by phone. Although there is no standalone “cellular freeze alarm” on the market, there is a simple way for you to connect two off-the-shelf products that combine to make a home freeze alarm that communicates via a cellular signal.
Start with a Cellular Terminal
A fixed cellular terminal is a device that provides a cellular connection and generates a dial tone. Once you have a dial tone, you can hook up any auto-dialer device like a burglar alarm, remote monitoring system or in this case, a home freeze alarm.
To choose the best cellular terminal for your vacation house, you will need to consider:
(1) Which cellular service providers (or carriers) provide coverage where your home is located, and;
(2) Which cellular carrier you use for your personal cell phone.
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Did you know that for less than $300 you can add a cellular connection to your office that can be used for voice and text service? This revolutionary device — called a “fixed cellular terminal” – works anywhere there’s a cell signal and can be used to provide cellular connectivity for any device that needs a dial tone, including security systems, remote monitoring systems and fax machines. You can also use a cellular terminal to add an extra phone line or replace your landline phone. More advanced models even provide Internet access. There are many ways a cellular terminal can help small businesses save money and improve operations. Here are five of them:
1) Reduce $$$ for calls to and from cell phones – Route all incoming and outgoing cell phone calls through your cellular terminal to reduce or eliminate charges. Nearly all cellular service plans charge less for cell phone-to-cell phone calls than they do for cell phone-to-landline calls. And if the calls are in-network, they are usually free!
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Violent summer thunderstorms can strike at any time, resulting in a power failure that can last for hours. But if you are at work or traveling, how will you know if your pet is stranded at home with no air conditioning and at risk of heat stroke? Pets are equally vulnerable in the wintertime when icy storms can cause a power failure, leaving them shivering in an unheated house for hours until you get home.
There are a number of strategies concerned pet owners can use to be alerted of power failures in their home. Here are a few suggestions:
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Do you need a temperature alarm that will notify you when temperatures get too warm or too cold but there’s no landline phone connection to send out the alert? There are a few stand-alone “cellular temperature alarms” on the market today, but it’s actually very easy to assemble a more economical system yourself by combining two off-the-shelf devices – a cellular terminal plus a freeze alarm – to create a unit that monitors both high and low temperatures and works anywhere that you have electricity and cell phone service.
Typical places where you might need a cellular temperature alarm include vacation homes, RVs and remote buildings like greenhouses, garages and barns. For instance, pet owners traveling by RV in the summertime worry that their dogs will suffer from heat stroke if the A/C were to quit. And absentee vacation homeowners worry about frozen pipes and furnace failure in the winter, as well as air conditioning systems breaking down in the summertime causing mold and mildew growth. In all of these scenarios, a cellular temperature alarm will alert owners by phone if there is a heat or freeze emergency. Read the rest of this entry »
Freezing pipes due to a power outage or furnace failure are a big concern for homeowners who are traveling in the winter or have left their vacation home unoccupied. A frozen pipe can burst and cause thousands of dollars of damage to walls, floors, furniture and mementos. Fortunately, there are a range of remote monitoring devices available that will alert you if the temperature in your home plummets, giving you time to remedy the situation before the pipes freeze and burst. These devices are called freeze alarms, Internet thermostats and sometimes Internet freeze alarms, which is a slang description for the Internet thermostat. This tutorial will help you decide which type of alarm is best for you. Read the rest of this entry »
So you’ve got a vacation home without a landline and are concerned that if your heat goes out, you could be facing a disaster. Although there isn’t a standalone product on the market that can function as a cellular freeze alarm, there is a simple way to combine two products to achieve the same objective.
Item 1 of 2: Cellular Terminal
A cellular terminal is a device that generates a dial tone via cellular. To choose the best one for your situation, consider two things: which carriers work at the location, and which carrier you currently use. If the carrier you use for your primary cell phone works in your vacation home, consider adding a second line to your existing plan for a cellular terminal compatible with that carrier. Another option for any of the cellular terminals is to obtain a prepaid plan. These can be very economical, but pay attention to expiration dates when purchasing minutes. Review our Cellular Terminal Comparison Chart to help you select a cellular terminal.
Item 2 of 2: Freeze Alarm
Once you’ve got a cellular dial tone, all you need is a freeze alarm. Our Freeze Alarms Comparison Chart will help you select the perfect model for your vacation home.
Mission Accomplished!
Although there may not be a single “cellular freeze alarm“, it is quite simple to monitor your vacation home for low temperatures over cellular. As always, if you need any assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us at support@diycontrols.com.
Tell Us About It!
If you’ve implemented a cellular freeze alarm solution in your home, tell us about it in the comments below!
Update: We’ve put together some cellular freeze alarm packages containing one of our most popular cellular terminals and some of our most user friendly freeze alarms, or you can choose any one of our freeze alarms and combine it with any cellular terminal to create your own cellular freeze alarm.
