Vent: customer said my alarm panel looked ugly, made me rethink my whole install approach

Back in March I was putting in a system for a lady in Brookline and she stopped me halfway through. She points at the panel I'm mounting right inside her front door and says "that thing is an eyesore, can you hide it?" At first I was annoyed cause I always put them there for easy arming. But she showed me this little closet under the stairs where her circuit breaker was and asked if I could put it there with a wireless keypad instead. I grumbled but did it and honestly the job looked way cleaner. Since then I've started asking customers if they care about hiding the panel before I start drilling holes. It adds like 20 minutes to the walkthrough but saves me from having to move stuff later. Anybody else run into homeowners who care more about looks than function?

2 comments

2 Comments

linda_butler281mo ago

Little correction here - wireless keypads still need power, usually batteries or a transformer. So if you put the main panel in a closet you better make sure the wireless keypad has a good signal path back to it. I've seen guys hide panels in metal electrical rooms and then wonder why the wireless range is garbage. Metal breaker boxes and concrete walls kill RF signals dead. Just something to keep in mind before you start tucking things away in random closets.

the_seth1mo ago

What about putting the panel on the side of a closet door frame where it faces away from the main room instead of tucking it in a metal box like @linda_butler28 mentioned... that way you get a clean look without killing your signal.