Old keypad died during a storm, went cellular after that

Honestly, I used to think hardwired keypads were bulletproof until a lightning strike near Tulsa took out the panel and the phone line last spring. The client called me at 2 AM because their alarm was screaming and the keypad was dead, so I had to drive out with a spare battery and bypass the siren just to shut it down. That mess convinced me to pitch cellular communicators with battery backup on every new install, even if it adds $300 to the quote. Now I test the backup on every service call, but has anyone else had a panel fry from a surge that the surge protector didn't catch?

1 comments

1 Comment

anna_carter5310h ago

Surge protectors only catch what they're rated for, Mother Nature don't care about ratings.