Northern Nevada loses power more than people expect. Washoe Valley wind, winter storms, and the planned shutoffs the utility sometimes uses on high fire-risk days can all leave a house dark for hours. Internet drops are more common still. So it is fair to ask what your alarm system does when that happens.
The short answer: a properly installed, professionally monitored alarm keeps protecting the house through both. But not everything attached to it does, and it is better to know which parts go quiet before you need them.
When the Power Goes Out
The alarm panel keeps running. Every panel I install has a backup battery inside it. When the power drops, the panel switches to the battery without missing a beat and sends a power-loss signal so you know about it. A healthy battery carries the panel for many hours, typically most of a day.
Your sensors do not notice. Door and window contacts, motion detectors, glass-break sensors, and wireless smoke detectors run on their own batteries all year round. A power cut changes nothing for them.
The siren still sounds, and the alarm still reports. As long as the panel has battery, a break-in during an outage is handled exactly like one on a normal day.
Smart locks still lock. They are battery powered. The keypad on the door works with or without electricity in the house.
When the Internet Goes Out
This is where systems differ the most, and where cheaper setups fall down.
A system that relies only on your home Wi-Fi goes blind the moment the internet drops. The siren may sound, but nobody outside the house is told. Cutting a cable line on the outside of a house takes seconds, so this is not only about bad weather.
Every Kiwi Alarms system uses dual path reporting. The panel talks to the Brinks Home Security monitoring center over both your broadband connection and its own built-in cellular radio. If the internet goes down, or someone cuts it, the cellular path carries the alarm signal on its own. You do not need to do anything, and it does not use your phone plan.
This matters even more outside the city. In places like Spanish Springs, Washoe Valley, Fernley, and the foothills, home internet is less dependable, and cellular reporting is what keeps the system honest.
What Does Stop Working
I would rather you hear this from me now than discover it during a storm.
Wi-Fi cameras. Most cameras need mains power and your router. With either one gone, live view and cloud recording stop. Cameras wired to a recorder keep recording only if the recorder has power.
Your router. When the router loses power, everything that depends on Wi-Fi goes with it, even devices that have their own batteries.
Plug-in smart devices. Smart plugs, lamps on a schedule, and most video doorbells wired to the house transformer go off with the power.
How to Close the Gaps
Put the router and modem on a small battery backup. A basic uninterruptible power supply, the kind sold for desktop computers, will keep a router and modem alive for a useful stretch. This one purchase keeps your cameras, doorbell, and app notifications working through most short outages.
Do the same for a camera recorder. If your cameras record to a box in a closet, that box and the switch feeding the cameras can share a backup unit.
Test the panel battery once a year. Pick a quiet afternoon, unplug the panel's power supply, and see that it reports the power loss and keeps running. Plug it back in after an hour. If it complains about low battery within that hour, replace the battery.
Check your contact list. During a wide outage you might be the one who is hard to reach. Make sure the monitoring center has a second person they can call. My installation handover checklist covers what should be on file.
Add environmental sensors if outages worry you. A long winter outage is how pipes freeze. A low-temperature sensor and a water leak detector report through the same cellular path as the burglar alarm, so you hear about a cold house or a burst pipe even with the internet down.
- Panel has a working backup battery, tested within the last year
- System reports over cellular as well as broadband
- Router and modem on a battery backup unit
- Camera recorder on a battery backup unit
- Second emergency contact on file with the monitoring center
- Low-temperature and water sensors for winter outages
- Everyone in the house knows the panel beeps on power loss and how to silence it
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my alarm system work during a power outage? +
Yes, if it is professionally installed with a backup battery. The panel switches to battery automatically and keeps the sensors, siren, and monitoring connection running. A healthy battery typically lasts most of a day, and less as the battery ages.
Does my alarm work if the internet goes down? +
It does if the panel has cellular backup. Kiwi Alarms systems use dual path reporting, sending signals to the Brinks Home Security monitoring center over both broadband and a built-in cellular radio. If the internet drops or the line is cut, the cellular path still delivers the alarm.
Do security cameras work without power or Wi-Fi? +
Most do not. Wi-Fi cameras need mains power and a working router. Putting the router, modem, and any camera recorder on a battery backup unit keeps cameras working through most short outages.
How often should an alarm panel battery be replaced? +
Panel batteries wear out over several years. Test the battery once a year by unplugging the panel for an hour. If it shows a low-battery warning in that time, or after any short outage, it should be replaced.
Does cellular backup use my cell phone plan? +
No. The cellular radio is built into the alarm panel and is part of the monitoring service. It works independently of your phone and your home internet.
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