Alarm Systems

How to Power a Simon 3 or Simon XT Alarm System Permanently With a Battery

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Hardware:

  • Alarm.com GE Simon 3 Alarm panel, Part Number 60-875
  • Alarm.com GE Simon XT Alarm Panel
  • Voltage Regulator kit custom made by me — for sale to you for $150 (see below for more information).
A GE Simon 3 alarm panel running off of a 12-volt battery

See one version of this setup in action:If you are trying to secure a building that does not have AC power, your choices are limited (I know of no other option).  I work at a business where we are building new homes and rehabbing old homes and there are many times when we have valuable material (copper piping, electrical wiring, water heaters, furnaces, and even appliances) in the building but do not have electric service and definitely don’t have a phone line either.  We need to secure the building none-the-less.

This led me to develop a solution to power an Alarm.com GE Simon 3 alarm system with a battery.  I can get 30+ days on a heavy duty 12 volt marine battery (I use a marine battery because it has butterfly nuts on the two posts, making it easy to connect the voltage regulator’s wiring).  The GE Simon 3 alarm system is normally powered off of an AC transformer that provides 10V AC.  Inside the alarm is a 6.5 V backup battery.  When the power goes out, the alarm system can run off of the internal backup battery for up to 24 hours.  What I have done is replaced the internal backup battery with a 12 volt marine battery via a voltage regulator, which provides a steady 6.5 volts to the alarm.  The alarm thinks the power is out and it is running off the internal battery and runs in a power-save mode but everything functions correctly.  If you are viewing the alarm via the Alarm.com website it will report “AC Power Failure” but that warning can be ignored as long as you don’t get a warning where it says “Panel not responding.”  That indicated that the alarm’s radio is not communicating with Alarm.com’s servers and therefore you will not be alerted if an alarm goes off (the alarm panel very likely will still sound its siren though).
For more information on how to purchase this battery power solution please send me a message on my contact me page.
A GE Simon XT alarm panel powered off a 12-volt battery.  This model includes a voltmeter you can use to test the 12-volt battery input and the 6.5-volt output
The back side of the setup where you can see the extra alarm siren mounted on the back.

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John Mueller
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2 Comments

  • I appreciate your posts! I am running the GE Simon 3 alarm system but only as a stand alone alarm….not connecting to an alarm company. Every once in a while it wakes us up beeping that it can’t connect to the alarm company. Is there a way of turing this function off? Would deleting sensor #24 do this? Thanks in advance..Carl

    Reply

    • Carl, I asked Alarm.com once about what would happen if I deleted sensor 24 (by accident) and learned that you can but every time you power cycle it will automatically come back. What I think you should do is delete or turn off option 26 which is called “Failed to Communicate.” To do this you would:
      1. Open panel cover. Panel announces, Use numbered keys to enter ID.
      2. Enter Access Code using the numbered keys. Panel announces, “Please select from Start Menu.”
      3. Press Delete from the Start menu. Panel announces, “Select from main menu.”
      4. Press Option #. Panel announces, “Option 1, press again for next option or done to
      select.”
      5. Enter 26 on the numerical keypad and (press enter? I’m not sure) OR Press again until it announces “Option 26”
      5. Press DONE. Panel announces, Option 26 deleted.

      Reply

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