I wanted to take the time to explain what UL is. According to the UL Website (UL.com) “UL is a global independent safety science company with more than a century of expertise innovating safety solutions from the public adoption of electricity to new breakthroughs in sustainability, renewable energy and nanotechnology. Dedicated to promoting safe living and working environments, UL helps to safeguard people, products and places in important ways, facilitating trade and providing peace of mind. In short, UL is an independent body that promotes safety in various industries. The fact that UL is an independent organization is very important as it helps in eliminating any bias. UL’s stamp of approval can be found on toasters, hair dryers, and life safety systems.

In American Total Protection’s world, providing its customers with a UL Listed Central Station is absolutely essential. As a company, the ATP Alarms employees would not be able to rest comfortably using a central monitoring station without this classification. A monitoring station can only be UL listed if UL audited the station . This audit includes and inspection of the “building structure, receiving and monitoring equipment, and staffing issues in addition to installation and ongoing services.” In addition, the above criteria must be met at ALL times. With that said, if a life safety company does not advertise that they use a UL listed monitoring station, they probably do not use one.

If a company does not utilize a UL station, it is possible that no one has inspected or verified that the station is up to par. What does up to par mean? The UL stations we utilize are heavily fortified structures . In addition, strict access identification is needed to enter the station. Also, we have multiple contingency measures in place. Meaning, if there were some type of attack or natural disaster affecting the primary monitoring station, we have plans in place for your system to be monitored at another location. With all this in mind, a station that is not UL listed may be in an unprotected location (weak infrastructure and no access control).

When choosing an alarm company, please ask the company that you are working with about their monitoring station. If the station that they are using is not UL listed, ask why. If it is not UL listed, please ask about the infrastructure and contingency plans that their monitoring station has. In addition, as our market becomes flooded with more competition, some companies are even straying away from UL listed equipment.

At ATP Alarms , we take your safety, the safety of your loved ones, the safety of your employees, the safety of your customers, and the safety of your valuables very seriously. That is why we demand a UL certification for the central monitoring stations that we use.

As always, if you have any questions regarding your future or current life safety system , please do not hesitate to contact a member of the American Total Protection team. We would be glad to provide a free consultation and answer any questions, no matter how small, that you may have. Protect who you love .

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