How is smart security different from a traditional alarm?

A traditional alarm sends a signal. A smart system sends a photo, reports over cellular when the line is cut, arms itself when you leave, and turns the lights on when it fires. You see what happened from your phone instead of guessing.

Does it need wiring in a finished Gig Harbor house?

No. Ajax detectors are wireless and battery powered. The encrypted Jeweller radio reaches up to 2,000 m in open space, so a large waterfront lot and a detached garage are covered from one hub.

Can it work with my Control4 system?

Yes. Ajax integrates with Control4, so the alarm, the cameras, the lights and the locks act together. Arm from the same keypad, and let an alarm turn on every light and put the camera on screen.

Is monitoring required?

No. Self-monitoring through the Ajax app is free and the photos still arrive. Professional monitoring through a UL-listed central station is month to month, with no contract, for households that want someone to dispatch when they cannot answer.

Smart Home Security in Gig Harbor: Ajax and Control4

What does smart home security look like in a Gig Harbor home?

An Ajax system that sends a photo within seconds of a trigger, and cameras on the entries and the dock. A Control4 system that turns every light on when the alarm fires. Here is how it fits Gig Harbor homes and what it does that a traditional alarm cannot.

Ajax photo-verified alarms, cameras on the entries and the dock, and Control4 that turns every light on when the alarm fires. All of it is designed for the large, wooded and waterfront Gig Harbor properties that neighbors cannot see. Rivas Technology Group installs and integrates both platforms from Kent.

By Ivan Rivas, Owner and Sales Engineer · 2025-10-31 · Updated 2026-09-17

A white dome security camera under a wooden eave of a waterfront home, overlooking a gray bay and misty forested hills

Why does a Gig Harbor home need more than an alarm?

Because a bare siren tells no one what happened, and Gig Harbor properties are often large, wooded and out of sight of the neighbors. Waterfront homes have a dock and a shore side that a street-facing camera never sees. Hillside homes above the harbor have long driveways. Many are second homes or sit empty during the workday in Tacoma. Rivas Technology Group installs Ajax security and cameras, integrated with Control4, for exactly these properties. The difference from a traditional alarm is that you know what tripped it before you decide what to do.

What does the Ajax system do?

It sends you a photo of the event within seconds, and it keeps reporting when the internet or power fails. The system is wireless: a hub, door and window contacts, MotionCam detectors, a keypad, sirens, and leak and smoke detectors if you want them. All of it is battery powered and installed in a finished house in a day. Four facts that matter on a Gig Harbor lot:

First photo within 9 seconds. A MotionCam delivers its first image in up to 9 seconds of a trigger, followed by a short series (Ajax MotionCam).
Range up to 2,000 m in open space. The encrypted Jeweller radio reaches detached garages, boathouses and gates. The hub polls every device every 12 to 300 seconds so a silent detector is reported (Hub 2 manual).
Three ways out. Hub 2 Plus reports over Ethernet, Wi-Fi and two cellular SIM channels (Hub 2 Plus). A cut line or an outage does not stop the alert.
24-month warranty. Ajax hardware is warranted for 24 months from date of sale, batteries excluded (Ajax warranty).

Tamper detection is built into every device, and you own all of it from the day it goes on the wall.

What does Control4 add?

Coordination. Ajax integrates with Control4, and Control4 works with 25,000+ third-party products (Control4), so the alarm becomes part of the house instead of a box by the door. In practice:

"Away" arms the system, drops the shades and turns the lights off in one press.
An alarm turns on every light inside and out and puts the nearest camera on the living room screen and your phone.
Arriving home disarms, lights the path and releases the door lock for the people you name.
You arm, disarm and check cameras from the same Control4 app, keypad or touch screen that runs the music.

Full details are on the Control4 page; the platform is the same, the security layer is what this post is about.

Which cameras, and where?

Cameras on the entries, the driveway and the water side, recorded on events with on-camera detection that tells a person from a deer. We install Ajax cameras and a video doorbell as part of the same app, with color night vision and mobile access. We place them on a walk-through rather than by a count. The side gate, the dock stairs and the garage man-door are the positions that get missed. Footage is searchable by event, so a delivery or a trespasser is found in seconds rather than by scrubbing hours.

Who is watching?

You, or a UL-listed central station, and the choice is month to month. Self-monitoring through the Ajax app has no fee and delivers the same photos. Professional monitoring through Becklar, a UL-listed central station, adds an operator who reviews the photo series, calls your contacts in order and dispatches when the event is real. That matters for a Gig Harbor home that sits empty in the day or a second home visited on weekends. No contract either way, and the hardware is yours whether monitoring is on or off.

How is it designed for Gig Harbor?

Around the property, not a package. A waterfront home gets a camera and a contact on the water side. A hillside home gets a driveway camera at the right height. A home with a detached shop gets a second keypad and detectors there. Wireless detectors mean no cut plaster in a finished house, and our own team installs and programs it. Placement, radio coverage and tamper settings are tested before we leave.

What drives the cost?

The number of openings and rooms covered, how many detectors take photos, whether cameras and a doorbell are included, and whether you add monitoring. A three-bedroom home with a hub, keypad, five contacts and two MotionCams is one job; a waterfront estate with a detached garage, six cameras and Control4 integration is another. The instant quote gives you a number in minutes.

Need it installed?

Rivas Technology Group designs and installs Ajax home security and Control4 in Gig Harbor, about 45 minutes from our office in Kent. See the Gig Harbor security page, or book a walk-through.