Keypad height

Install it at about eye level of the shortest user.

In the interests of "family harmony", change that to "eye level of the wife"... :-)

I put them at my nose height...it's a standard universal height for us...RNHFFF (rob's nose height from finished floor)

There's a couple of nutjobs out here that install them at switch height...totally absurd.

Well I hope she's not that much taller than him. :)

Most LCD keypads are designed to be easiest to read while looking down from above the unit. I always preferred to install them a few inches above the light switch next to the door from the garage, the front door (when appropriate) and the master bedroom door.

Side note: As long as the keypad cable doesn't run close and parallel to the electric wiring for more than a few feet it's not a problem. On prewires I would pull the cable up from the basement or down from the attic in the next stud bay over from where the lighting cables run. I'd drill through the stud at keypad height and bring the wire over, leaving about 18" of slack for a "service loop" in the wall in case I needed to move the keypad in the future.

only if you have little people for clients...thats waaaayyyy too low. especially if you have to program from the keypad...you'd be on your knees for an hour with a Napco.

| Bass Home Electronics | 941-925-8650 | 4883 Fallcrest Circle | Sarasota · Florida · 34233 |

Take another look at a typical light switch. Mine are 38" from the floor to the top of the switch plates. With the bottom of the keypad 8 to 10" above that, the LCD display will be roughly 50 to 52" above the floor. The average American woman is about 5'4" tall. That's 64". If her eyes are 4" below the top of her head that puts them at 60", or 8" to 10" above the display. Standing a foot or so back she's at a perfect angle to read the display and the keypad is at a perfect height to use it without raising her arm at the shoulder. Watch women use a keypad for a while and you'll see what I mean.

I've experimented with this quite a bit and found that's the height most women prefer. If the lady of the house is taller or shorter than average I adjust the height accordingly. [Note: Perhaps I should say I *used to* since the usual suspects are sure to make an issue of the fact that I quit installing a few years ago]

There isn't any "standard" height.

You install it at the height that best accommodates the users, at the time of installation.

Consider the age of the users too. Anyone in the family who has bifocal glasses may have a hard time trying to read a keypad that's mounted at a "normal" height for others in the family. It's easier for the tall person to bend down a little than expect the person with bifocals to stand on tippy toes with head tilted back, to read the keypad.

yes, but you said; "a few inches" - to me a few inches is 3...which would still be at around 41".

| Bass Home Electronics | 941-925-8650 | 4883 Fallcrest Circle | Sarasota · Florida · 34233 |

| | > only if you have little people for clients... | > thats waaaayyyy too low. especially if | > you have to program from the keypad... | > you'd be on your knees for an hour with | > a Napco. | >

| >|> What is the standard keypad height for | >|> mounting an LCD Ademco Vista keypad. | >|> I'm 6 foot tall. | >| | >| Most LCD keypads are designed to be | >| easiest to read while looking down from | >| above the unit. I always preferred to install | >| them a few inches above the light switch | >| next to the door from the garage, the front | >| door (when appropriate) and the master | >| bedroom door. | |

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I rearely actually measured the height when installing keypads. You get used to putting them at a certain height and do so without thinking twice about it. Only if the home owner was unusually tall or short would I vary it.

On a related note, some years ago I posted a simple method of fishing cable from the attic to the basement, using the keypad site as a reach hole to avoid removing the trim. I got a call recently from someone who found that old message on Google. He ordered a complete system from us. Nice.

I was serious in a previous post...I use the tip of my nose for the height to cut the keypad hole (we never use rings or boxes for keypads because you can't line them up real purty with the light switch if you put up a ring) :-)

| Bass Home Electronics | 941-925-8650 | 4883 Fallcrest Circle | Sarasota · Florida · 34233 |

I just eyeball it. The difference seems (assuming you're not extraordinarily tall) is ours are five or six inches lower. That won't make a difference for adults but I like to teach even 10-year olds how to operate the alarm. For one thing, they tend to remember better than adults.

Hmm. Perhaps I should start catering to the pre-teen DIY market. :^)

I don't like rings or boxes for keypads for another reason as well. They require a large hole in the sheetrock. Besides, electricians rarely mount their devices plumb.

I commercial installations I think mounting the keypad to a fire pull station height works best. If you use that mounting height in a residence you won't have to worry about any new owners having issues.

NFPA72 requires pull stations be mounted 42" to 54" from the floor. ADA, however, puts the height at 48" above the floor. That's close to what I've done for years, long before ADA came around. Before ADA we always installed pull stations an inch or two above the light switch. That was compliant with NFPA but would not have met the ADA standard.

Why? It's a decent height for most people

Switch height?...out here that's like belly-button height...way too low.

| > There's a couple of nutjobs out here that install them at switch | > height...totally absurd. | | Why? It's a decent height for most people | |

I'll second that.........

Nose height for me is about 69". I put mine at 55" unless otherwise requested. js

The switches in my old house are at about 51", not too bad. But most of the newer houses seem to have them at about 45" which is too low for an LCD keypad. Years ago I asked my wife (66" tall) where she thought the keypad should go. She pointed to the wall and I measured. 55" is where they have gone ever since. js