Burgler alarm for £400

mp7125

Hi, I need to get a burgler alarm. My budget is around £400. I've had one quote for £495 for a wired system wth 1 door contact and five sensors. I live in a 3-bed semi with a garage. Not sure on the pros and cons of wireless or wired. Any advice on which system to get for this price?

ormus

alarms start from 50/100 quid, so you are being charged 300 to fit it.
buy a wireless one from say wickes (c100/150 quid) and DIY.
very simple to install.

alanobrien

Personally i prefer wired as it does away with the issue of having to change batteries in sensors etc. That said wirefree are a lot better these days than they used to be and are easy to DIY.

Take a look at this YALE one it get a good write up. Dont forget to factor in the cost or the additional sensors and shop around for the best overall price.
http://www.quicksafe.co.uk/yale-premium-alarm-hsa6400.htm

level200

I have often thought about a wireless alarm as they are much cheeper but have always been put off by these following points:

1) Will my wireless broadband interfere with its workings?
2) can it be easily disabled by a burglar?
3) is hard wired a better option, if so why?
4) how about batteries for sensors etc.. what if a battery runs out and you do not notice it?

Can anyone answer these for me?

Cheers
Level200

ifti

been using wireless for ages and its fine, we bought a YALE one around 2 years ago and its good as gold,

changing batteries are very very easy and usually last at least 2 years depending on usage.

wired is a must for commercial property but for residential wireless is fine unless you live in a very posh area, were pro's thieves operate.

1) Will my wireless broadband interfere with its workings?

Hasn't done in my house, but might when the alarm is active and your using wireless but we haven't ever done that cause we've been out when the alarm is activated. maybe someone else can answer this.

2) can it be easily disabled by a burglar?

its just like disabling a wired alarm, but a wired one the wires can be cut, so in wireless this is a pro point.

3) is hard wired a better option, if so why?

maybe better if you attend to leave the property empty for ages ie. 6 months which will drain the batteries dead.

4) how about batteries for sensors etc.. what if a battery runs out and you do not notice it?

the sensors flash when they are low, so you can notice them, newer yale's show this up on the control panel i think. that model is around £300 but its good.

hope this helps

tododo

2) can it be easily disabled by a burglar?

its just like disabling a wired alarm, but a wired one the wires can be cut, so in wireless this is a pro point.

If you cut a wire on a wired alarm then the alarm will sound

Wireless alarms I think have 128bit encryption so really hard to hack into ( ithink)
personally I went for wired alarm as had the wires put in when having the electricity done and in doing so hiding all wires

If my house was complete I would have gone for wireless

Id also recommend getting a communicating alarm that sends a voice message or text to your mobile (and others) when your away from home so you know something is going on

I went for a texecom alarm that also lets me dial into the house and actually listen as to any activity that is happening at the house.

Apparently (so the missus tells me....works for an isp) alarms can interefere but I havnt had issues at all....and im a slight geek

27col

Surely, if the intruder has got in and disabled your alarm, then it has failed to do what it was installed for. I think the alarms are probably intended to switch off after a certain period so as not to disturb the neighbourhood in the event of a false alarm. This may indeed be the law.
I have an alarm from Wickes that I installed myself. The sensors are wireless and the control box is mains powered. If the batteries run down, you know immediately because the red lights on the control start flashing. They are easy to change but last a long time.
I am not sure what is the advantage of getting remote messages telling you that you are being burgled. Especially if you are miles away on holiday. My neighbours have such a wireless system, which they bought on the Internet and installed themselves. They are quite happy with it.

ifti

27col wrote: »

I am not sure what is the advantage of getting remote messages telling you that you are being burgled. Especially if you are miles away on holiday.

thats a good one, with ours we get a phone call, and so do a few people who live a street away.