house alarm question - advice please

allan673

hi,
im thinking of having a house alarm fitted, as theres been a few break ins locally.
i could either get an alarm company in and have it hard wired from the mains probably costing £300 to £400 ish, or ive seen a yale wirless system for £200 ish battery operated though???

i think i would prefer a professional hard wired system installed, but one thing that puts me off is whenever theres a powercut around here everyones alarm seems to go off for ages, and it puts me off as i work shifts and wouldnt want the house alarm going off if theres a powercut and im unable to turn it off??? why is this please.

any helps appreciated

latecomer

I would have thought most good systems would have an override for when there is a powercut and they are running on the backup battery so they can be silenced.

allan673

cheers, basically if theres a powercut while im at work on nights i wouldnt want the alarm going off as im not there to turn it off.

i know they have a battery backup for powercuts etc but why do they go off if theres a powercut.

latecomer

In case its not a powercut but someone has cut the power to the unit before breaking in......

And if you have a neighbour you trust you could give them a key and the code just incase it goes off when you are not there.

Barneysmom

They go off because there's a clever gizmo that senses a change in state.
Same goes when it gets really cold they sometimes go off .

HighVoltage

I installed a Yale wireless system this year. The PIR and door contacts are all battery operated and are suppose to have apporx 2 year life. The control panel is powered by a 12v mains adapter, but has an internal battery for backup. The model I purchased can also be connected to the telephone, so you will be alerted if it goes off when its armed. In addition, you can arm and disarm remotely.

Bought the unit from screwfix and extra PIR's from them also

chaddythebear

All the alarms that go off are just needing the back up battery changed as they will be flat, supposed to have alarms serviced every 12 months but who actually does? If they did the batteries would be changed

urbanduckling

Any recommendations on good value hard wired alarm systems?
It seems a better option than battery operated wireless alarm, which may have more potential for faults. Good hard-wired alarms will always have an override fitted in case of a power cut.