Replacing burglar alarm?

bigalxyz

Hello forum.

I've got a burglar alarm in my flat. I think it's about 15 years old and was installed by a local firm.

It's out of order at the moment - various error codes flashing, I guess would need an engineer to come and have a look. £££.

I've noticed that ScrewFix (for example) sell a DIY alarm kit by Yale for about £130 with wireless sensors (and can buy additional sensors for £17 or so). I'm tempted to buy one, partly because it might not cost much more than getting the old one to work; also the Yale setup is (as far as I can tell) wireless, so I could get rid of all the messy cabling running along the top of my skirting boards all over the place.

The Yale system is cheap, which I like, and the reviews on the ScrewFix site are good, but are there any significant weaknesses compared to the existing setup (in terms of efficacy) that I should know about?

Thanks,
Alan.

KRB2725

We have the Yale one - have had it about 4 years, think it was the Premium kit we bought and we've added a few extra sensors.

We have absolutely no complaints, we're very happy with it. We have it plugged into a phone socket so it will call you if the alarm is activated when you're not home.

We've had it go off once for no apparent reason, but thought maybe a spider walked over the sensor mounted on the corner of the ceiling/wall.

Risteard

Really you should have an intruder alarm installed complying with BS EN 50131 so it's not a sensible option.

ossie

If you want it for insurance purposes I think it has to be a Nacoss approved alarm and checked yearly.

KRB2725

Yes, our one is purely for peace of mind, it makes no difference to our insurance.

WobblyDog

I've got a self-maintained wired Texecom alarm system. I'm quite happy with that arrangement, although I'm a fairly technical sort of person and live in a lowish-risk area. If you don't need third-party monitoring and insurance reductions, then self-install is worth considering.

Jonesya

If the existing wiring was OK then I'd suggest replacing the control panel, PIRs, bell etc. The parts are quite cheap, slightly cheaper than the wireless systems and wired systems are lower maintenance - fewer batteries to change.

If the wiring is a mess than go the wireless route.