Burglar alarm - electrician or alarm company??

Johnjones7656

Ive heard that electricians and alarm companies fit burglar alarms differently! People say electricians wire them incorrectly??
We're getting the house rewired (it currently doesn't have a burglar alarm) and whilst we wont be getting one fitted straight away the electricians have advised that we get the wiring for the alarm put in by them at the same time as getting the house rewired so that when we come to get the alarm we don't need to hammer through walls etc- anyone have any advice on this please?

JP1978

Get alarm installer out, ask them where they want the wires to go (if any) and then get your spark to run them.

A lot of alarms are now semi wireless so this has cut down on the wiring, so probably wont save you any money from the install perspective.

MonsieurFrugal

electricians will just install cheap crap from the local wholesaler.

alarm co's actually know what they're doing, and because they're accredited you will receive a discount on home insurance unlike a system installed by a sparky.

Novice_investor101

I had wireless alarm fitted, but with the bell box wired to the RCD (?). An alarm company did it for me, & all they did was run the wire up the wall of the under stairs cupboard, under the bedroom carpet, up through the fitted wardrobe & out of the bedroom wall. You can't see any wires.
The controller is in the cellar & the sensors & secondary keypad (looks a lot nearer & more discrete than the control panel) are wireless.
Never had a problem with it & it's £60 a year for the maintenance contract, which I would pay regardless of it being a wired or wireless system.
Incidentally, the alarm knocked a whole £1 off my house insurance! But it is a bells only alarm.

Novice_investor101

Also, I did speak to an electrician before I settled on an alarm company but it became pretty evident he had no idea about what or how to fit the sensors & would have sourced a DIY alarm kit that wouldn't have been the best quality.
Here's the advice from above & get a couple of alarm companies to come out & quote, or even fit the wires. It's worth doing properly.

AllenVH

You should not get an electrician to install and commission an alarm system as it will not be recognised by insurance companies. He can perhaps do the wiring for you if you are going for a hard-wired system but you must get an accredited registered alarm company to install it. Most domestic systems are now
wireless such as the Enforcer, Powermax or Texecom Ricochet systems and these need to be installed by a registered alarm company. This is particularly true of systems which will be monitored by central stations and response given by the local police. Also be careful of the type of wireless system you put in; some of them are rubbish (the above names are the best on the market). I have installed dozens of systems so get advice from installers who know and are registered with NSI or SSAIB who control the industry, check installations on a regular basis and make sure installations are carried out to current British Standards.

AllenVH

You should not get an electrician to install and commission an alarm system as it will not be recognised by insurance companies. He can perhaps do the wiring for you if you are going for a hard-wired system but you must get an accredited registered alarm company to install it. Most domestic systems are now
wireless such as the Enforcer, Powermax or Texecom Ricochet systems and these need to be installed by a registered alarm company. This is particularly true of systems which will be monitored by central stations and response given by the local police. Also be careful of the type of wireless system you put in; some of them are rubbish (the above names are the best on the market). I have installed dozens of systems so get advice from installers who know and are registered with NSI or SSAIB who control the industry, check installations on a regular basis and make sure installations are carried out to current British Standards. If you want any advice please send reply and I can advise you on what is best and the minimum requirements for an effective and approved system. Allen VH

lg13mza

I installed a Texecom system myself after being quoted £500 (at mates rates!). Granted its nothing fancy in terms monitoring or calling police etc. but as it was less than half the above price, its bought me a lot of insurance discount!