Home Security

Sibz

Hi all,

Just looking for any advice/opinions on home security - particular alarm systems.

Moving house soon and looking for a reliable alarm, door/window sensors and possibly cctv - ideally viewable from smart phone...

Does anyone have any ideas of costs or recommendations for what companies are good to use?

Undervalued

Sibz wrote: »

Hi all,

Just looking for any advice/opinions on home security - particular alarm systems.

Moving house soon and looking for a reliable alarm, door/window sensors and possibly cctv - ideally viewable from smart phone...

Does anyone have any ideas of costs or recommendations for what companies are good to use?

Not a direct answer to your question I'm afraid but more important than the choice of alarm system is the response to it. Unless you are normally very nearby, or can reliably contact somebody who is, the alarm contacting your mobile phone is only of limited benefit.

The police will generally only respond to domestic alarms if there is some secondary confirmation of intruders. OK, to a point, if you can see signs of activity on the CCTV from your mobile you may be able to persuade the police to attend but they will expect a reliable key holder to also be present.

In my view (and indeed that of an experienced insurance assessor I know) is that you are better spending the bulk of the money on improved physical security backed up by a fairly basic alarm. The obvious presence of an alarm will deter some casual intruders but otherwise all it will tell you is that a break in has happened.

Do also beware of the very substantial monitoring and maintenance charges made by the bigger companies. Often you end up only owning part of the system and "renting " the rest and being tied to a contract. Unless your needs are very specialised you will be better with a small local firm and "pay as you go" servicing.

Wassa123

We were quoted about £500 for a burglar alarm, and about £600 for 2 CCTV camera domes.

We decided to spend £250 on a 4 dome CCTV kit off amazon and installed it ourself. Can view it from our phones away from the house too.

Alter_ego

Wassa123 wrote: »

We were quoted about £500 for a burglar alarm, and about £600 for 2 CCTV camera domes.

We decided to spend £250 on a 4 dome CCTV kit off amazon and installed it ourself. Can view it from our phones away from the house too.

But how will you deal with a burglary in progress when you are 100 miles away?

Undervalued

Alter_ego wrote: »

But how will you deal with a burglary in progress when you are 100 miles away?

Quite, that is the big problem with most domestic systems. If you have a reliable neighbour and they are at home then fine. Otherwise it is difficult. There are professional keyholding companies although generally they are used by business premises. At least two alarm engineers have told me unofficially that they wouldn't fancy any of the ones they had met having keys to their house!

I had a reciprocal arrangement with two sets of friends who lived within a couple of miles which worked up to a point. However they were away far more than I was and obviously there was no guarantee we wouldn't be out on the same evenings.

Getting up at 2am in mid winter to deal with a friends alarm isn't much fun at the best of times! If you have had a dinner party or similar you probably need to call a taxi and so on.

Fire_Fox

Alter_ego wrote: »

But how will you deal with a burglary in progress when you are 100 miles away?

Contact someone with expertise in the field? 999

snowcat75

Undervalued wrote: »

Not a direct answer to your question I'm afraid but more important than the choice of alarm system is the response to it. Unless you are normally very nearby, or can reliably contact somebody who is, the alarm contacting your mobile phone is only of limited benefit.

The police will generally only respond to domestic alarms if there is some secondary confirmation of intruders. OK, to a point, if you can see signs of activity on the CCTV from your mobile you may be able to persuade the police to attend but they will expect a reliable key holder to also be present.

In my view (and indeed that of an experienced insurance assessor I know) is that you are better spending the bulk of the money on improved physical security backed up by a fairly basic alarm. The obvious presence of an alarm will deter some casual intruders but otherwise all it will tell you is that a break in has happened.

Do also beware of the very substantial monitoring and maintenance charges made by the bigger companies. Often you end up only owning part of the system and "renting " the rest and being tied to a contract. Unless your needs are very specialised you will be better with a small local firm and "pay as you go" servicing.

From experience they do not respond even then, We run a rural business and targeted yearly, Workshop /equipment/Plant. I live on site have Cameras PIR Leds etc, However even with a number plate Police will do NOTHING, to busy chasseing hate speech on the internet I guess.

Cameras only act to let you know where, when and how someone's got in and allows you to beef up security in those areas.

There are plenty of DIY systems out there but generally your need to spend reasonable money to get decent cameras, but there all need backing up with suitable light.

The problem is that no scrotes care if there caught on camera as they no there be no reprisal for theft.

snowcat75

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Contact someone with expertise in the field? 999

Try it and see how many "officers" your get...….. 0-none is my experience. Or be threatened that your abusing the 999 system, also my experience.

Fire_Fox

snowcat75 wrote: »

Try it and see how many "officers" your get...….. 0-none is my experience. Or be threatened that your abusing the 999 system, also my experience.

Phone a friend? Regulars in your local.:beer:

Aylesbury_Duck

I went for the Yale smart system. I understand it's of limited use but my view is that I only need to be visibly better-protected than my neighbours to reduce the likelihood of a burglary and my house is very visible so should the alarm go off it might make an opportunist burglar scarper.

snowcat75

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Phone a friend? Regulars in your local.:beer:

Preferably ones that can administer Lead poising;)