Recommended Security Alarm System

n30_mkii · 18 Dec 2022 at 20:27

We're having a rewire done at the moment and I'm thinking I might take the opportunity to run in some wiring if feasible for a home security system. I'm thinking hardwired due to issues with wireless blocking, but what systems do people recommend? Would be good if the system allows for smart integration so I can trigger other automation events etc.

I'm going to read up over the next few days to get a better idea, but any headstart would be great.

bigtrak · 20 Dec 2022 at 17:49

n30_mkii said:
We're having a rewire done at the moment and I'm thinking I might take the opportunity to run in some wiring if feasible for a home security system. I'm thinking hardwired due to issues with wireless blocking, but what systems do people recommend? Would be good if the system allows for smart integration so I can trigger other automation events etc.

I'm going to read up over the next few days to get a better idea, but any headstart would be great.

I know you said you wanted to hard wire an alarm but the ring wireless alarm system is spot on!
I had a Yale alarm system for years and then moved to a ring alarm no wires nothing I have ring cameras/ doorbell also.
if the main power was to be cut it would still stay armed with battery back up (main unit is 240v)

to be honest I think if somebody wanted to break in let’s just say for the car keys of ya prized motor sitting on the drive..
they will just do it with alarm blazing nothings 100% safe anymore in the uk

Loagi · 21 Dec 2022 at 10:34

The best alarm is the one you use. Around where I live all the break-ins are car-key robberies for the flash motors on the driveways.

Pretty much 100% of the houses have alarms which aren't armed.

If I'm in bed or out of the house then the alarm is set 100% of the time without exception. Its not hard but people seem to come up with excuses not to use the bloody things they've already paid for.

I'd also *STRONGLY* advise you speak with your neighbours or the little old lady curtain-twitcher on your road and ask them to call the police if your alarm is going off and your clearly not there.

bigtrak · 21 Dec 2022 at 11:09

That’s what I like about the ring alarm, it tells you if the power goes out aswell as gives you notifications when it’s armed and disarmed also when it sets off.
And if it does get set off all cameras including the ring doorbell start recording!
Not that it matters as people don’t care about cameras now a days lol

WJA96 · 22 Dec 2022 at 16:08

The current ‘state of the art’ for home installs is AJAX. Fully wireless, no subscription (although you will need a SIM card if don’t want to be reliant on WiFi for connectivity). It’s the easiest thing in the world to install. I normally quote 1 hour of labour to fit an entire home system.

Tesla · 22 Dec 2022 at 22:49

WJA96 said:
The current ‘state of the art’ for home installs is AJAX. Fully wireless, no subscription (although you will need a SIM card if don’t want to be reliant on WiFi for connectivity). It’s the easiest thing in the world to install. I normally quote 1 hour of labour to fit an entire home system.

Doesn’t sound a great system for your business though?

Semple · 22 Dec 2022 at 23:02

WJA96 said:
The current ‘state of the art’ for home installs is AJAX. Fully wireless, no subscription (although you will need a SIM card if don’t want to be reliant on WiFi for connectivity). It’s the easiest thing in the world to install. I normally quote 1 hour of labour to fit an entire home system.

Just curious what the typical recommendation is for the backup sim. Loss of internet is thankfully uncommon for most. Presumably the alarm station doesn't need to tx/rx a lot of data either? Do people typically just buy a pre-loaded sim with a certain amount of data rather than paying monthly for a plan?

WJA96 · 23 Dec 2022 at 01:52

Tesla said:
Doesn’t sound a great system for your business though?

On the contrary, it’s a great add-on sale for a surveillance camera system.

WJA96 · 23 Dec 2022 at 02:05

Semple said:
Just curious what the typical recommendation is for the backup sim. Loss of internet is thankfully uncommon for most. Presumably the alarm station doesn't need to tx/rx a lot of data either? Do people typically just buy a pre-loaded sim with a certain amount of data rather than paying monthly for a plan?

We have multiple options for different scenarios. Many people with second/third homes switch their internet off when they’re not there. Many folks are working off 4G routers anyway in those scenarios. Or if the person breaking into your home switches off your router or cuts the power to your home then you need the SIM card to work so there are a variety of things that can be done. And no, the data usage isn’t high. It can be several MB if it’s sending you lots of snapshots of the intruder from the MotionCam.

Semple · 23 Dec 2022 at 06:35

WJA96 said:
We have multiple options for different scenarios. Many people with second/third homes switch their internet off when they’re not there. Many folks are working off 4G routers anyway in those scenarios. Or if the person breaking into your home switches off your router or cuts the power to your home then you need the SIM card to work so there are a variety of things that can be done. And no, the data usage isn’t high. It can be several MB if it’s sending you lots of snapshots of the intruder from the MotionCam.

Have you got a price list you can send over? I've been running a simplisafe system for 3 years now, and in most cases it's been pretty good. But the monitoring price has jumped quite significantly a few months back to £300/yr, and annoyingly if you drop the premium plan it turns into a dumb system so you lose any smart functionality which I think takes the ****.

We've had some false alarms (caused by us) and have been resetting the alarm pretty quickly, but not a single call from the monitoring station to check all is okay. So I'm not really keen to carry on paying for it.