[ 2019 ] Best house security alarm system

[uop1497]

I am looking to have a security alarm system set up for my house, but not sure which company is best. If anyone has used and set up alarm system, please give me your input.

I do not have any knowledge of how the security system work, is it really protected my house when I am not around or when I am at home. What necessity thing require ( Internet speed and other ) before I can set up a security alarm for the house.

I tried to read the information online to understand, but my mind still a big mess and I can not undrestand much about security alarm system and what is the best company /best plan I should choose.

Thank you and please advise .

 

[DeniseM]

We have our alarm system connected with a landline, because if you connect through the internet, and your internet goes down, so does your alarm system.

I would ask your friends and neighbors who they use, and if they are happy with them, because the quality of service can very widely from area to area.

I would have it professionally installed by the alarm company, but I know some people do it themselves. Our installation was only about $125, because we signed a contract with the alarm company at the same time. They often run coupons in the local paper, or in shopping mailers.

Insist that your alarm system be connected to the electricity, and not just battery powered. Although, it's good to have a battery back up, in case your electricity goes out.

 

[easyrider]

I think its better to take security measures like heavy duty door locks, security screens, fences, gates, hd cameras and good neighbors than paying for a security alarm company.

Statistically, 90% of triggered alarms are false alarms, so security personnel checking on your property really think there isn't any problem and are not in any hurry to get to the alarm site. Police don't respond to alarms on private property unless they are actually called. By the time any security personnel arrives the criminals are long gone.

Bill

 

[tompalm]

We had a security system for years but last year bought a ring.com camera and put that on our front door. It worked so well that we bought two more and put on each side of our house. Now anytime someone walks in our front yard, they are recorder on the cloud. We stop paying for the camera monitors inside our house and left the cameras hooked up. We don’t have power outages very often and not worried about that. A camera or the door cam cost around $200 and I think it comes with one year of free cloud service. You can take down a light in front of your house and put up a security camera instead. It is a matter of connecting three wires. It might take an electrain 20 minutes. If you need to run wire and install a box to mount it on, plan to spend more. But overall, it is a lot cheaper than paying a monitoring company $40 a month.

 

[WinniWoman]

We had a local company install ours years ago.Anyone kicks in a door or breaks a window, etc. the alarm goes off and central station is alerted and they call the police. Also- the fire dept if a fire. Also a motion detector inside our home. It costs us a little over $250 per year for monitoring.

It is tied in with our landline phone, but we also have it on our whole house generator in case the power goes out.

We live in a secluded rural area so it is important for us to have. There are also panic buttons on the keypads.

Of course, we are armed in these parts as well. BTW- Alexa has a Barking dogs app you can put on the echo that has dogs barking.

 

[Ken555]

We have our alarm system connected with a landline, because if you connect through the internet, and your internet goes down, so does your alarm system.

On advice of my security company, a few years ago I switched to a cellular connection. Ironically, it’s more reliable than a landline, and as landlines become more and more expensive, more people (like me) are canceling them altogether. I think I pay just $15 per month for the cell connection for the alarm (it may actually be less, since I think it’s now bundled in with my monthly alarm response and monitoring service).


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[vacationhopeful]

I have 3 buildings which are required by state law, to have a Monitored Fire Alarm system .... almost the same thing as a Home Alarm system (and I use a security alarm company for the service). Every 3 years or so, those systems backup batteries have to be replaced.

They use a 'cell' type call out feature from the panel boxes ... as landlines are so OLD SCHOOL ... for about 10 years now.

 

[WinniWoman]

On advice of my security company, a few years ago I switched to a cellular connection. Ironically, it’s more reliable than a landline, and as landlines become more and more expensive, more people (like me) are canceling them altogether. I think I pay just $15 per month for the cell connection for the alarm (it may actually be less, since I think it’s now bundled in with my monthly alarm response and monitoring service).


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For us because we have DSL with the same company as the landline company, the landline portion is very inexpensive.

 

[Caligirlfrtx]

Simpli Safe

 

[Panina]

I upgraded recently and changed companies to CPI. If they are available in your area give them a call. They will explain all your options. What I like best about them is they stand behind their product and if you have a problem they come out no charge.

 

[bogey21]

Years ago when I lived in suburban St Louis I had a friend who sold Security Systems. He gave me a sign and some decals which I put in the obvious places. Never did install an alarm system. I just figured the bad guys would think I did. I never had a problem during the 15 years or so I owned that house...

George

 

[Bucky]

We had CPI for years. Then I decided to upgrade on my own. Installed a Simply Safe security system that gives us way more coverage than CPI did. Completely wireless and connected via cellular. Took all of maybe 2 hours to completely set it up. Costco also had the Ring doorbell on sale so I picked up one of those. Again, completely wireless and easy to set up. Now we have a fairly decent system at a reasonable price with no long term contracts.

 

[BobDE]

I did a lot of research when my 28 year old system went down. I bought the Ring Security system and I love it. Totally self installed. $100 per year for monitoring break in, smoke, and carbon monoxide. It uses the internet and has a cell backup. I even put sensors on hinges and set them up so I can make sure that I closed my garage doors from my cell. I am going to add some cameras now. Highly recommended.

 

[WinniWoman]

We had CPI for years. Then I decided to upgrade on my own. Installed a Simply Safe security system that gives us way more coverage than CPI did. Completely wireless and connected via cellular. Took all of maybe 2 hours to completely set it up. Costco also had the Ring doorbell on sale so I picked up one of those. Again, completely wireless and easy to set up. Now we have a fairly decent system at a reasonable price with no long term contracts.

We pay around $240 per year for monitoring with our traditional Security System. It really is not a contract- just what you pay if you want the home monitored instead of just having alarms go off.

You do not have to pay for monitoring with Simpli Safe?

 

[Bucky]

We pay around $240 per year for monitoring with our traditional Security System. It really is not a contract- just what you pay if you want the home monitored instead of just having alarms go off.

You do not have to pay for monitoring with Simpli Safe?

We pay $14.99 for monthly monitoring but it’s on a month to month basis with no contract. You don’t need the monitoring to make the alarm system work. Only if you want the police called when it goes off. Some people are satisfied the loud alarm going off will be enough to scare any intruders off and let their neighbors know there is a problem. Others are not.

What we really like about it is the ability to pick and choose everything you want at a reasonable cost. With CPI we had the basic service with a limited number of door and window sensors. You can get more sensors but their costs add up quickly. We bought window and door sensors for the whole first floor. Also love the key fob that we purchased. We don’t use it as a key fob actually. We just keep it next to the bed so it’s the last thing turned on in the evening and first thing off in the morning. No more trips down the hall to enter a code when I’m still half asleep.

 

[WinniWoman]

We pay $14.99 for monthly monitoring but it’s on a month to month basis with no contract. You don’t need the monitoring to make the alarm system work. Only if you want the police called when it goes off. Some people are satisfied the loud alarm going off will be enough to scare any intruders off and let their neighbors know there is a problem. Others are not.

What we really like about it is the ability to pick and choose everything you want at a reasonable cost. With CPI we had the basic service with a limited number of door and window sensors. You can get more sensors but their costs add up quickly. We bought window and door sensors for the whole first floor. Also love the key fob that we purchased. We don’t use it as a key fob actually. We just keep it next to the bed so it’s the last thing turned on in the evening and first thing off in the morning. No more trips down the hall to enter a code when I’m still half asleep.

Ok. But we really do not have a contract per se either. Just that it is paid yearly. Maybe other companies have a contract. Ours is a local company.

We actually have 2 key pads- one in the bedroom and one downstairs. We also have sensors on all the windows and doors downstairs, plus motion detectors up and down and glass breakage/banging ones also. But of course, ours cost a lot of money many years ago.

We have the loud alarms, but no neighbors so it really doesn't help much without monitoring. Even with that, we have no police dept. Just the state troopers- the barracks are like 20 minutes away over a mountain. LOL!

 

[riverdees05]

We have SimpliSafe and like it, easy to install.

 

[Regina Smith]

I have studied this for a long time, because I want to install a alarm system at my home too. It seems alarm system can protect our security, I think it is useful. I plan to buy a wifi and gsm alarm system recently. It can work with wifi and sim card. It is a diy home alarm system, I can install it by myself. I hope it will be easy for me. When I am outside, if there are something happened, the alarm system will notice me via phone.

 

[Bucky]

Simplisafe here also. Easy to install and works perfect.

 

[VacationForever]

Went through the whole slew of home security systems through the years. We now use Ring. While it uses WIFI, cellular kicks in when WIFI goes out. We have Ring for everything - doorbell, security cam, whole house security system - motion, door sensors etc. We also have Z-Wave door locks (integrated into the Ring system) which we can lock/unlock remotely, MyQ WIFI system for garage doors. We also have automated lights for outdoor, using FEIT.

We are also tightening physical security in our home - code-based lockable courtyard and side gates.

 

[ScoopKona]

I'll be the contrarian. They're all useless.

Alarm systems provide a false sense of security. When we lived in Las Vegas, our neighbors on each side of us were burglarized. We never were. Why? There was no way of knowing if anyone was in our house or not.

Professional thieves typically hop the back wall, and smash their way through the sliding door. Or they use a bump key at the front door. (Bump keys are worryingly effective.) They rifle through all the common spots people hide valuables. And then they're out in 10 minutes. A blaring siren isn't going to deter them. And for all the advertisements showing "masked intruder apprehended by the police," it typically doesn't turn out that way. Usually, it's the shifty cousin of the housekeeper, pool cleaner, baby-sitter, etc. who has been tipped off about when homeowners are out, and where "the good stuff" is located.

All of these monitoring companies make their bank on the monthly fees -- which, if you actually need them, aren't really sufficient.

It is far better to encourage burglars to move along to the next house by not being the most attractive target. And to make sure that if your house is targeted, there isn't anything easy-access worth stealing. For instance, we planted cactus under all the first floor windows, installed the kind of security strike plate that can take several kicks, and locks which can't be bumped open. Leave some gardening debris scattered in the back yard and lights and radios which turn on and off randomly through the day, thanks to smart outlets.

We came back from vacation a few years ago and a neighbor was upset with us. "Why wouldn't you answer when we knocked? We could see that you were home!" That's how effective our decoy system is.

 

[slip]

Since I left Chicago when I was 17, I have been very lucky to live in very low crime areas. Although I lived In Waikiki for 3 years, we lives in a secure building and never felt a need for a security system.

 

[DeniseM]

This question was posted in 2019 and brought out of moth balls by a spammer, who has been banned and their post deleted...

 

[VacationForever]

deleted.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I'll be the contrarian. They're all useless.

Alarm systems provide a false sense of security. When we lived in Las Vegas, our neighbors on each side of us were burglarized. We never were. Why? There was no way of knowing if anyone was in our house or not.

I can't entirely disagree with anything you, though i do find value in our SimplySafe alarm and Arlo security cameras. Even if they do not deter someone, they allow me to monitor the house while we are away. I can tell if the cat sitter has come twice a day as promised. With the camera on my Koi pond I can check the water levels and see if any predator's have come by. If an intrusion is detected, i can have my son or friend come by to check and re-secure the house. And of course the smoke detector will contact the fire department.

We have had a few false alarms while away, and the police did come to check on the house, but usually hours later.. So to Scoops point its unlikely they would catch anyone...