What kind of burglar alarm do you have and would you recommend it???

[minko]

Just that really. I am anxious to get one but DH is being tight about it...

[PigletJohn]

It depends how much you want to spend.

Mine is telecommunicating,i.e. it phones out in the event of an alarm, which I think is important. Your neighbours will probably ignore the siren.

[minko]

Thanks Piglet. I'm just looking for recommendations and then we'll work out what our budget is!

[PigletJohn]

Somewhere between a hundred and two thousand. Narrow it down a bit.

[minko]

Well there are ones you have to pay a monthly bill to, I'd rather a one off payment. But if someone can really recommend a particular system then I would consider it. Let's say around a grand...?

[PigletJohn]

I have a Galaxy in my home, and one in my commercial premises. From what I hear it is a well-thought of brand, I think it is owned by Honeywell now. They both cost more than that but it varies with system size. Both are telecommunicating which put up the annual charge. To get police response it has to be communicating with a monitoring station, and to be maintained twice a year.

If you aren't going to that standard and cost it should be a lot cheaper and you don't need it installed and maintained by a specialist alarm company. I have a control pad by the front door and one upstairs, the main system box is concealed in the garage.

Wired systems are generally considered more secure than wireless, but if course take longer to install and conceal the wires.

I fitted a DIY wireless system in my old mum's house, it cost less than £200 and took me half a day, it also phones out and I think was good value.

[minko]

Thanks for all that advice, that's great. I've been reading up on different systems this morning, will have to discuss with DH tonight. Have been recommended to contact the local police crime reduction officer too.

[MummytoMog]

We just put in the Yale wireless telecommunicating one. £170 from Screwfix and was easy as pie to do. Unlike our old hard wired one which was a nightmare to alter and cost us a fortune in call out fees before I scrapped it (cats used to set it off as well so neighbours ignored it).

[PigletJohn]

they have just gone down in price again in my view it is good as a low-cost, easy-install DIY system. Professional alarmers sneer at them but my mum's was very reliable and easy to use. I got her an extra keypad concealed near the front door as the main panel was upstairs and well away from interference by anyone barging or breaking in.

there is a new one, more expensive, which I hear is a lot better, but I heard that it needs to communicate with Yale over the internet.

[HaveToWearHeels]

We have an ADT monitored alarm. They were doing an offer when we moved into our new build (think they leafleted the whole development). It was £99 installed and we pay £10 per month monitoring.
We have been here five years now and the only problem we have had has been the pet sensor breaking twice which means the dog has set off the alarm. Each time they have come out and replaced the sensor with no problem.
Our alarm also has the siren on the inside of the house which makes it unbearable to be inside when it is activated. As PigletJohn has said I don't think neighbours take much notice anymore, so this is a good idea.

[MummytoMog]

I like that you can just add onto it - we're building atm so need to add extra rooms and doors on, and it will also reach to the garage office, which is useful. And I hate wires so bad.

[CointreauVersial]

Yale alarm looks good; just need to persuade DH that we need one.

[PigletJohn]

yes, if you need more than a couple of extras, it is often best value to buy another kit. The standard set has two PIRs, two door/window, a keypad and an extra siren. You can have an extra siren on the back or side of the house, or put it indoors but out of reach, e.g. screwed to the landing ceiling, where the noise will distress an intruder.

sometimes you can get used or spare bits on ebay, when someone has moved or broken their control panel (the most expensive part). All the parts from the kits beginning with a 6 are compatible with each other, as are the sensors beginning with a 3.