Burglar alarms come in many types, from the small and basic do it yourself kits to the large scale, ultra high tech James Bond systems. Which type is best for you requires a bit of research on your part, but it is not as daunting as it seems.
If you have a little knowhow and aren’t afraid of a little electrical work and running wires through your home you can find top of the line burglar alarm systems at a good price. This is because you will be doing the work yourself and an independent security company is going to charge you as much as it can for the system itself, plus any labor charges for its install techs. The benefits of this of course are the money savings, and the ability to choose your own monitoring company if you want that service. The drawbacks of course are, if you’re unsure of what you are doing you can mess up the installation and have a system that half works. Also you have no warranty if the install does not work properly due to poor installation. Sometimes if you are unsure of your ability to install this system hiring a professional is the best choice. Search around, you may find a company that will install any kit you purchase for a price and you will still get some savings out of purchasing the kit yourself instead of through the security company.
Monitored burglar alarm services are big business. Their commercials are frequently seen all over the TV. These services are great, and there are many to choose from so make sure to shop around. Also don’t be afraid to haggle with them, it does not hurt to do your best to obtain the best price possible from these providers. Monitoring providers fall into a couple of categories, those that provide their own systems and those that will allow you to install your own system and monitor it for you. The providers that also install their own systems tend to be the most expensive. This is because they have to pay someone to install the system for you, and cover the cost of the system. Usually this is because they offer the system free with their service if you purchase a long term contract from them, very similar to cell phone companies. While this is great for most people because they don’t have to find a company to install the alarm, and there is usually a service contract in place if anything fails as part of their monthly fee, the alarm systems themselves aren’t always the top of the line. Also the monitoring service will most often contract out their installs and look for the cheapest quotes possible and the quality of the install could suffer because of this. Now this could be good or bad depending on how you feel about someone drilling into walls and running wires through your home. Most systems that come from a monitoring service are wireless burglar alarm systems. This is a great thing if you have a house that has 2 or 3 floors or has a detached building like a barn, garage, or shed. The drawback to this type of system is that all wireless components typically run on batteries. So if the battery gets low or dies that part of the system may not work properly or stop working altogether. Also in some cases the batteries may not be user replaceable and a service technician will need to come replace it.
Burglar alarms are a great way to give you and your family some peace of mind in the safety and protection of your home. There are several tips to keep handy when you’re shopping for your system. It is recommended that to have the safest system, have it hardwired into your home or at least have most portions of it hardwired so batteries don’t become a concern. Make sure you get the proper coverage equipment you need. This includes indoor and outdoor motion sensors, window and door sensors, breaking glass sensors, and as extra protection carbon monoxide and fire sensors for complete coverage. If you have the skills save yourself some money and install the system yourself. if you don’t want a monitoring service there are additions to systems that you can setup to both call your cell phone, as well as autodial the police or fire emergency services when the alarm goes off. These add-ons allow for a prerecorded message to play over and over in case the call is put on hold. Don’t be afraid to haggle with a monitoring service, get the best price you can for the best service possible, there are many to choose from so don’t be afraid to shop around.