Alarm system?

[IGBT]

Hi all. I don’t know where to start. I would like to know what kind of solution do you people have in your houses? Do you use ADT, Yale, etc or do you have your own alarm system?
I was reading about this and apparently there is alarm systems and cctv. They are different. Saw some solutions for the alarm where they have PIR sensors that can detect movement and send it to the receiver and play a sound. There might be solutions that sends to your phone and you can do some management via your phone. But it will probably drain more power.
I was looking at one one solution called mydome driveway solution which I think it can be used for garden as well. Looks simple, battery operated and weather proof.
What do you guys use? What kind of solution have you implemented?
Based on my research maybe having cctv with something like this mydome thingy sounds good as long as you can have access to the cameras real time. The pain is to electrify the cctv cameras.

 

[Flake87]

Hi all. I don’t know where to start. I would like to know what kind of solution do you people have in your houses? Do you use ADT, Yale, etc or do you have your own alarm system?
I was reading about this and apparently there is alarm systems and cctv. They are different. Saw some solutions for the alarm where they have PIR sensors that can detect movement and send it to the receiver and play a sound. There might be solutions that sends to your phone and you can do some management via your phone. But it will probably drain more power.
I was looking at one one solution called mydome driveway solution which I think it can be used for garden as well. Looks simple, battery operated and weather proof.
What do you guys use? What kind of solution have you implemented?
Based on my research maybe having cctv with something like this mydome thingy sounds good as long as you can have access to the cameras real time. The pain is to electrify the cctv cameras.

There's little point in an alarm system these days other than to satisfy out of date insurance company requirements as people ignore them, and even if they don't there's no one to call to help you, unless you can twist into some kind of hurty feeling situation when they do respond.

Similar for CCTV you can get a nice image or footage, but is anyone going to do anything with it? Best thing is deterrance, a bell box which is visible - but don't make it too fancy or theives will think you have something worth stealing! Same for CCTV and video door bells, the fine line between deterrance and suggesting you have something worth stealing.

Better solutions are things like laminated glass on all ground floor windows which is now a requirement on all new builds, they can smash it but can't get through it, and it's cheaper than you might think. Solid doors is another one, camera inside pointing at windows which send an alert to your phone if they detect movement are good too.

 

[DJ85]

I use a yale smart home system all hooks up wirelessly to the hub and siren, you can control through your phone, set up zones, part/full alarm. Also have a pad of the wall and a nest video doorbell which pick up all movement 24/7 which is also accessible through your phone/smart device.

Sure there are many threads you can read up on, just have a search

 

[Semple]

We're using simplisafe and pay for the monitoring.

 

[The1nonly1]

People will ignore a standard siren alarm. I have the Yale smart home one that sends notifications to my phone if it goes off. I can then check cameras to see what's going on. Much better than relying on others in street.

 

[DJ85]

I think that's true to a point sometimes my wife will part alarm the house when were in bed i.e all downstairs doors and windows (Not room motion sensors) if she thinks she hears noises at night and if I get up in the morning and fling open the kitchen window. what a noise. But none of the neighbours ever check or look or see whats happening. Having quick access to a camera Is far better in my opinion fair enough something something might happen but there's insurance and you have cameras recording

 

[thebandit]

I just bought a Ring gen II alarm from Amazon, I know there will be some with issues with Ring, but I have to say the alarm itself is very good. The door/ window sensors are very small, the setup is stupidly easy and it can have (but doesn't have to have ) an outdoor siren. For a cheap-ish alarm its well polished in my opinion. It satisfies a number of concerns for me,
1, I can tell when my son gets in from school (its notifies me of the entry)
2, He feels safe going into the empty house because the alarm is set and hasn't gone off.
3, I dont have the outdoor sounder but will probably get one, (it basically only serves to deter rooky intruders), I do get the alert on my phone the instant an event occurs, then I get to choose what action to take.
4, I to set the home alarm (no motion detect) at night, helps the children feel safe.
5, I already have an old CCTV system with 24 hour record and live view via VPN, the alert is enough for me to check that.
6, I have a door sensor on the shed, this is most likely to be a target and has valuable tools and bikes in.
7, I don't haver to pay for monitoring, although the cellular backup that comes with that might appeal to some (I have a backup cellular modem on the wan 2 port of my router so not required for me).

I think alarms work to an extent, they need outdoor sirens so potential intruders know you have it, but I think having an alarm which they will know has instant mobile alert will actually be a deterrent for some, more so than an external sounder going off. You need to back it up with CCTV for it to be most useful. At the end of the day, if you have all these things and your neighbour doesn't your neighbour will likely be the victim, however, if they know you have something they want (nice car on the drive, jewellery they have seen) they will go extreme lengths to get it.

 

[Buffman]

1. I have a dog that patrols the hallway at night (and day!)

Silly answer, but to be fair i dont need much more deterrent when I'm in the house. When I'm out the house there really isn't much worth taking! cars, jewelery etc. All I can think is passports etc.

I think i will look into a ring doorbell or similar however.

 

[krooton]

Somfy Protect here, have it hooked up to iftt to make all my lights strobe like crazy when the alarm triggers. Hopefully that will disorientate and make burglars scamper.

 

[NoobCannon]

We have an adt monitored alarm and fire alarm, calls emergency services automatically in either case.

i

 

[Captain Chaos]

I use a Texecom Premier Elite. Notify on trigger etc. Very impressed with it to be fair.

 

[413x]

Got an old one in the house. Getting it disconnected. More hassle than is worth for me

 

[SimonR]

Ajax - now the largest wireless European Alarm manufacturer.

 

[LACKERKNACKER]

I use a Texecom Premier Elite. Notify on trigger etc. Very impressed with it to be fair.

Just installed one of these myself, bought a kit from an online electrical wholesaler, added a texecom connect communicator which is set up to notify me if or when an alarm triggers, all seems ok, if nothing else gives us a little bit of false security!

 

[BUDFORCE]

Solid high quality windows and doors with high quality locks.

Leave a radio on and a light on upstairs.

Don't be a ******* idiot and post all over Facebook about an upcoming holiday you have booked.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Just installed one of these myself, bought a kit from an online electrical wholesaler, added a texecom connect communicator which is set up to notify me if or when an alarm triggers, all seems ok, if nothing else gives us a little bit of false security!

They are a good bit of kit!

 

[WJA96]

We supply and fit Ajax alarms. They’re completely wireless with a 3-5 year battery life on the components. They are simplicity itself to install and they arm/disarm on a key fob. There is a reason why they are wiping out everyone else.

 

[inflames]

We are currently looking into fitting an alarm or to just go with a CCTV set on its own. Been looking at Ring for alarm, ease of use and that you can add cameras when you want. If we go for the CCTV only option might go with a Alro system, there cameras get some very good reviews.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

Solid high quality windows and doors with high quality locks.

Leave a radio on and a light on upstairs.

Don't be a ******* idiot and post all over Facebook about an upcoming holiday you have booked.

Excellent advice. Pay a friend to drive your family to and from the airport unless you trust your local cab company.

Put bedside lights and a standard lamp downstairs on timers. If you’re feeling super crafty, put one in the bathroom timed for 4am so anyone watching your house thinking you have a weak bladder.

My house got broken into by opportunistic scrotes in 2015 when I was overseas for work. We believe that they waited for my wife to go out before breaking in and actually fled the same way they entered when she returned 10 minutes later.

They smashed the lock on the patio doors and lifted one off the hinges to gain access. The replacement doors had 8 locking points each - 6 into the frame.

Got ADT and CCTV fitted and never had another incident despite neighbours being turned over.

 

[WJA96]

We are currently looking into fitting an alarm or to just go with a CCTV set on its own. Been looking at Ring for alarm, ease of use and that you can add cameras when you want. If we go for the CCTV only option might go with a Alro system, there cameras get some very good reviews.

Without wishing to be offensive, that stuff is junk. And there is an ongoing fee with Ring. Have a look at Ajax. It’s stupidly easy to install, it’s not appreciably more expensive and it works with proper surveillance cameras.