Help - Need A Burglar Alarm , Any Recommendation + Diy Or Professional

[xyz123]

am looking to get wireless burglar alarm fitted to our home. Can someone please advise if its worth paying extra for a professional installation or shall i go down DIY route?

any recommendations on make/model of the system? My budget is around £600.

ours is a 3 bed semi detached house with no pets. I need 5/6 PIR sensors, 2 door contacts, 2 external sounders (1 dummy), preferabley one which can call me mobile no if something happens.

 

i dont know a lot about the companies offering these alarms and have cotnacted few NSI approved installers in area. But all seem to be using different systems. so i dont know which one is good and which one not so good.

 

can someone also enlighten me re "jamming" of wireless system. If someone tries to jam the system, do they normally give an alarm?

 

ta

[matthew.brough]

It is true that different companies use different equipment but all the kit approved companies are using will be to an acceptable standard. Once you have your quotes and specification of equipment, if you post back the details we will happily offer advice on which one we feel is the better product for you.

 

Jamming isn't a subject that we will really talk about in depth on the public forums but all decent kit will report if the detectors go offline or if they are jammed. The items from non approved co's / diy stuff is unlikely to be efficient in this area.

 

I would strongly recommend not going down the DIY route, especially if going wireless as its something a pro could get done whilst you were still thinking about it. 1 exception though, the bell on 99% of wireless systems is still hard wired.

 

If cost is an issue, a local small SSAIB company is much likely to be effective on cost than an NSI Gold company as these tend to be bigger with higher overheads.

[xyz123]

Thanks. I will post details when i get exact make/model. Unfortunately my house was burgaled four days ago and am panicking a bit to be honest. no one to blame but myself for not having an alarm. thanks again. Am not keen on using the alarm for insurance purposes to be honest, in case we forgot to set it when going out and then insurance company using it as an excuse. so may be SSAIB might be an option over an NSI approved.

[Paul. Giles]

SSAIB and NSI are both approved by Insurance.

[PeterJames]

Hi Xyz

 

Your budget is not unrealistic for a properly installed alarm system. I would advise that you get three quotes and dont pick the cheapest pick the one you feel most comfortable with.

[xyz123]

Thanks guys. Do all systems usually allow for future expansion, say for example if i want to add window contacts in future, is it easily done?

 

Peter-  Any particular features / points i should look out for?

[sixwheeledbeast]

Thanks guys. Do all systems usually allow for future expansion, say for example if i want to add window contacts in future, is it easily done?

 

Peter-  Any particular features / points i should look out for?

 

Wireless systems should be fairly straight forward to add to.

 

Alarm systems should be serviced every year, this is even more important for wireless systems.

Consider the price of it's maintenance with the company and what's included.

[xyz123]

Ok, i have received three quotes over the phone and would get someone to come out and give a exact price. All prices are for same amount of sensors / door contacts.

 

My opeions are Scantronic Ion, Risco GT (possibly GardTech but couldnt find on their website), Castle Enforcer, Honeywell G2-20 and Texecom premier. Prices range from £650 to £850.

 

Can someone please give me some advise on any good systems out of the above. I also need to find out which one has easier and cheaper battery change.

 

thanks

[xyz123]

sorry forgot to add the Visonic PowerMax. That has been the cheapest quote so far at £630. ta

[james.wilson]

The PowerMac uses 1 way wireless devices. Personally id avoid it. But it is cheap