Blogger: Home on the Range - Post a CommentWireless security systems have come into their own allowing the average homeowner to DIY and UL listed monitoring service can be had for 8.95/mo. Also good for a 10% discount on the home owner insurance.
A previous alarm rant from yours truly follows (sorry for the length):
Ok, you have your national brand alarm sign out front and you turn it on and off religiously. You are probably paying anywhere from 24 to 60 dollars a month to have it monitored, but it came with “free installation”. You did not pay for the hardware either. Pretty good deal right? Let’s take a look at how this really works and address why this may not be the best option for you.
Most agreements are for a one or two year initial period and renews automatically. Did you get your discount on your homeowners/renters insurance? It does add up. So does the following:
Let’s look at the math. If you stay in your home for 5 years at the minimum of $24.95 @ month for monitoring you will have paid $1,497 to your alarm company. Most alarms installed are very basic with switches that detect door openings and perhaps one or two motion detectors. Systems such as this can be purchased for 250.00 dollars and they are yours. You can use it forever and make it a selling point for the house if you sell as well. Oh, let’s also note that $250.00 is what you pay for the equipment; think about what a national company pays for the hardware. Look here for the system I used for comparison: http://www.homesecuritystore.com/ezStore123/DTProductZoom.asp?productID=1810
Monitoring for $8.95 a month with a UL listed monitoring station will cost you, and you must pay an initial setup fee of $30.00 and you will be billed annually in advance for the service. SO…. let’s do the math here. For a five year period you will pay 567.00 for monitoring and you have 250.00 in the alarm. Total cost for the period is $817.00. (Oh, I would recommend replacing the backup battery every three years at a cost of 20 bucks)
Ok, let’s put the small tin foil hat on and think like the other side here. Chances are if you are using a national service I can tell you what hardware was installed, how they installed it, where it is, and how it will react if I force entry. Ask your company for the installer code for your system. Most companies will not give it to you. This code gives full control of the system for programming changes, maintenance, etc. If you have a problem, some tech will come out and use this code to run diagnostics. How many alarm technicians former and present have the master code for your alarm? Are you OK with that?
Most systems are installed with minimal protection. Got two stories? Is there at least a motion detector up there? Do you have a sliding patio door? Is there a glass break detector there? Is your garage covered? Do you have a heat detector in the garage?
What’s important to you? I will not go off on a rant here, but you should consider an alarm as the last line of defense, not the first. Think about it, if it’s 3 in the morning and this thing goes off, a felon (Breaking and entering) is in your home. What do you do now? Wait for the cops? What is important to you and your lifestyle will dictate how your alarm should be designed. Is life safety paramount? Or do you travel extensively and property protection is the priority while the house is unoccupied?
Layered defense considers physical security (locks, doors, windows, etc.) as well as your personal awareness and an alarm system. Your awareness comes into play as well. If I enter your house while it is unoccupied and the alarm goes off, I will play the law of averages here and spend no more than ten minutes inside your house. I am headed for the master bedroom and will ransack it. What will I find that is valuable, easily transportable and easily hocked? Look at your home like a crackhead that already has committed a felony would.
Whew! Sorry B, had to get that one off my chest again!
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