Is home security equipment proprietary or can I buy any equipment and have a company monitor the home?
Thе equipment іѕ expensive аnd monitoring іѕ expensive tοο.
Mу house іѕ a 2 family house:
Unit A: 4 doors, 24 windows
Unit B: 2 doors, 13 windows
most home monitoring systems are pretty standard and can be monitored by anyone.. One of the worst mistakes you can make is getting a “Free” system from a company that locks you into a lengthy contract for monitoring..
Buy and bed in your own system and pay monthly for monitoring; Never sign a long term contract with a monitoring company. You want a company that earns your business every month.
This link is to a wholesaler that I buy from – There are plenty of others as well but you can price out your parts from their website for comparison – http://www.sdepot.com/
You may not need to place window alarms on every window – Shift Sensors can be used to cover strategic areas of the house and would also protect windows. But shift sensors may not be a excellent thought if you have pets that will trigger them. You should be able to get a excellent wireless system for under $300 – count on an superfluous $100-200 if you need an installer to set it up. Most are quite simple to setup yourself if you have basic home improvement skills.
http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/4/426/391/
http://www.safemart.com/
Fantastic question. There are several reliable UL-listed equipment providers (GE, Honeywell, DSC), but they do not sell directly. With equipment made by one of these companies you will have some choice monitoring – although many companies are reluctant to monitor something they did not bed in. With upfront discounting, equipment may cost less from a company that provides monitoring. Beware the on-line “warehouse” companies as weaker on help and usually not licensed – though they should be, if selling equipment that it to be monitored, and licensing varies by state.
You may want a break system for each unit – if not you are going to run into usage conflicts if both units are on one system. I would get a sample system for the smaller unit first, and if you like it, use the same equipment and provider for the larger unit. As for the windows, here is the issue: you can arm most systems in the “stay” or “away” mode. In the stay mode, which assumes you are home, the shift sensors are not active. In the away mode, they are – that means if you are only arming the system when away, you could protect only the doors and use a few shift sensors to protect the interior chairs, and forget the windows (or just protect a few obvious tempting targets). If arming in the stay mode and you want to protect windows, a common solution is to use a wall-mounted glassbreak sensor – an acoustic device that “hears” breaking glass. Each has a array of 20′ in any direction with line of site, so one sensor can protect lots of glass. Between motions and glassbreak options, very few people arm every window.
You clearly want a 100% wireless system, but first you need to identify what is meant by “wireless” – because it has two meanings!
Wireless Sensors – When most companies say “wireless security system,” they are referring to how the sensors talk to the control panel. Are these systems better than hard-wired systems? Yes, and for many reasons. Does FrontPoint (my company) like and use them? You bet! In fact, most of the home alarm systems being installed today use wireless sensors. Here is a small list of benefits provided by this technology:
1. Simpler to bed in. No drilling, no mess, quicker, and less opportunity of destruction to your home.
2. Each sensor makes its own reporting “zone” – no confusion about which door or window is open.
3. Simpler to troubleshoot – no tracing wires, searching for the cut or shorted wire, or opening parapet to re-run wires.
4. Simpler to reposition, remove, or add more sensors later.
5. Simpler to go the entire system with you, especially if a DIY system (see more here).
6. No more level to fake alarms.
Wireless Monitoring – This meaning refers to how the alarm system communicates to the monitoring center. The problem is that 90% of the systems in use today still depend on a vulnerable phone line (or Internet connection) to reach the monitoring center. It’s simple for a burglar to cut that link, and they do so regularly, rendering these “ancient-school” system useless. That is where cellular monitoring comes in. There is no phone line required – the alarm system has its own built-in cellular device, so that alarm communication is self-determining, and far more reliable. The benefits:
1. No phone line required – many homes are cell-only, or VOIP, and most alarm systems don’t like VOIP.
2. Peace of mind – no phone line or Internet connection to be cut with a $5 pair of wire cutters (see here for more detail).
3. Some homes keep a “traditional” phone line just for the alarm system – cancel that phone line, and it may pay for your monthly monitoring fee!
4. Simpler installation – no need for complex “line seizure” wiring that allows the alarm system to control the phone line. Fantastic for DIY systems.
5. Simpler to go with you – wireless sensors and cellular monitoring start a truly portable system. You own the equipment: why not take it to your next home?
FrontPoint is the only alarm company in the US that includes cellular monitoring with every system we sell – that’s why we say we are “100% wireless.” So when an alarm company advertises a “wireless security system” – you know the right question to question: which wireless do you mean? The best systems are both!
I have not touched on interactive services yet. The best systems have the following, and this should not cost you a lot:
1) 100% cellular monitoring – no phone line required, and none to cut!
2) Remote arm/disarm capability
3) Special apps for iPhone, Blackberry, Android
4) Email & text notifications on anything happening at home: doors opening, etc.
5) Record services – live viewing from any web connection (including phone) and shift-activated clips
6) Smart home – remote light and thermostat control
So shop hard, read all the company reviews you can find, and excellent luck. You may want to check our blog (see the “Buzz” section on our home page) for some additional helpful advice.