It’s a fact that burglars will avoid homes which have a well fitted home alarm system. Especially if it is well maintained which means that it has annual checks which thoroughly test all components. Your local DIY store will sell home alarm systems which you might consider because of their relative cheap cost compared to a professionally installed alarm system. But these systems do come with several disadvantages.

  • Firstly, although you can install an alarm bell box outside to show potential burglars that you do have an alarm, these DIY home alarm systems are well known to criminals who know their stuff. They will know that more than likely, these alarm systems will be installed by a home owner and probably the sensors are not put in the best locations to detect movement. A professional home alarm company with a recognised accreditation such as the Security Systems & Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB) will do a survey of your home and will know where best to put the motion detector sensors, vibration detectors or door contacts.
  • Secondly, DIY home alarm systems are never maintained. So they might malfunction and you might not know it until it is too late. Home alarms need to be maintained regularly to ensure each detector is working and triggering the alarm.
  • Thirdly, a wireless DIY home alarm system is most likely not going to do anything but ring out loud. Whilst a loud bell ringing noise is what you want to hear if you’re being burgled, most likely your neighbours will ignore it. A survey revealed that only 1.9% of people would alert police to a ringing alarm.  Therefore, a monitored home alarm system is the ideal and is suitable for both wireless burglar alarms and wired alarm systems. Not only is an audible alarm triggered when a sensor detects movement, a signal is sent to the receiving centre (the monitoring company) who will get in touch with the key-holders or call the police depending on the contract. This provides peace of mind that at least the alarm will not be ignored.

Some 70% of Britons do not have an alarm system and it is often a low priority when moving home. However, if you fall into this category, it doesn’t make sense to install a cheap alarm system yourself just to save a few pounds. In the long term, you lose thousands of pounds and lots of heartache as a result of a burglary which might have been prevented had the system not let you down.

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