scared :(

Lee1982

although im happily married i spent alot of time alone with my yound child as my husband is away with work alot,with the recession in full swing and burglary on the increase im losing sleep and would feel helpless should anything happen to us,i have decided to have an alarm fitted and im wondering if anyone could reccommend a good one?are they 100% reliable?its an old house that has never been wired...any thoughts to keep my mind at ease
thanks

Silverfish

Moved from PI. Hopefully will get more practical advice here.

astrofool

Probably best in Electrical, Koolkid and a couple of others won't steer you wrong.

Moonbeam

Make sure they are NSAI registered as it counts as a discount on your house insurance.

DublinWriter

Forget about a service like Phonewatch...all they do is charge you to let you know your alarm is going off.

The unit we have will txt us directly for no monthly fee.

Paulw

I have a PhoneWatch system and find it brilliant. If the alarm goes off, they will notify you, keyholders, and also call the Gardai. Very important if your place is actually broken in to.

An alarm system is only a deterrant though.

Take practical steps to make your place safer - locks on doors/windows, make sure doors and windows are closed, etc

Best of luck.

gar_29

DublinWriter wrote: »

Forget about a service like Phonewatch...all they do is charge you to let you know your alarm is going off.

The unit we have will txt us directly for no monthly fee.

can you PM me the details of your unit? sounds brilliant!

thanks

Lee1982

can you PM me the details also?
how much all in are alarms?

Happy121

It is a simple alarm that we have found to be very good.

It comes with a remote control (on key chain) that allow you to arm or disarm the alarm from anywhere in the house, lying in bed or whilst sitting in the car.

Cost was about the same as having a standard alarm installed.

Mess free and quick instalation as they use a wireless system to connect to the windows and doors.

astrofool

When I checked with phonewatch, their price was higher and the product a lot less (not alarming the upstairs) then the unit I got in the end (fully monitored).

They also just want to use their wireless unit for quickness of installation, even if the house is pre wired.

Senna

Maybe not the most helpful, but if your in a rural area, get a dog preferably a German Shepard, my uncle has a lovely one and leaves windows open all night during the summer, no ones going near that house.;)

Victor

Moved from Accommodation & Property to Electrical.

KoolKid

DublinWriter wrote: »

Forget about a service like Phonewatch...all they do is charge you to let you know your alarm is going off.

Dont they also call the Gardai, the ambulance, the fire brigade or whatever emergency service is required?????:rolleyes:
They also notify you & your alarm company of any faults with your alarm.
It is very strange for any licenced company to be advising you against monitoring

Text notification is good but it should not be considered a substitute to central station monitoring.
The things to bear in mind if using text notification.
When choosing your friends/family numbers- How many of them will be sitting waiting for your text a 4 am in the morning?
How many of them will have their phone on 24/7?
How many of them will the Guards accept a call from as a verified alarm.
How many of them can get to your house in a matter of minutes in the case of a panic alarm.?
How many of them would be qualified to respond in an emergency?
If you can answer "ALL" to all of the above then text monitoring is for you.
With regard to Monthly fees. If you are claiming a discount for having an alarm installed to EN50131 then you have to pay for an annual service for your alarm to maintain that standard. Dublin writer as an installer should be making you aware of that.
As your house is not wired I would recommend getting a site survey done by a few registered companies & compare quotes & specs.
The best option would be SigNet 100 or 200ip if you want more control.
PM me if you want us to take a look.

Carlow52

Lee1982 wrote: »

although im happily married i spent alot of time alone with my yound child as my husband is away with work alot,with the recession in full swing and burglary on the increase im losing sleep and would feel helpless should anything happen to us,i have decided to have an alarm fitted and im wondering if anyone could reccommend a good one?are they 100% reliable?its an old house that has never been wired...any thoughts to keep my mind at ease
thanks

depending on ur set up: consider low energy dawn to dusk exterior lighting.

Joey the lips

Moonbeam wrote: »

Make sure they are NSAI registered as it counts as a discount on your house insurance.

With the greatest respect moon yes your right to make sure its ISO registered and approved installer but i never went for the discount on the alarm a couple of reasons

1. The discount is only 10% which equates to 35 euro on the adverage house insurance policy. The cost of the cert once a year is 100 rought. So not worth the discount.

2. If you have an alarm and have it registered with your insurence company and then forget to set it you wont be covered for a breakin


i considered the lousy 35 euro as not being worth it. In fact I wrote to the insurence company and advised them if the done away with the need for constant certs you would have a lot more people take up there offer insuring nobody is going to go out and "Forget" to set there alarm so to speak.

2011

+ 1 Joey the lips

Stoner

OP,

there are a couple of suppliers named in the main page listing http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055193263

Finding a good domestic installer is not difficult. You should consider how you want to use it, if you are scared you should have a practical "part arm" function, allowing you to move around some of the rooms with some level of protection, opting for full set when everyone is in bed.

If you are so scared that the thoughts of an alarm going off at night results in you not bothering to turn it on, don't spent too much money, the box on the outside will do you. There is no point in wasting money on a good alarm system if you don't use it, so consider that before you commit.

Stoner

BTW joeys advice on the certs was informative imo, but please don't let it take the thread off it's objective.

thanks all.

Joey the lips

Stoner wrote: »

BTW joeys advice on the certs was informative imo, but please don't let it take the thread off it's objective.

thanks all.

Oh my apologies mod, really i should have added my rec on an alarm!

My sister got the phone watch wireless system. It sound good and impressive and in some ways it is. I love the way they phone you everytime it goes off oh and my sister tells me your charged for this.

I am not fond of the size of the wireless battery pack on the window. It pushes the blinds out from the window. A strange thing for a bloke to say but i find I catch a lot of car headlights in my eyes at night because of it.

The system i went for is a simple alarm with a modem. When my alarm goes off it sends a text message to 3 people. However! Its important you always keep your number! The only additional cost is the cost of the text message.

The installers of these systems have triggers on the modem that if you get a new engineer to replace the system it sends them a message that the engineering functions are being tampered with. but they told me its to advise them if someone is tampering with the box over time.

TBH there is a lot you can get in an alarm. I have mine connected to spotlights around the house so if the alarm is activated the spotlights come on. again this was not expensive. its only a control switch.

I would lastly whatever system you get let your local guarda know that your husband does be away. When they patrol at night they will make a point of passing your house.

Lastly and I hope this helps, quite a lot of robberies are oppertunistic, for money and jewellery, Keep a jewellery box but dont keep your moms rings etc in it! Most robberies happen in the twilight or daytime hours where as its night time we suffer with the fears.