Any deals on home alarms with instillation at the moment

baconsarnie

Hi, just bought a house in south side Dublin & looking at installing an alarm ASAP

Eircom phonewatch were my initial thoughts. Any suggestions?

KoolKid

If you compare like for like Eircom will not be so cheap.
Add an external bell for starters & your adding on €200 +.
Shop around and get at least 3 quotes.
Also check what's covered with maintenance calls etc. Some companies only cover one or 2 call per year, so a call not done right may cost you €100 + down the line.
IMO a service contact should cover all calls in relation to the maintenance of the system. Why should the user have to pay a call out if the system is not repaired or maintained properly.
Also ensure all accessible openings are covered by sensors & contacts.
Some companies use internal PiRs only to keep the cost down. This means someone is actually in your home before the alarm activates.
Also insist on a call out to survey the property. Don't accept over the phone quotes. You will only be lumbered with surprise extras after.
Also ask what phone providers you can switch to down the line. Some like PW, will not connect to UPC etc & try to sell you a GSM dialler instead,

baconsarnie

Thanks Koolkid, that's pretty extensive

Already had one guy say UPC was a no-no & to go GSM. As a total novice, what are the potential drawbacks of a GSM alarm?

Mr Simpson

baconsarnie wrote: »

Thanks Koolkid, that's pretty extensive

Already had one guy say UPC was a no-no & to go GSM. As a total novice, what are the potential drawbacks of a GSM alarm?

Cheap readily available GSM blockers being the main one. Dont let PW tell you otherwise. They can be bought for as little as €5 on ebay and render your monitored alarm useless because it cant dial out to the monitoring centre.

KoolKid

Also beware of those selling GSMs making claims that jammers aren't really used or it doesn't happen on home alarms.
Applying that logic would be like saying you don't want an alarm, sure you probably won't be broken into..

Mr Simpson

KoolKid wrote: »

Also beware of those selling GSMs making claims that jammers aren't really used or it doesn't happen on home alarms.
Applying that logic would be like saying you don't want an alarm, sure you probably won't be broken into..

PW engineer tried exactly that with me

baconsarnie

Mr Simpson wrote: »

PW engineer tried exactly that with me

Yep, that was the line I got from this guy. He said there was no documented evidence that anyone had managed to use a gsm blocker in a break in here

Which sounded a bit dubious. For one, it's not like a burglar would leave a note explaining how they robbed your gaff!!!

So if I have UPC, that rules out eircom. Have 2 more to go

Interestingly this guy was all about internal sensors & nothing about windows or doors too!!!

baconsarnie

Also, meant to ask- is a maintenance contract really needed? Are the systems that unreliable that you need more than an annual service?

KoolKid

baconsarnie wrote: »

Interestingly this guy was all about internal sensors & nothing about windows or doors too!!!

Looking to give a cheap quote and a simple quick install..

baconsarnie

Sounded quick alright. 650 inc vat for gsm & 4 PiRs.

That price did appeal to me but obviously not keen now!

KoolKid

baconsarnie wrote: »

Sounded quick alright. 650 inc vat for gsm & 4 PiRs.

That price did appeal to me but obviously not keen now!

Is that without an external bell?

baconsarnie

KoolKid wrote: »

Is that without an external bell?

Yep, no bell