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Keep wireless monitored alarm or go wired self monitored

  • 08-02-2022 12:09AM
    #1
    Luckylow10
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 178 ✭✭


    I had an astec wired alarm until a few years ago it developed faults and so I tried to get new wired alarm but many companies said there were no compatible alarms available. So I went wireless, and paid 39.99 a month for 2 years with monitoring and maintenance.

    the alarm company in the contract advised after the 2 years I now own the equipment. I can use the alarm as a normal alarm but I chose to pay 24.99 monthly for monitoring and maintenance for the last year.

    its a risco Wicomm pro.

    So now I’m wondering is it worth staying with the 24.99 month deal for another year. I was given the engineer code, does that mean I am free to go to other monitoring service? Or add on other zones and do repairs myself?

    the alarm company have been excellent, they call out whenever there is a fault (which is often) they always put new batteries in, the monitoring station call me whenever the alarm goes off straight away

    BUT

    the thing is I already know it’s going off as I get notifications through the app. They never tell me anything I don’t already know, both myself and husband work at home, only wk ends we both are out of the house. And I can call the Garda myself if needs be, I also have security cameras installed so I can check that too.

    the Wired option is more future proof and less prone to faults (perhaps), I can self monitor but there is a large upfront cost.



Comments

  • #2
    bk
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 23,626 Mod ✭✭✭✭bk


    "the Wired option is more future proof and less prone to faults (perhaps), I can self monitor but there is a large upfront cost."

    Well you should take into account the cost of monitoring over a long period of time and how long it would take to payback a new self monitored system.

    €25 per month is €300 per year, €1,500 over 5 years, €3,000 over 10 years. Assuming no price increase.

    Lets say you spend €1,000 on a new self monitored system, then it would pay for itself after just 3 years.

    BTW another option is a DIY wireless self monitored system that you install yourself. You would have to replace batteries yourself, but it isn't difficult to do on systems designed for DIY like this.

    Also, it is likely that you can have your existing Risco panel reprogrammed to directly use the iRisco app. It looks like Risco charge €24 per year to use their app directly for monitoring like this. The difficulty you might have is finding an installer willing to do the work, unless you can figure it out yourself, might be worth poking around in the panel if you have the engineer codes.



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