advice for 3 bed semi home alarm system

Hi guys,

I’m just starting to do some research in getting an alarm system installed in my house in Arklow, Co Wicklow. I’ve been reading through some threads here and looking up a couple of different sites, but there’s a lot of information to take in and I’m getting a little bit lost, so looking for advice.

The house was built in the late 70s, so isn’t pre-wired for an alarm so I guess that means I should only be looking at wireless options and ignoring wired or hybrid?

At the moment there’s a cheapo Yale DIY job in place using a panel / keypad at the front door, an external siren and a handful of motion and door sensors. I’m looking for the new system to have a separate panel to the keypad, to have a good iphone app, key fobs, panic buttons, pet-sensitive sensors (we have a large german shepherd), and the ability to arm the perimeter at night when we are at home. I have not decided yet if I want to pay for monitoring or if I would be just happy with self-monitoring / notifications. Further down the list of priorities, but still important, is that the keypad is unobtrusive and aesthetically pleasing (or at least neutral!), and preferably touchscreen.

My (limited and probably incorrect) understanding of the industry is that you’ve got the big guys like Phone Watch who install their own proprietary systems, and then you’ve got smaller independent installers (which would be mostly your good selves) who install a range of different products. Of the products available the most common (because the suppliers are Irish companies so easier to deal with?) are GSD and HKC, with other systems being Siemens, Risco and more.

If the above understanding is accurate, I’ve got a couple of questions –

1) I’ve discounted Phone Watch, but I am looking at Securigard, who I understand would be similar to Phone Watch? They seem to have plenty of recommendations in the press and various awards, and their touch screen pin pad looks like the nicest I’ve seen, but I haven’t heard much more of the system they use – Tyco Visonics. Any feedback on Securigard or any areas of major weakness to their systems?

2) GSD – I guess it would be the i70 wireless panel I’d be getting. This seems to be integrated with the keypad so the panel would be installed by the front door? Is there a separate keypad available?

3) HKC – I’ve read some of the recent issues on this forum with their service so I’ve sort of gone off them (I have iphones / ipads so the Android problems wouldn’t have been an issue for me, but still not a good indicator of service). Plus if I do opt for monitoring I wouldn’t want to also have to continue to pay a sub for their app.

4) Risco – I like the look of the LightSYS 2 system, but the brand doesn’t seem to be widely available / advertised here. Is it just a case of trying to find an installer familiar with it? And am I risking unneccesary headaches if I use a system other than HKC / GSD?

Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated, guys. I’ll be arranging some quotes in the next week or so, but just want to have some knowledge in advance.

Thanks