What is the best house alarm system?

Kaldo · 08-12-2019 11:04pm #1

Hey guys,

Just checking alarms systems. However I honestly have not clue where to start: There are wired, wireless, monitored and non-monitored alarms.

Monitored alarms have a monthly fee which I'm just wondering if it is something I can save :-) (I've been checking companies charging 300-400 € per annum!)

Any advice, I would appreciate it

Monokne · 08-12-2019 11:06pm

Hey

I recently went with mod snip

The installation was quick & painless, the fella who did it was nice, friendly & efficient.

I have had trouble getting used to having an alarm and am constantly setting it off by mistake. Which is a pain, but every time I do, I get a phone call instantly so that means they are obviously monitoring tightly.

Mod snip- see the charter promotion of businesses

kub · 09-12-2019 10:30am

Hi OP,

You are much better off from a long term financial point of view and indeed a contract one, just to pay out for the installation of a system of which you will own once it is installed.
Yes it is a big lump but you will have your money back within 24/ 36 months depending on the quantity of equipment required for a proper security system.

Yes there are indeed wired/ wireless options out there, the wired is the best but your home would ideally need to be already wired for an alarm system.

If not then the way to go is wireless.

The system that is recommended by those of us in the security industry who are not in the business of tying people into long term contracts is a periemter type system, whereby all of your vulnerable doors and windows are fitted with inertia shock sensors and contacts with a few beams in common areas in the home such as hallways, landings etc.
With that type of system, you can move around fully within the home with the system on and the beams in a sleep mode at night.
Also should some toe rag attempt to break in, then the system will have activated before he actually manages to get in.

Of course there is a world of notification / monitoring options available to you, this is where you have to decide what suits you best, i would recommend professional monitoring.
This will have an ongoing cost associated with it, but on a system you actually own then it will be a lot less than 30 E a month.

Monokne · 09-12-2019 11:14am

I would add to what Kub said - some of the systems that you pay for monthly never allow you to own the equipment so be sure to ask if you go with one of them.

I went with the company I did as when the contract is up in 3 years, I own the system. I don't have any particular need to have it monitored, I decided to go for that as pricing up the cost of paying for a system outright was in or around the €1000 as it was, and paying €30 a month for 36 months was €1080 so seemed worthwhile to pay a small bit extra to a) spread out the cost & b) deter potential threats by having a box on the front of the house of a monitored alarm company.

Kaldo · 09-12-2019 11:21am

Monokne wrote: »

I would add to what Kub said - some of the systems that you pay for monthly never allow you to own the equipment so be sure to ask if you go with one of them.

I went with the company I did as when the contract is up in 3 years, I own the system. I don't have any particular need to have it monitored, I decided to go for that as pricing up the cost of paying for a system outright was in or around the €1000 as it was, and paying €30 a month for 36 months was €1080 so seemed worthwhile to pay a small bit extra to a) spread out the cost & b) deter potential threats by having a box on the front of the house of a monitored alarm company.

What about having a dummy burglar alarm box outside

?

Monokne · 09-12-2019 11:24am

The wife wouldn't go for that

Kaldo · 09-12-2019 11:28am

Monokne wrote: »

The wife wouldn't go for that

Anyway, the idea of paying a monitored system decrease the home insurance afterwards however I was thinking to self-monitored myself.

I've been checking some videos last night about DIY alarm system and some look pretty awesome: small invisible cameras on the front doors, etc. The main issue would be to have wifi on connected.

Not sure if I can share some here in the forum.

Monokne · 09-12-2019 6:27pm

I have a couple of the Neo's security cameras on the front and back of my house, they do the job.

riddles · 10-12-2019 8:52am

A HKC wireless alarm for a four bed detached seems to be 1700 - 1900€ with an ongoing 10€ a month fee self monitoring.

Is this an accurate statement?

un5byh7sqpd2x0 · 10-12-2019 8:56am

riddles wrote: »

A HKC wireless alarm for a four bed detached seems to be 1700 - 1900€ with an ongoing 10€ a month fee self monitoring.

Is this an accurate statement?

The self monitoring fee is only a fiver or so

riddles · 10-12-2019 9:02am

Jayce White Tenure wrote: »

The self monitoring fee is only a fiver or so

It appears the installers add on a top up for themselves

kub · 10-12-2019 1:26pm

riddles wrote: »

A HKC wireless alarm for a four bed detached seems to be 1700 - 1900€ with an ongoing 10€ a month fee self monitoring.

Is this an accurate statement?

The cost of a system would depend on the quantity of devices needed and the appropriate risk level required.

harr · 10-12-2019 1:51pm

Just on the discount on home insurance...if you do put on your insurance remember you will have to have to have it on all the time. If you forget to alarm the house at any stage and are broken into some insurance companies can try to wiggle out of paying out because the alarm wasn’t activated..
Happened to a neighbor of mine recently. He had only gone to collect kids from school when someone smashed back window and made off with laptop ,handbag and an iPad ..

un5byh7sqpd2x0 · 10-12-2019 5:09pm

riddles wrote: »

It appears the installers add on a top up for themselves

I get billed by HKC directly and it's €5.53 a month

Wildly Boaring · 10-12-2019 5:15pm

riddles wrote: »

A HKC wireless alarm for a four bed detached seems to be 1700 - 1900€ with an ongoing 10€ a month fee self monitoring.

Is this an accurate statement?

Wired was just 1100 and five fifty a month installed last week.
With 2 motion sensors and a dummy box.
Two contacts had to be wireless

10-12-2019 9:27pm

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Wired was just 1100 and five fifty a month installed last week.
With 2 motion sensors and a dummy box.
Two contacts had to be wireless

Yeah the self monitoring makes much more sense. The HKC system is rock solid.
As above the insurance company discount isn’t worth the risk of the insurance company refusing to pay out just because you forgot to set the alarm.

PCros · 13-12-2019 10:46am

So got a quote off a family friend for the following @ €1k. Just wondering if its actually a good price. It is HKC wireless.

-Panel with wireless app component
-2 x Motion Sensors
-Contacts/Shock sensors (its two windows and 2 doors - ground floor only so not sure how many sensors are used)
-External sounder

Wildly Boaring · 13-12-2019 11:02am

PCros wrote: »

So got a quote off a family friend for the following @ €1k. Just wondering if its actually a good price. It is HKC wireless.

-Panel with wireless app component
-2 x Motion Sensors
-4 x Contacts/Shock sensors (ground floor only)
-External sounder

As above our local fella doing
Panel with app
20 wired sensor
2 wireless sensor
2 wired motion sensor
Box and decoy box
1100 inc VAT

He has got a lot of work from the auld fella and reckons this is his very best price.

riddles · 13-12-2019 11:07am

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

As above our local fella doing
Panel with app
20 wired sensor
2 wireless sensor
2 wired motion sensor
Box and decoy box
1100 inc VAT

He has got a lot of work from the auld fella and reckons this is his very best price.

Is he anywhere near the midlands and if so could you PM the details? thx

Wildly Boaring · 13-12-2019 12:13pm

riddles wrote: »

Is he anywhere near the midlands and if so could you PM the details? thx

Nah he covers kinda north Dublin and south meath. not big on travelling

vipulpopat · 13-12-2019 2:02pm

Can you please share the details.
I am planning to buy YALE or Ring security system but i need it to be monitored,
I do not know if HKC can support monitoring on either of the two systems above ?

bk · 13-12-2019 7:43pm

PCros wrote: »

So got a quote off a family friend for the following @ €1k. Just wondering if its actually a good price. It is HKC wireless.

On the home security forum, the usual advice is to get quotes from three different installers. Lots of installers do HKC systems, so would be easy to get like for like quotes.

If going HKC I'd make sure that the communicator is the one that works over both wifi and 3g and not older outdated communicators.

vipulpopat wrote: »

Can you please share the details.
I am planning to buy YALE or Ring security system but i need it to be monitored,
I do not know if HKC can support monitoring on either of the two systems above ?

Neither Yale or Ring support third party monitoring. Though you can do self monitoring with an app with these systems.

HKC is a completely separate home alarm system. It doesn't work with Yale/Ring, they are separate and competing systems. HKC is a system usually installed by professionals installers and probably the most popular system in Ireland (they are made in Ireland).

HKC can be set up for self monitoring only at a cost of about €60 to €70 per year and you can also opt to add third party monitoring on top of that.

Bandito909 · 14-12-2019 11:53am

bk wrote: »

HKC can be set up for self monitoring only at a cost of about €60 to €70 per year and you can also opt to add third party monitoring on top of that.

Please excuse my ignorance, as I too am in the same boat as the OP but haven't a clue about alarms.

Would appreciate your explanation.

When you say self monitoring - does this mean I pay for an app or something which alerts me?!

When you say monitored - does this mean I pay a fee to a company who will alert me of an intrusion? What sort of price does this normally cost? Also, I'm pretty sure a friend of a friend is an alarm installer I was recommended. I will probably get our alarm installed by him, would it be straight forward enough to have HKC monitor this alarm?

Thanks for any input

kub · 14-12-2019 2:22pm

Bandito909 wrote: »

Please excuse my ignorance, as I too am in the same boat as the OP but haven't a clue about alarms.

Would appreciate your explanation.

When you say self monitoring - does this mean I pay for an app or something which alerts me?!

When you say monitored - does this mean I pay a fee to a company who will alert me of an intrusion? What sort of price does this normally cost? Also, I'm pretty sure a friend of a friend is an alarm installer I was recommended. I will probably get our alarm installed by him, would it be straight forward enough to have HKC monitor this alarm?

Thanks for any input

Hi, HKC do not monitor alarm Systems, they are a manufacturer based in Dublin who to be fair, produce excellent quality equipment.
They also have a server which relays signals from GSM / Wifi communicators which they themselves manufacturer.

The GSM / Wifi unit can be set up for self notification and control from mobile devices. It can also be set up for professional monitoring, which if one if serious about security is the best form of notification.

Professional monitoring is set up by professional installers who are licensed by the PSA.

Yale / Ring and those type of self install's are more for convenience and for home automation, professionally speaking and eventhough they have fancy bells and whistles, they would not be my choice for a proper security system.

Effects · 14-12-2019 9:24pm

kub wrote: »

It can also be set up for professional monitoring, which if one if serious about security is the best form of notification.

What are the benefits over self monitoring?

kub · 14-12-2019 9:34pm

Effects wrote: »

What are the benefits over self monitoring?

You must have forgotten :

https://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?user=300404&forum=1366&sort=newest&showmore=1&date_to=&date_from=&query=%2A%3A%2A&page=3

Stoner · 14-12-2019 11:08pm

Mod note
All please note that we are throwing all sorts of costs and naming companies a lot here.

Unfortunately we can't tell a shill from a genuine post.

So please post but leave out the business names.

Thank you

Effects · 15-12-2019 10:03am

kub wrote: »

You must have forgotten :

No, just wanted to hear your current thoughts on why pro monitoring is better than self.

Stoner · 15-12-2019 12:16pm

Effects wrote: »

No, just wanted to hear your current thoughts on why pro monitoring is better than self.

I have and had both in different forms
The pro monitoring keep calling until they get you or a nominated contact, they will call the police too.

I'm happy with the regular self monitoring, but pro is definitely a level up IMO.

Hopefully that answers the question in the most general of terms

Effects · 16-12-2019 11:58am

I've got both as well. At home I'm self monitoring but at work I pay monitored.
Never had it triggered at home luckily.

At work it's gone off once, when someone left an external door open, so it was nice to get notified about that.
It's also linked in to the smoke detectors, and I've had a few calls about that when it's been triggered by cooking.

For me anyway, I haven't found any benefits of paid over self monitoring.

As for the Garda being called. I thought they wouldn't attend until a contact had already been to the house or something?

Response times can be pretty slow a lot of the time anyway.

Kaldo · 05-01-2020 8:03pm

Thanks guys.

Regarding to home insurance, if your alarm is self-monitored, it counts like a "Monitored Alarm" or this statement usually makes reference when the alarm is monitored by a third party company?

bk · 05-01-2020 8:21pm

Effects wrote: »

As for the Garda being called. I thought they wouldn't attend until a contact had already been to the house or something?

I believe they will only respond if two sensors are triggered (say a door sensor and then a motion sensor) or if confirmed by camera.

Personally I'm quite happy with self monitored alarm + bunch of IP cameras. I can call the Guards myself if I see someone on one of the cams.

The advantage of pro monitoring would be something like if you are away on holidays with no data or if your phone is on silent etc.

Though there are workarounds to both, iPhones at least can be set up to bypass silent mode and you can always set it up to send the notification to multiple family members, if away on holidays, etc.

Personally I don't think third party monitoring offers enough difference for the cost, but others might feel differently.

Kaldo wrote: »

Thanks guys.

Regarding to home insurance, if your alarm is self-monitored, it counts like a "Monitored Alarm" or this statement usually makes reference when the alarm is monitored by a third party company?

Best to check with your insurance company and check the terms and conditions.

dubext · 15-10-2020 11:29pm

Can I get PM for Dublin contact

frozenbanana · 19-05-2023 4:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/112170889#Comment_112170889

For alarms to be legally considered monitored (i.e. for insurance purposes or as are required for gun owners who own more than two guns) the location has to be issued with a Unique Reference Number (URN) by the guards. They will only issue it to locations monitored by professional monitoring centres, which have to be licensed by Guards as well.

Since 2008 Guards will not respond to self monitored alarms; they respond to monitored ones when there is a secondary confirmation i.e. monitoring centre made contact with the client or they can see something on CCTV.

AndrewJRenko · 24-08-2023 1:09pm

It seems to be time to replace our 20+ year old wired alarm system. Wiring is generally fine, though one sensor is broken. We might need a couple of additional sensors (shed), so I'm presuming wireless would work there.

We don't need CCTV or bell integration at present, but it would be nice to have these options. I can't see much benefit in monitoring, so self monitoring for multiple users on phones would work best.

Am I missing anything here, or should I just be contacting a few local alarm companies for costings?

bk · 24-08-2023 8:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121020867#Comment_121020867

The general advice here is too always get a couple of quotes from local companies.

Most would probably recommend a HKC 10270 which supports both wired and wireless sensors. You can self monitor with an app from HKC, but there is a yearly cost for that.

Another option worth considering is to go the DIY route, Ajax Alarm or AX Pro seem like good options. They are mostly wireless systems, though Ajax now has options to include wired sensors, though if doing DIY that might be trickier. The advantage of these systems is that self monitoring via app is free, so might be cheaper long term.

AndrewJRenko · 24-08-2023 9:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121022627#Comment_121022627

Thanks, DIY isn't really in my skillset, so I'll see if I can find some local providers.

26-08-2023 8:33am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121022882#Comment_121022882

I would strongly recommend the HKC. Reliable, robust and flexible. A professional system that offers self monitoring options as well as central station monitoring. A wide variety of wireless and wired devices are also available. Many of the DIY systems are made simple to install at the cost of proper security. The bar for EN50131 is set so low that any system that does not meet this very basic standard is not worth considering IMHO.

The Siemens offering is good too.

Best of luck with whatever you go with.

Irish Steve · 26-08-2023 10:45am

The big issue with HKC is that they will not provide full installation manuals if you're not a paid up member of the PSA rip off, and they also restrict access to IP monitoring in the same way.

Getting adequate information about the panel is very hard, even though it's completely legal for a user to install their own panel, and finding out the latest release of the software is equally restricted.

Agettle · 26-08-2023 11:14am

ADT with my friends, so far without complaints, the 7th month has passed

bk · 28-08-2023 8:59pm

"I would strongly recommend the HKC. Reliable, robust and flexible. A professional system that offers self monitoring options as well as central station monitoring. A wide variety of wireless and wired devices are also available. Many of the DIY systems are made simple to install at the cost of proper security. The bar for EN50131 is set so low that any system that does not meet this very basic standard is not worth considering IMHO."

Just to be clear Ajax Alarm and AX Pro are both "professional systems" and EN50131 certified and can support central station monitoring and a far greater variety of wired and wireless devices then HKC normally support, including some excellent external sensor options.

It is just a pity that most installers in Ireland mostly just support the old fashioned and pretty dated HKC system and not the much more modern and versatile Ajax and AX systems. Thus Ajax/AX are left mostly to the DIY folks.

kub · 29-08-2023 8:06am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121040109#Comment_121040109

Speaking as a professional

A DIY installer cannot connect an Ajax system to professional monitoring as one needs a PSA licence for same.

An installation done by a DIY person, cannot comply with EN50131 as certificates cannot be issued for same by that individual.

HKC is a professional manufacturer with professional solutions for professional installers.

02-09-2023 1:03pm

What's your opinion on the Ajax if fitted by HomeSecure (believe only licenced installers in Ireland)?

I am in no-mans-land a little and was hoping this thread might help - but more questions than answers.

Have a pre-wired house - so obviously "any old" HKC alarm installed will be worthwhile - however would really really appreciate the future-proofing and tech of something like the Ajax Fibra (wired but not available in Ireland) and it does seem a pity that there's no real progress on the HKC alarms in terms of their interactivity with things like homeassistant (lots of effort to 'smartify' the alarm as seen in https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058006828/hkc-alarm-with-home-assistant-integration/ and in some cases progress to integrate actively blocked).

kub · 02-09-2023 3:26pm

When you say integration, what is it you are trying to achieve?

Repo101 · 02-09-2023 5:07pm

What are the advantages that Ajax have that you don't get with HKC or ADT? I'm looking at systems at the moment and I can only seem to get quotes for HKC.

I'm looking at installing an alarm system in a semi d, 8 windows, french doors, motion sensors, 3 pir CCTV cameras outside, motion detection, inertia detection and 2 internal CCTV. The most important thing is having an app and being able to get notifications of detections and to have a back-up battery in a power outage.

Is there an integrated system that does all this that isn't HKC?

I would also require remote monitoring as well but the app is the most key as it is for an elderly parent who is moving into a new build that will be wired for an alarm and I need to be able to set the alarm remotely for them.

02-09-2023 8:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121060272#Comment_121060272

remote arm

would also like to make use of the info provided by any PIR / window sensors.

(simple example being to able to be aware that windows are / aren't open - and to not switch on heating if they are)

kub · 03-09-2023 8:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121061432#Comment_121061432

HKC have all of that

03-09-2023 12:15pm

Standard install? If so I'll be getting it done asap!

(Note don't want to use hkc ecosystem to be turning off heat pump etc, have all of that already built via homeassistant, simply want homeassistant to be aware of all the sensor states too)

davidconroy46 · 03-09-2023 12:33pm

Hkc hybrid has all those features. It will let you know through your app if anything is open, Tamper faults low 🔋 etc. You can have the option of to inhibit, open zones, Tampers etc. Setting up temporary user codes for workers on your property etc.

Risco is another good option.

04-09-2023 1:14pm

I don't want to use a hkc app - I have enough apps already.

Integrating it with homeassistant is what I'm after.

Does look like Risco can support local polling access via Homeassistant

Craigels · 06-09-2023 5:59pm

I’m considering getting a wireless alarm fitted from home secure at the moment. I really haven’t a clue about alarms. Is the system the offer good ?

What is the best house alarm system?

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