Hi, i am about to install a alarm system in my home, which one should i choose?
Sunday, July 18th, 2010 at
12:17 pm
Hi, i live in toronto, i am going to install a alarm system. Which one is best in the market? And which one is the cheapest installation etc. Looking for the best for the cheapest price.
Thanks for your help.
Tagged with: alarm system • google • script type • text javascript • thanks for your help • toronto
Filed under: Home Security Alarm
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The real cost of an alarm system is the monthly monitoring contract which is why many alarm companies will give you the system for free. However, if you buy your own and manage to secure the manual for it, you can simply program it to call your cell phone and or those of your neighbours and friends instead of the alarm company monitoring center. It’s called self monitoring. Also since these alarm systems just dial out via a modem, the thieves tend to just cut the phone lines to your house. Walk around your house and see where the phone line comes out of the wall, I had a steel box mounted there with a padlock hasp and the wires placed in armoured conduit till it was well into the ground to discourage a thief with a pair of wire cutters. You can also buy alarm systems that have built in cellular phones but a cell phone contract can be exorbitant so look for an alarm system that uses sim cards and get a prepaid sim card. Unfortunately most prepaid plans have the minutes expiring after a period of time so check out the prepaid plan carefully. The advantage of the alarm systems with sim cards is that they can send sms messages, not just make a modem call.
We have installed every manufacture from many different countries and have concluded for easy of use that DSC is the most user friendly for a DIY home alarm solution. Their wireless sensors are easy to enroll and the keypad programing is very quick. The great thing about DSC for you is that they are a canadian company, so you are keeping it in your home country.
The other poster is correct, a lot of installers will offer free systems in return for extremely high monthly costs (45-65 a month).
The sad truth is that over 90% of the systems in use today still use an extremely vulnerable phone line connection, or its equally vulnerable successor, VOIP (think Vonage). Burglars know this, and cut phone and Internet lines all the time. The only truly safe systems use cellular monitoring, with a built-in cellular device (this should be included in the equipment price, not an extra charge). Many companies offer cellular, but charge more for the equipment (can be $200 extra), and more for the monthly fee (up to $12 extra). You can do better, especially when it comes to Interactive services that the other big companies do not even offer: remote arm/disarm, special apps for hand-held devices, text and email notifications, and even video and smart home features. In other words, the game has changed, and the traditional "big boys" are behind. When researching, I strongly recommend that you look at all the reviews you can find, and Google is a good place to start. Shop hard. Some companies even offer DIY systems that you can add to, and even move with you – the major brands have not even thought of that! Look for safer, smarter, simpler, and more affordable – you will be happy you did!