What is the best home security system?
setashort55 asked:
I have no knowledge in this area, but I am interested in putting one in my home. How much would one cost.
home security
I have no knowledge in this area, but I am interested in putting one in my home. How much would one cost.
home security
April 23rd, 2010 at 11:37 am
home security
Avoid ADT. Their contracts are very unfavorable to the homeonwer. After Katrina, they insisted on payment until the contract expired, even for homes that were destroyed.
April 24th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
home security
Well that’s like asking “I want to buy a car how much do they cost?”. The system will vary depending on the size of your home, the layout, windows, number of doors, pets, and what your looking for from the system. Currently the big boy on the block is ADT, they have gobbled up all the up and coming alarm companies to become so huge that they can’t offer decent service. I suggest checking the BBB Better Business Bureau online and finding a relaible security company. Also, you want to be aware of companies that franchise out to independant contractors. They will give you free equipment and sell your agreement to a monitoring facility and in thirty days theyre not allowed to contact you again. This is important because a lot of these guys sell “lifetime” warranties and have one been in business for a year or two.
Product:
Honeywell and GE make the best product for residential in my mind. That of course is taking cost into consideration, you can find better systems but I only reccommend the expensive systems for homes worth 500k or more. Make sure that the product you get is sold to you and not leased or proprietary. What I mean by that is some people will “sell” you the equipment but no one else will be able to monitor it but them. So if you are upset with them and want to go elsewhere you have to spend money yet again on replacing the CPU and all Keypads.
Monitoring:
Look at paying anywhere from 10-35 dollars monthly for monitoring. Why is there such a huge difference? Quality of monitoring facility and name brand. Make sure the monitoring facility is UL listed and ask why thier monitoring facility is better, not simply how many, but what the quality is.
Contract:
Expect a minimum of three years from a respectable company. Security companies make thier money in monitoring and give substantial discounts up front to get peoples business. Don’t be fooled though companies can go as low as a year you just have to hold out.
Warranty:
Some companies offer life time parts and labor warranties. Note that if you go wireless batteries are not covered in the warranty and is it up to you to change them every couple of years. If you only plan on being in the home for 2-3 years do not purchase the warranty.
Wireless VS Hardwire:
Some people prefer hardwire because the equipment is virtually invisible and that is aesthetically pleasing. Wirless has its advantages also, like not being succeptable to lightning the number one cause of damage to alarm systems and no one is drilling holes all over your house and running wire everywhere.
Backup Communication:
Many companies offer backup communication in the case that someone cuts the phone line, or you are using a VOIP like Vonage. DO NOT purchase ANALOG CELLULAR backup. The FCC has deemed that it is unreliable and should not be used for security communication. I mean we don’t even use analog cellular cell phones anymore. Your only alternative is AES or some other type of radio backup. The equipment is expensive and often adds money to monitoring.