Hi everyone, I'm looking to get an alarm for my house, it's a standard 3 bed semi that normally has a dog in. But I'd like an alarm for when we go on holiday, take the dog for a walk etc.
I've been looking at the Yale alarms, especially the HsA6300. It's got a wireless siren, 2 PIr sensors Nd 2 door sensors. The next model up can telephone you to let you know the alarm has gone off, and can be turned on and off by telephone, but this costs £20 more and seems overkill.
Anyone had any problems with this type of alarm? I'm quite happy to change batteries as needed. A friend has pointed me towards a wired alarm but this will cost at least a much (to be fitted by a professional) but I can fit the wireless one myself at a time t suit me, which is more tempting.
I fitted the HSA6400 at my sister's house about 6 weeks ago. Really quite reasonable build quality to all the components, some effort required to understand all the programming information, physical install very straightforward. Stupid little rawplugs and screws - throw them away and get something better. Only thing I didn't like was the alarm control unit runs from a plug-in power brick. I got around this by running the cable through a stud wall directly behind the unit, into the under-stairs space, and added a new socket there.
All the components have anti-tamper microswitches behind them (and inside for the bell boxes).
I would install the bell-boxes in a not-too-inaccessible location, as you will have to replace batteries from time to time.
No false alarms so far.
Various suppliers do this alarm with two live bell boxes, with pet- friendly PIR's, and various other bundles of extra sensors.
Accessories are quite nice and reasonably priced - panic button, remote key, secondary cordless keypad, though the smoke alarm is expensive.
I didn't see any provision for adding extra electrical contacts to trigger or be triggered by other devices.
I wouldn't begrudge twenty quid for the autodialer - one day your requirements will change, and it'll be just what you need (e.g. you can add a panic button, and configure it to autodial only, no alarm - just the thing for an invalid alone).
"Bells only" alarms are of little use unless you have neighbours willing to go around and check whenever it goes off. The vast majority of police forces have quite open and published policy of not responding to such alarms. People who report them going off are usually given the number of the local authority noise abatement department. The police don't respond because about 99% are false alarms.
Putting up a bell box with a flashing LED is just as useful and much cheaper. Scrotes know the chances of response (certainly of quick response) are minimal so are not too fussed by bells only alarms.
If you do get one do not tell your insurance company or tell them you have one but it is not used. Remember the old adage - don't be either the first or last in your road to have an alarm box on the front of the house.
Well, what do you think will happen if the alarm goes off when you're on holiday? It would be down to a neighbour to investigate. But if it dials out, at least it could be to an nominated person, who has the keys. And hopefully a large dog.
If it's just as a deterrent, you might as well just have a dummy box with flashing lights.
Good points to consider. Pet friendly sensors are only for animals less than half the size of our dog, but the alarm would only reallybe used when he's not in the house.
A lot of it is to give the house some degree of security, and make the scrotes move on to other houses.
Neighbours either side trusted with keys, both of which are the type of people you'd want to investigate your house if these a risk of finding a nasty person inside ;-)
Got neighbours either side that would check and are trusted with a key, so quite happy from that point of view.
Plenty of others have them. It's as much for the deterrent value and making the wife feel safer when alone as anything else. I'd most likely be adding a panic button upstairs to it.
But if the insurance company knows about the alarm and you get done over without it being set they'll use that as an excuse to wriggle out of paying up, dog or no dog.
But are you sure you don't want it to work when the dog is in? Is the dog a proper "guard dog" - or will he become friends with anyone who gives him a biscuit?
Obviously if the dog has the run of the house it makes things difficult, but we always kept our dog in the kitchen and the alarm covered the rest of the house.
There is a command word we use, which he won't eat without hearing. I forgot to say it once when I fed him, and only realised an hour later when he kept coming up to me and whining, nudging me and trying to get me to follow him into the kitchen to notice. :-)
He's a big loud dog, and will dash to see who is coming into the house - he has scared off more than one legitimate visitor. Plenty of houses locally without any kind of dog - all I want to do is make it more likely a scrote will move onto an easier looking house to screw.
Same as I've got a PTZ night vision IP camera panning round the downstairs area. If it gets a usable photo of a scrote then bonus, but the main reason(s) are to look obvious when a scrote comes in, and to satisfy my curiosity about what the dog does when he's alone in the house :-)
He has the full run of the house, and this isn't something we want to change.
I agree that most alarms will tend to get ignored. I reckon the trick is to make them think twice about 'your house'. If it looks like the house of someone who takes security seriously, then the chances are that another house down the street will look easier and a safer bet for the buggers.
Of course, if they're professionals and they want to be in to your house, then they'll get in come rain or shine. But you can have a good chance at making the other opportunists think twice.
For that, the bell-box just flashing will help. It's all well and good your neighbours being alerted, but will they come around quickly and do you really want to put them in that position.
I took the view that I wanted to first steer them away from getting in. Make them choose an easier target. Then second to make them get out pretty sharpish if the alarm goes off. So first, I have the lights on auto (obviously) and also leave radios and such like switched on. The doorbell makes a loud noise like a big dog barking (not cheap to get a quality model) to help with the drummers. I also have rooms with both real and dummy PIRs, because sometimes the best position for a PIR is not where it can be seen through the window. For example, in my front room, there are two so that anyone looking though the window will see them.
If they get in and the alarm goes off, there are sound bombs around the place, so that it's hellish painful just to stay in the house. Maybe they'll get spooked and decide that it's not worth staying inside. I'm not sure on any proof of it, but I reckon that would make me want to get out. Many burglars would happily work away inside for
5 minutes or so whilst the alarm bell on the front of the house rings away in the distance.
Lastly, you might want to put cameras around. Either to make them think twice if the cameras are visible or so that you can see what is happening/happened. The price of those that you can view anywhere with your laptop or mobile phone has fallen massively lately, making that an option. They have motion sensors, so you could, for example, be at work and get notified that there is something happening at home, check on the computer/phone and, if it is the worst, be on the phone to the Police and/or on your way home, long before a neighbour registers that your alarm is sounding.
Of course if someone wants to do the house, they'll do it. But if there is another house five doors down without an alarm, dog and CCTV camera then they may go for that house.
One of the neighbours, I'd be very happy for them to turn up. I'd have to delete any camera footage of what happened, but the person who's broken in wouldn't be coming back. :-)
The problem with a sound bomb is the dog, and the wife accidentally turning the alarm on when the dog is in the house. :-)
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.