Wireless intruder alarm recommendations please

[Chris Hogg]

I want to install an intruder alarm, but I don't want the hassle of having to run wires everywhere, so I'm thinking of a wireless alarm system.

I live in a small two-bedroom bungalow. There are three access doors to the outside, and a fourth into the attached garage. The front and back exit doors both lead into conservatories, like very large porches, which in turn have exit doors. The front conservatory is accessed from the bungalow hall via the front door, which is fitted with a conventional Yale 3* Euro lock.

The rear conservatory is accessed via the spare bedroom and French doors. The French doors have Mila Euro locks but I can't see anything about how good they are, i.e. what BS rating or whatever. The locks came with the doors when they were fitted, a good few years ago, and before the conservatory was added. I may upgrade them.

The conservatories both have high-quality locks on their exit doors (Yale 3* Euro, but those flat-key types in these cases).

The third access door is a side door from a utility lobby, also with a Yale 3* Euro lock, the same type as on the conservatories.

The door into the garage is also off the utility lobby. It is a fairly heavy fire-door, has a five-lever mortice lock to BS 3621 and is usually kept locked. The garage itself has a roll-up door with a wireless remote.

I have in mind to put motion sensors covering the front hall (which will detect anyone coming in through the front door); the spare bedroom (which will detect anyone coming in through the rear conservatory and into that bedroom); and in the utility lobby (which will detect anyone coming in through the side door or the garage).

My final exit is sometimes through the front door, via the front conservatory, or sometimes through the spare bedroom and then via the rear conservatory. I very seldom use the door into the garage as an exit, nor the side door for anything (there's a load of clutter on both sides of it!).

I would only have the alarm activated when I was away from the property, and not at any time when I was at home.

Are wireless alarms secure? Can they be hacked or disabled by a potential intruder with a little gizmo of some sort? I also assume they're battery powered, so the batteries will need recharging or replacing at regular intervals. Not too frequently, I hope.

These are preliminary thoughts. Comments and recommendations welcomed.

[alan_m]

Just be careful where you position PIR motion sensors. If mounted facing your front door anything coming through your letter box can trigger the sensor, especially in a heated house and your post has been out in the winter cold. Similarly mounting sensor facing a glazed surface and heating from the sun and clouds travelling across the sky blocking the sun may cause enough heat change to trigger the sensor as could an innocent visitor passing by your window/door on the outside of the property.

I have a wired system and my motion sensors trigger irrespective of the alarm being enabled or not - there is a LED to indicate triggering. I don't know how PIRs on wireless systems work but if the sensors are powered (by battery) 24/7 and they continually trigger because they are mounted in a position to detect a lot of normal traffic they must be transmitting a lot, albeit the controller is taking no notice because the alarm is disabled.

[Martin Brown]

I am still slightly wary of wireless alarm systems. They used not to be acceptable to insurance companies but I think that has changed. Mine is wired in a bungalow (that has two dormer bedrooms). Worth checking what spec your insurer requires to qualify for an alarm discount.

In a bungalow and with IR sensors up close to the ceiling you can do it with almost no visible wiring (but a lot of crawling round in the loft).

Mine has two modes. Perimeter guard where opening any external door will set it off and full set which will see anything warm that moves inside. We had a period of getting false alarms in the first year in July with young bats learning to fly sometimes squeezing through tiny gaps.

I guess they are much better now than they were. It is unlikely that you are going to have someone that sophisticated targetting you.

Any alarm can be defeated by someone sufficiently skilled in the art. My vote would still be for wired but maybe I am old fashioned.

I do have a PIR wireless porch light on 3 C cells which lasts around 2 years with daily use so I'd expect wireless sensors to be good for a year or so each on battery power (but read the small print carefully).

[Martin Brown]

It would take a highly insulated surface for a solar shadow to fox one. But it is generally advisable to point them inwards away from windows. Windowsill plants dropping a dried warm dead leaf is another mode of spurious triggering. Spiders inside the PIR sensor is another - worth making a good vaseline seal on them if you have plenty of them about.

Window glass is nominally opaque to long wave IR so the PIR sensor should not see anyone who is outside the property. It might howver see curtains suddenly changing temperature as the sunlight varies.

Wired ones typically do that. I'd expect battery powered kit to only do that in its test mode (even though modern LEDs are low current).

My front door PIR based 3W LED lasts a couple of years on 3x C cells and daily use so it may not be that bad with modern low power electronics.

[alan_m]

If DIY probably don't tell them. Alarm discounts are often minimal and the insurance company may want third party monitoring and/or a yearly maintenance contract for the discout.

[R D S]

I got a Digoo Hama from Ebay (surely they'll be available elsewhere). Might not fit all of your brief for you'll get protection for not a lot of money.

It connects to wifi and you can put a sim in it for text alerts.

[ARW]

Texecom Ricochet

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Dig a moat? Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Some years ago I tried both pir and ultrasonic sensors in this house, but both gave false triggers, normally due to heat from the sun on things inside the room it seemed. I don't think this sort of thing has been made 100 percent reliable. A couple of years ago it was radar dopler sensors, now its Lidar, so if they were all reliable why so many attempts. Strange to relate the most successful sensor I ever tried was a contact mat under the carpet in areas where felons had to walk. Of course no good if you have a pet. Brian

[Tricky Dicky]

When we moved into our present bungalow there was a PIR based alarm system which was absolutely useless there were no door contacts despite having three external doors. At night time we had to disable so many rooms it was useless just to go to the toilet meant triggering the hall sensor and the panel was three rooms away in a kitchen pantry the previous owners were conned.

I replaced it with a DIY system I found on the internet we now have a perimeter system based on inertia detectors on windows and door contacts leaving us free to move around the house when it is armed. The whole system is wireless and even has internet connection to our phones. Unfortunately the supplier i bought it from no longer sells it which is a shame as one of the outside boxes has packed up, but i have seen similar systems offered by other sellers so might replace it if I cannot get the external box to work.

Richard

[Martin Brown]

PIR is pretty reliable if the sensors are well made. You can install them badly and get poor results but they are about the best method.

They shouldn't false trigger on sunshine and clouds but they might false trigger on moving warm objects of any kinds. In my case tiny pippestrelle bats flying around close to it or large warm dry plant leaves falling off further away.

Mat sensors do still exist but a better deterrent is an alarm that goes off if the perimeter is breached before anyone even enters the house.

[alan_m]

This can be overcome somewhat by the correct positioning of the sensors and setting the pulse counting circuits in many sensors to have a higher number of events within a short period before triggering.

[Dave Plowman (News]

I've got ancient PIR sensors covering all the ground floor. Must be 20 years old. Still work just fine.

[Dave Plowman (News]

I'd be very worried if I'd bats in my house.

I have quite a few plants indoors. Never had a problem with leaves moving or falling off triggering the PIR. Or a cat or small dog either.

I did look after a large dog once now and again. If I left him indoors while out, I didn't bother with the alarm. The burglar would just have to take his chances.

[Martin Brown]

They are in the loft. It is a protected roost of pipistrelle. Bat conservation come round every now and then to do a count. I have a tray under their roost to catch the droppings. Live and let live.

Mine would trigger on any moderate sized warm blooded animal. Or a tiny bat that got too close to the centre. I have found all the young bat sized cracks and holes in the ceiling now so it isn't a problem.

There are three or four nights in the year when they are learning to fly and you can hear them crashing about in the loft.

[Chris Hogg]

Thanks for all the suggestions, caveats etc. I've eventually plumped for something fairly basic - one of the Yale range with a couple of extra sensors.