Affordable home alarm

[El Barto]

Hello all,
I thought I'd let you all know about my experiences so far of my new home intruder alarm.

The job I do brings me into contact with people who think nothing of committing crime, the punishment and rehabilitation they get in prison and on probation does not seem to be any sort of deterrent. Some of them have lists of previous convictions which are pages and pages long. My style of prepping is not so much worrying about EMP's, zombie viruses etc; as much as I like to imagine myself running around post-apocalypse with a sawn-off, wearing leather trousers like Mel Gibson in Mad Max, I really don't think it's ever going to happen. People have been predicting the end of the world since the world began, and it hasn't happened yet. My style of prepping is all about what is most probably going to adversely affect me and my family, statistically burglary is quite likely to happen to us all at some point.

After a lot of research and time spent improving the physical security of my home, I decided to buy this system from British Gas:

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and...cxkacu9KSN

For £269 plus £8 per month subscription I got the following items:
1 Hub which plugs into my broadband router and controls the alarm system
3 Key fobs to enable/disable the alarm
3 Pet-friendly motion sensors
3 Contact sensors for doors or windows
1 Smart Plug which I can use to switch a radio/lamp on and off remotely
1 Decoy siren box for the front of the house
24 hour tech support (which so far has been excellent)
A lifetime warranty on all the devices, as long as I subscribe to the service.

Basically, the whole system is controlled via a dashboard online, or via an app (Android and iOS) and it seems well though out and stable. When activated, if an intruder is detected in the house it sounds an internal alarm, then sends me and other people I've specified a text message and email warning. I can then either investigate myself if nearby, or call a neighbour to check things out. So far, I'm impressed with the system and it feels like good value for money. I especially like the way I can enable the intruder alarm at night via the key fob or my phone and know that if somebody tries to break in, then I'll know about it and be ready with a handy piece of sporting equipment which is stored under my bed.

I realise that in the event of a grid-down situation then this type of set up will be useless. But then again, if the SHTF how many of our neighbours or the local thugs could we honestly shoot with our weapons of choice?

Any comments or experiences of alarm systems/ideas for improving home security are welcome.

[bigpaul]

or just get a noisy dog??

[Grumpy Grandpa]

I'm sure you didn't mean this EB but that doesn't half sound like an advert!

Wouldn't be moonlighting, by any chance...?

[El Barto]

No GG it's just you being paranoid.

[Lightspeed]

Good post El B.

We looked at the system you described and found two big snags with it:

• It is reliant on the internet for remote operation (Grid down at the house or remote control location means no alert or control)
  
• The monthly subscription presumably means that the system can be disabled by the provider when THEY wish.
  

The system we chose is used to secure and monitor our remote retreat. It is 12v powered and is controllable over a landline telephone connection and or GSM mobile phone, so remains operational in grid down conditions.

Telephone / Mobile control allows us the following remote operations from anywhere in the world:

• Receive alert that alarm has gone off, including the trigger zone
  
• Remote Arm / Disarm
  
• Remote audio monitoring ( we can listen to hear if there is activity or fire in the property)
  
• Full talk through, allowing us to talk into the property via a loudspeaker ( warnings etc)
  

The system is 12v powered so runs off-grid from our 12v PV system. It supports 99 separate alarm zones, both wireless and hard wired.

We are very satisfied with both the ease of installation and also the effectiveness of the system, especially as it is independent of mains power. This type of alarm is widely available on the internet these days with simple systems costing less than £50! Only time will tell how effective they will be in the long term though.

[Skean Dhude]

I'd want to ensure that the only thing my alarm needs is power. You will want it after an event as well as before.

This threat has made me think though. After an event many alarms will be going off as houses are raided. Battery backup lasts for a while as the alarms are timed. The noise from several of these would cover up you defending your home and thinning the herd.

[Lightspeed]

(28 June 2013, 11:28)Skean Dhude Wrote: I'd want to ensure that the only thing my alarm needs is power. You will want it after an event as well as before.

This threat has made me think though. After an event many alarms will be going off as houses are raided. Battery backup lasts for a while as the alarms are timed. The noise from several of these would cover up you defending your home and thinning the herd.

Another consideration SD:

After all the noise has died down after an event it is useful to be able to disable the siren on any system that you keep operational as its going off when everyone else has lost all power will draw unwanted attention.

[El Barto]

Yes you all have valid points. Regarding getting a big dog, it wouldn't really be fair as everybody is out of the house at work or school during the day, plus our cats might get a bit miffed. If the power goes off for more than a short period then everybody would be in the house as work and school would not be open anyway. In a serious and protracted emergency then we would all be at home lying low and defending what we've got as necessary. I realise that this isn't much of a plan, but gathering the camping equipment and trying to bug out to somewhere quiet would be an absolute last resort. Realistically, how long would the average (or more prepared than most) family survive?

[bigpaul]

(28 June 2013, 16:03)El Barto Wrote: Yes you all have valid points. Regarding getting a big dog, it wouldn't really be fair as everybody is out of the house at work or school during the day, plus our cats might get a bit miffed. If the power goes off for more than a short period then everybody would be in the house as work and school would not be open anyway. In a serious and protracted emergency then we would all be at home lying low and defending what we've got as necessary. I realise that this isn't much of a plan, but gathering the camping equipment and trying to bug out to somewhere quiet would be an absolute last resort. Realistically, how long would the average (or more prepared than most) family survive?

bugging out is, for most people, an action of last resort for when its not possible to remain there any more, usually because of fire, flood or rioting. unless someone has a BOL already prepared they probably wont last the first bad winter.

[El Barto]

I'd rate all but a very few people's chances of survival living in the wild at more like a couple of weeks before they felt compelled to join whatever type of refugee camps the government has set up (if any).