Best Home Security System opinions

[DallasBlade]

ADT, have cameras inside, outside, and in the shop. That we can view from our phones and alerts us. Fire monitoring system. Then, we have a rottweiler and pitbull inside.

 

[mac5005]

Simplisafe.

You pay for the equipment up front, 24/7 monitoring, and much cheaper monthly fee.

No long term contracts, and you can configure the system at any time to expand, or even take it with you if you move.

If a battery dies, the base station and keypad tell/show you which sensor has a problem.

Also has the app to control everything from your phone.

Monthly fee is $15 or $24 per month depending on if you want ability to set sensors as silent or instant, and view cameras remotely, or just basic monitoring.

Adt/cpi and vivint were all north of $55 per month for the same options but with 36-60 month contracts!!!!!

 

[customcj7]

Yeah I'm wanting this for a new house I just bought. The previous owner worked from home so they didn't have an alarm system because someone was always there.

I've been pretty busy this week so I haven't had much time to spend researching this topic yet but I will over the next few days. BTW why wired instead of wireless? I thought the concern with wired was because anyone could just cut the line right?

Wireless is easier as you don't have to run the lines and cut/drill door frames fish wires, run it through window frames, etc. So for a house that is already built, most will always say wireless because the cost to install is high due to difficulty for hard wired. But I also know you, and you do like to upgrade your things. Depending on the house, if you plan to do any updating to windows or doors, that's the time to do hardwired.

Hardwired you don't have to worry about batteries, signal failures, etc. Wireless has come a long way and my shop was wireless. But I had more creative options and capabilities for hard wired. For instance, in the house garage I installed heat sensors vs smoke/CO2 detectors. I knew truck/jeep even lawn mower exhaust would set it off all the time out there. But with the gas water heater out there I wanted something, so a heat sensor was installed above it. The issue with wiring being cut is the phone line for monitoring. My wires were all run behind brick walls and in door frames so they weren't getting cut easily and by that point, that is one determined as hell thief.

The reality is this, if you are going to do be doing some renovating, I'd recommend hardwired for redundancy as it's easy to do during renovations. If you don't plan on renovating, wireless will be much more feasible, affordable, and easier. Just make sure your system can be easily expanded. Additional control pads, additional sensors, additional sirens/lights, etc. Just like security camera systems, some max out at 4-8 cameras, while some use 8 but have space for 16 so you can add more later. Make sure what ever system you use can be expanded upon. That's also one perk to the wireless is you can easily add another control panel or sensor without house modifications. But like I said, when I did mine, I was doing major work to my house and it just made sense. Mine was beyond overkill.

Some of the newer ones I believe also tie into the home controller systems like NEST, allowing you to get notifications when an alarm goes off. You can view items on your camera as well as turn on lights in your home.

 

[KPatterson]

Simplisafe.

You pay for the equipment up front, 24/7 monitoring, and much cheaper monthly fee.

No long term contracts, and you can configure the system at any time to expand, or even take it with you if you move.

If a battery dies, the base station and keypad tell/show you which sensor has a problem.

Also has the app to control everything from your phone.

Monthly fee is $15 or $24 per month depending on if you want ability to set sensors as silent or instant, and view cameras remotely, or just basic monitoring.

Adt/cpi and vivint were all north of $55 per month for the same options but with 36-60 month contracts!!!!!

DO NOT USE Simplisafe! Its cheap for a reason. I`ve removed over a dozen of these systems in the last 4 years. If a burglar finds the base station and demolishes it, the communication to the monitoring center is toast. The systems I install have what`s called crash and smash. Once an alarm is triggered, it automatically sends a pending alarm. The burglar can smash it, take a hammer to it. It will not effect police from being dispatched. The central station waits for a pending alarm to be disarmed. If they do not receive that signal, the police is dispatched. Do it right the first time, it will be cheaper in the long run. Trust me