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Larry Frank
05-24-2010, 8:31 PM
I have been thinking of putting in an alarm system for both fire and burglar purposes. I looked at some of those that are monitored and they are anywhere from $1-2 per day. These systems are installed for a low price but the contract is for 3-4 years. Does anyone have experience with such systems?

I am going to start looking at wireless ones that I can install and maybe can use a computer to monitor it when I am away from home. I did a quick search on them and came up with so many that it made my head spin.

Any advise or suggestions about what you have had good experiences or bad experience would be appreciated.

Scott T Smith
05-24-2010, 9:48 PM
Larry, I don't have any experience with fire alarms, but I do have some experience with a shop fire.

I lost my woodshop in June of '08, most likely due to an electrical fault. The fire marshall and I speculated that the previous owner - who wired the shop himself - sunk a romex staple a little too deep and on a hot day the wire arced and caused a fire.

The fire was discovered almost immediately, due to smoke coming from the vents as well as from the vent hood in the garage apartment.

The fire department arrived here relatively quick - it was around 10 minutes, but they could not save the building - or my tools.

Had the fire started inside the shop, it may have had a different outcome. However, since it started in the rafters in-between the sheet rock and the roof sheathing, there was no way to get to the source before it was too late. So having an alarm may not save your home or shop - it depends upon where the fire starts.

Rather than spending $ on an alarm, you may be better off investing in some arc-fault circuit breakers for your load center, as well as an actual fire suppression system.

Just something to think about.

neal jack
05-24-2010, 10:43 PM
Larry, I don't have any experience with fire alarms, but I do have some experience with a shop fire.

I lost my woodshop in June of '08, most likely due to an electrical fault. The fire marshall and I speculated that the previous owner - who wired the shop himself - sunk a romex staple a little too deep and on a hot day the wire arced and caused a fire.

The fire was discovered almost immediately, due to smoke coming from the vents as well as from the vent hood in the garage apartment.

The fire department arrived here relatively quick - it was around 10 minutes, but they could not save the building - or my tools.

Had the fire started inside the shop, it may have had a different outcome. However, since it started in the rafters in-between the sheet rock and the roof sheathing, there was no way to get to the source before it was too late. So having an alarm may not save your home or shop - it depends upon where the fire starts.

Rather than spending $ on an alarm, you may be better off investing in some arc-fault circuit breakers for your load center, as well as an actual fire suppression system.

Just something to think about.
yeah, exactly right.Rather than spending $ on an alarm, you may be better off investing in some arc-fault circuit breakers for your load center, as well as an actual fire suppression system

Pat Germain
05-24-2010, 11:41 PM
Well, I submitted a post, but it appears a moderator deleted it. (??)

I'll say *again* that based on my research, alarm companies are a bunch of scammers. Google for "Alarm Company Reviews" and you'll find the same, overwhelmingly negative comments I found. Of the few positive comments I found, most were from the companies themselves or for customers who had not yet had the system installed.


http://www.alarmsystemreviews.com/reviews-alarm-companies-a-l.html (http://www.alarmsystemreviews.com/reviews-alarm-companies-a-l.html)

EDIT: Sorry, my mistake. I posted the previous comment in the wrong topic. It was not deleted by moderators.

Matt Meiser
05-25-2010, 7:30 AM
I'd look for a local company rather than go with one of the big national companies. Obviously you'll want to do some research on them, but you'll probably end up with better customer service from what I've read. The larger companies may use proprietary equipment, or even if they use standard equipment they may lock you or any successor company out of making changes. They guy we use has been around for about 15 years, gets good reviews, has a good BBB score, and has a number of good residential and commercial references. He doesn't do the actual monitoring but uses another company to do that, which is what you'll find to be the case with most I believe.

BTW, the discount on our homeowners insurance pays about 1/2 of the yearly cost in our case.

We also have a float switch in the sump pump that triggers an environmental alarm which makes the panel beep, and runs through our call plan to let us know there's a high level in the sump.

Joe Chritz
05-25-2010, 7:36 AM
You may want to check with the local police department that covers your area and find out what kind of response times are average for your area.

I much prefer silent burglary alarms over audible if the system is monitored. This of course assumes someone will show up within a reasonable amount of time for an alarm.

If you always have 30 minute response times audible is likely to save you some stuff unless the break in crew is experienced.

Joe

Lee Schierer
05-25-2010, 7:57 AM
My mother has a burgler/fire alarm system in her house. So far no fires or even smoke alarms, but the entry alarm has been triggered a couple of times, 1 unknown and 2-3 due to doors moving in the wind on out buildings. She lives in a unincorporated weekend retreat type community that does not have its own police. Response time varies depending upon what the state police are doing when the alarm goes off. The alarm company also calls my sister, then me if she doesn't answer. I live 35-40 minutes away and on at least one occasion I beat the police to the house. I've also seen the police arrive in less than 5 minutes, so you never know.

Sam Layton
05-25-2010, 12:22 PM
Hi Larry,

I would not want to live in a house without an alarm system. I will give you a few things to think about in your search for an alarm system.

First of all, I like installing my own system. Alarms are like tools, good, better, best... What do you want, what do you want to spend? That being said, you can have the best alarm for low cost if you install it your self.

The idea of an alarm is, you don't want it to go off unless a burglar sets it off. You don't want false alarms... If you do not want to install it your self, select the company carefully. Go to www.homesecuritystore.com (http://www.homesecuritystore.com) and do a little research.

Hard wire systems are best, and most reliable. A lot of alarm co's want to install wireless. Because, wireless is very easy to install, along with high profits. Hard wire systems take more labor, but are the most reliable. Also fire alarms can be Incorporated with your burglar alarm, smoke and heat detectors.

Talking a little about monitoring the alarm. I think the alarm should be monitored. However, response time by the police can vary a lot. A lot of factors to consider.

The idea of the alarm system is to protect your life and property. When you arrive home and your system has not been activated, you know no one is inside that can harm you. If your alarm is activated, you want it to make as much noise as possible. You want a very loud siren, a couple of sirens. Keep in mind, the purpose of the alarm is to protect your life and property. You want the alarm to be as loud as possible so it will scare off the burglary suspect. A silent alarm will allow the suspect to enter, harm you/take your property, and get away...

The intent of the alarm is not to apprehend the suspect, it is to scare off the suspect so he/she will not harm you, or take your property.

Also, 1 to 2 dollars per day to monitor seems very expensive. Install the alarm, and hire a co to monitor, no contracts.

All of the above is my personal opinion, Sam

glenn bradley
05-25-2010, 1:28 PM
I'm sure this varies but with the credit on my homeowners insurance for having a monitored system the end cost to me is about $15 per month; burglary alarm only.

Jim Becker
05-25-2010, 7:45 PM
Larry, like Matt said, consider local companies for this. You'll likely end up with a system better suited to your real needs and be supporting a local small business. The "big alarm companies" are not really the best deal long term, IMHO.