The Metropolitan Police Office says that a well fitted and maintained house alarms makes you less likely to become a victim of burglary.  The humble burglar alarm is still one of the most effective burglary deterrents for home and business, with many of the big nine insurance companies listing them as their number one requirement.

This next blog series outlines the options we can provide for both domestic and commercial intruder alarms and help you decide what choices would be best for you and why it is an important investment.  First off…

House Alarms

There are many cost effective alarms available for your home, with many options to tailor the system for your needs.  Essentially there are 3 main parts to all home intruder alarms – control equipment, detectors, sounders/signalling.

The control equipment on modern day panels are neat, small and not as complicated to use as some people may think.  The keypads provide clear written text descriptions ensuring your understanding of what is happening with your system.

Detectors come in a number of varieties such as door contacts, vibration sensors and motion sensors.  A common question asked about home alarms is if pets will set it off.  This problem is easily solved with specific pet immune sensors designed to consider size, shape and speed rather than any motion.  This allows your pet to roam freely while still keeping your alarm set and your home protected.

Sirens are both inside and outside the property, including anti tamper and stand by battery facilities.  You can also have the option of gaining a response to your alarm, either by setting up key holder response or even the police.

Aside from pets, another common question is “will the installation make a mess?” A properly installed alarm should leave no mess, but if you are particularly concerned there is a wireless alarm option.  A wireless alarm, although initially more expensive than a wired alarm, is both more convenient and faster to install.  It also cuts out any mess of wires being run to connect the sensors.  The detectors send radio signals to the control panel.  The use of these systems is also straight forward as they can be operated by a remote keypad or even just a push button fob.

When it comes to cost, some advertisements may be misleading, quoting a very small price and claiming high quality.  However, these offers can end up having hidden contracts that could end up costing you much more in the long run.  As well as the price you must also be aware of the quality of the alarm.  An unreliable alarm may cause frequent false activations   If these companies are not NSI Gold approved they may also not comply with any insurance requirements you may have.  With Keybury you have the peace of mind that we are certified insurance approved with NSI Gold standard installers.

The Statistics

According to the online statistics, although overall burglaries have decreased (Norfolk Constabulary published findings of a 73% decrease in burglaries between 1995/6 and 2012/13), West Yorkshire still has the second highest burglary rate in the UK after London.

A poll taken by Halifax found that of households that have an alarm fitted, 34% rarely activated it, and a further 33% assume that sounding alarms in their neighbourhood are just false activations.

It is very important that you use your burglar alarm as insurers may not cover you for theft if it is discovered that your alarm was not active.  Keeping yourself and your belongings secure is an easy process as long as you take the measures to provide the protection – and remember to make use of them!  In the same surveys it was found that 64% of households admitted to occasionally leaving their door unlocked while away from home.  This statistic is far too high, especially considering that 73% of burglars use the door as their entry point – with 3% of these doors found to have been open.

Below is a infographic from Tesco Compare showing these statistics on burglaries in the UK.

For more information on the house alarms that we can provide for you, please get in touch to arrange a free, no obligation quote from one of our surveyors.