We’ve probably had a thread on this but I don’t recall anything recent…
We’ve had ADT for years - they installed we pay some monthly fee. Alarm system with a few sensors around the house. No cameras.
We have moved. There is some ADT box/equipment on site in the basement but we think not used recently. TIme to reconsider what we want this time around. The same basic plan? A front door camera - or something in our backyard? (we have a pool). Not a company with a monthly fee but maybe some self installed (it would have to be simple) or have it installed for a one time fee and then we manage?
What’s the latest for the “average” homeowner? I’m sure CC has a wide variety of needs/wants/affordability in this area.
Install yourself and super, super easy. We had a basic Arlo system in our second home. You can see the options on their website and they have them with or without monitoring. Everything is wireless and the app is very user friendly.
We never bothered with security systems until we bought the cabin in ME. DH wants to see if any large animals (deer, bear, moose) cross the property, so he installed Eufy cameras. He also installed the same cameras in/around our AZ house so we can be annoyed when they alert us at least ten times every other Thursday as our yard guy moves around the property with his blower.
We also have the annoying spy doorbells.
I totally agree with @momofboiler1 that you can easily install these disturbances yourself.
Ring. Doorbell and spotlight cams covering the perimeter. Great integration in app. Great ability to limit alerts to “people detection” or motion. We switched perimeters to alert only on “people detection” but to capture all motion due the wildlife in our area.
When on vacation we plug in a few indoor cams to keep an eye on our cat and the pet sitter.
We have a Simplisafe system with an indoor and outdoor camera. The outdoor camera has a mike you can speak through to talk with people at the door using your phone. You buy as many sensors and cameras as you want and connect wirelessly.
You can choose to have it not monitored (no monthly cost) or sign up for different levels of monitoring. And you can change at any time, switching from monitored to not monitored and vice versa.
We have a ring front door camera and Brinks alarm system - D has a Brinks alarm system. We pay about $45 monthly for the Brinks piece of mind. We don’t hang the signs announcing it.
Very-average home in affluent metropolitan suburbia. We’ve had two break-ins through the decades, each was “controlled” by the truly deafening siren, without them ever actually stepping foot in the house, ransacking the place, etc. We’ve had at least one proven tampering attempt at the sliding glass door in the rear, that was disrupted before they were able to break in.
So - yes, we have ground floor doors and windows secured, plus motion detectors inside, and glass break detector opposite the sliding glass door - plus a monitoring station that is alerted via traditional land line with a mobile backup in case they cut power first.
We combine that with a water sensor in the basement (in case of flood, or pipe/boiler leak), plus smoke detectors that tie into the same monitoring station.
Now I just need to contract Katniss Everdeen to deal with four-legged, antlered intruders…
Many do-it-yourself systems have small sensors connected by low-power radio signals to a base unit you also need to buy. The small sensors are easily hung by a nail or screw around the house, or for things like open-close door sensors you can use 2-sided tape (often they include a piece). You can also get sensors to monitor for things like water leaks.
I recommend multiple sensors to guard against of false alarms. Every now and then, and especially when the battery starts to run low, a motion sensor will give a false trigger. I’d say less than every 6 months. But if you have multiple sensors thru your house and its the only one going off then its probably a false alarm.
Separate from the inside monitor system would be security cameras (although I guess something like Ring integrates both functions). We have a Costco system and it isn’t hard to install. I’d recommend the wired version over wireless. Video works better over wire (no reception issues) and you can choose systems where the wire also supplies the power (called PoE) to the camera. A battery-operated camera can be inconvenient if you need to get out a ladder each time the batteries need to be changed. Many systems also can be viewed remotely via your cellphone. Ours is an older 1080i resolution and the alarm function isn’t reliable so we don’t use it, but these days they have 4K cameras so perhaps it works better.
Yeah - you wouldn’t take it with you, but as far as outdated… Other than supporting wireless sensors, and upgrading cell-modem to G5 over the years - the basic technology for your standard home security system hasn’t really changed. If you’re happy with a keypad system and don’t need fancy iPhone features - a basic system is still current as is, accomplishing what it was set out to do originally. The underlying premise hasn’t changed.
SimpliSafe and Blink cameras at both homes. H can arm/disarm remotely and get notifications when something triggers the cameras.
Easy setup, pretty clear video. We keep a goodly supply of batteries on hand and so far it’s all been ok.
Monitored system for doors, windows and fire. Arlo for cameras at front door and gate to backyard. Arlo systems are relatively cheap and even a mechanical klutz like me can screw in the camera mounts. The cameras are wireless and run on rechargeable batteries (recharge about once a month). App easy to use.
If you have a security system using some kind of wired Internet (cable, fiber optic), make sure no one can cut your Internet cable without getting on camera first.
Power box too. One of our cameras is aimed at utility box mounted on the house (which conveniently is also where the internet from the same pole comes in). To be honest, though, any burglar smart enough to think of that is also going to wear a mask.
We have a Eufy doorbell camera that provides cell phone notifications, a SimpliSafe system that’s monitored, and Lorex exterior cameras that we can access from our phones and computers. H installed them. SimpliSafe was $14/mo when we got the system, but it may have gone up a bit. We mainly got it for the HO insurance discount.
The Eufy saves short videos, although I’m not sure for how long as I tend to delete them after viewing. The Lorex records to a DVR which gets overwritten after X days depending on how often it’s triggered. I’ve checked playback on whatever has triggered them for up to a week and have saved some still shots to my computer.
The Lorex has mainly been useful when I’ve had trouble with dishonest or negligent delivery people or workmen. Employers usually defend their employees until they hear (or see) that I have proof about theft, deliberate damage or someone not doing their job (such as pest control services or house painters.) The cameras have more than paid for themselves.
I looked at various companies in the business. They tend to have salespeople paid purely on commission and push more expensive systems than people need and then hope you will keep paying the monthly fee long enough for them to recover their investment.
When we purchased a new house, the insurer insisted that we install a system with central monitoring. I purchased a Simplisafe system (which is DIY). This is really much more for fire than burglary. We are really off the beaten track in an affluent exurb, but you have to work hard to find our house. Anyway, the smoke/CO system works (and we have installed the burglar alarm system as well). It works. I will say that a) batteries die surprisingly frequently; and b) Simplisafe components fail surprisingly frequently. The customer service line is helpful and they just send a new component and then we send back the old one.
I also have three Reolink security cameras and an NVR (which is supposed to just record when there is movement, but I have not yet been able to get that feature to work) and a Google Home video doorbell (we have Google Home in the house so we can see what is happening on our devices).
