Break-in

Last night I woke up to 3 people trying to break into my house.
I am now getting an alarm in.
After trawling through all the posts on alarms I am still not sure what time of alarm to use. Can anybody tell me if
1) Are panic buttons useful, I was told by Retec that they are not much use as they are very sensitive and can interfere with the whole system.
2) If I go for a GSM Auto dialler and get called, can I switch off the alarm via mobile.
Thanks in advance.

we have an alarm and don't use it, we have 2 dogs instead and boy they are get alarmers.

That's not a bad idea and might be cheaper than Eircom Phonewatch! Mind you couldn't have them at home on their own all day......

We've an Aritech alarm, it's fairly standard, when we go to bed we set it to part set which allow us to walk around, it got shock sensors on all entry points, also get sensor light, and a dog that sleeps in our hall. Failing all them i've family 5 mins away.

Eircom one is good aswell but I think there's a monitoring charge?

I am not sure where you like i.e. housing estate, detached in country etc..., but additional to an alarm you should install a few lights around the perimeter of the house all switched by 1 PIR. It is a bold burgular that will stay at a door with a light shining directly on them.

As for the alarm, i don't think that you can disable your alarm with the autodialler but this should not be an issue as all newly installed alarms should stop automatically after 15 mins on the external sounder anyway.
Monitoring for us was about €200 per year in Dublin. Not Eircom Phonewatch but another Dublin based company. I used to set off the alarm intentionally a couple of times a year just to 'test' them and it always worked out ok.. Personally, I would not be a fan of Eircom Phonewatch, especially the wireless system they have.

If your house is not already pre-wired for an alarm and is not a bungalow, you will most likely have to go for a wireless option as to install a fully wired option in a 2 storey would be a pretty big and expensive deal.

PM me if you want a recommendation for a wireless system with an autodialler as I purchased one online last December as a present for my folks and installed it in 1 day on my own. Cost was around €500. (Not sure if I am allowed to recommend brands or specific links publically.)

In my opinion, an alarm isn't really of any use in a city without being monitored unless you are in the house when it goes off as everybody just ignores them anyway...

J

I personally think that the best three deterrents to burglars are pir lights on the perimeter, a security camera or cameras and a dog that barks.

If you can't have a real dog, have a pir activated electronic barking dog alarm.

Jildy said:

Not sure if I am allowed to recommend brands or specific links publically

Click to expand...

You are encouraged to do so, unless of course you have a connection with the business.
Leo

No bother so: No connection to any of the below:

1. Top Security for House Alarm monitoring. found them very goo and reasonable enough for what you get.
2. House Alarm Install - DJ Royale based in Lucan. These guys really impressed me as the quality of the install is second to none and I have not had 1 false alarm in almost 5 yrs. I am just sorry I didn't get the name of the installer as if you got one of their other guys they may not be as 'tasty' with the install.

J.