S/O Home Security

[RoxMonster]

H and I debated getting a home security system for awhile. A month after we moved in, we had a break-in attempt while I was home during the day (someone pounded on the door and kept turning the {locked} knob trying to get in). I like the fact that with a security system, if we are away and there is a break-in or fire, authorities would be alerted hopefully before it was a total loss.

For those who have them, have they been worth it? Growing up my parents had ADT but started never setting it because two or three times something in the house would move ever so slightly and set the alarm off causing the authorities to come out and they got charged for it. Whenever the power would go off, the alarm would get screwed up and go off as well.

I guess I am hoping for a system with fire protection and also just alarms on the doors and windows, but not motion sensors inside. We have a dog, so that wouldn't really work. I am also wondering if it would be wasted money since we do have a big, black dog that has a scary bark (and who would most likely bite someone who came in when we weren't home and was being aggressive. Just throwing treats at her does not get her to stop barking either). Part of me thinks, if someone wants to rob you, they will regardless, but another part of me thinks this may help deter burglars and give us a peace of mind.

Thoughts and experiences? And if you don't mind sharing, how much do you pay per month?

[Deleted]

We have ADT with a cell backup, and I think we pay 29.99 a month. There is a USAA/ADT partnership, so we get some sort of discount. Also, USAA discounts our insurance because of the fire monitoring, and the insurance discount pays for several months worth of the monitoring.

We have two options on ours, "stay" and "away." I thought all systems had that. The "stay" option turns on everything except the motion sensor. The motion sensor can also be adjusted to be more or less sensitive. Ours picks up me when I move around, but not the 65-lb. pitbull (who is crated partly because I'd rather lose my stuff than have someone, including the police, who seem to reguarly shoot animals around her for no f-ing reason, harm him because they were trying to get into my house).

ETA: We've had two false alarms in 6 years.  One was because my mother forgot how to turn the alarm off while she was visiting (what is it with mothers and technology?  Am I going to hit a certain age and suddenly be unable to operate anything with a screen?).  The other was because my neighbor tripped it by accident when she was feeding our dog for us.  Both times I was out of cell range, or I would have received calls and told them not to call the police.  Nothing too burdensome, and all user error rather than equipment malfunction.

[Deleted]

We have an alarm system through a local security company. We pay $35 a month. It is absolutely worth every single penny to us. We always arm the house when we are not home (away option) or when we are home at (stay option) night. I even arm it at night if DH isn't home. The only thing we don't have is a motion sensor because we have multiple cats and I'm afraid their acrobatics would constantly set it off. We also have the company's signage by our front door and mailbox plus stickers on the windows. It gives me peace of mind b/c a number of our windows are single pane with really old locks.

When on occasion I read on our neighborhood's online community board about a house that's been broken into, in almost every case there wasn't an alarm system in place or there was a window or door that was left unlocked.

[mollybrown]

The most helpful thing to me is just the local alarm that sounds. If someone entered my basement, I would never hear a thing without an alarm. Even if the alarm isn't on, my system dings so that I know a door or window has been opened. If my alarm is set off, it is very loud. I imagine that most thieves would just take off rather than risk the attention the alarm brings. I actually think the monitoring is a waste...by the time the company calls me to verify if we set off the alarm, and then notifies the police, the thieves could easily get in and out with the valuables. A big dog and some fake security company signs would probably be just as effective. Our company charges $35 a month, but I will look into dropping the actual monitoring part if I can still set the alarm to sound locally without paying.

It sounds like your parents did not have a monitored alarm, and instead, it alerted directly to the local authorities. I don't even know if you can set that up anymore, but you will be charged for false alarms. It makes sense...it wastes time and money if the police are repeatedly dispatched to houses that don't actually need help.

[RoxMonster]

Yeah I agree that it makes sense to charge for false alarms, which is why I'm terrified of that happening! It also happened a lot to my grandparents who had ADT but for fire. They had an alarm in the attic and in the summer, it got so hot that it apparently went off because it thought there was a fire. This happened about three times to them! That's a big concern of mine.

I looked into a local company that is 24.99/month for the most basic package. I might call them to get more info. I definitely think it will give me peace of mind. There is no access to our basement (underground) but in the middle of the night by the time my dog registered someone was breaking in, it may be too late. Plus even a dog isn't quite the same as having a gun or something (on the burglar's part).

Thanks for the input so far! I think we will look into this and see what we find out.

[gtkim]

We use www.simplisafe.com.  $14.99/mo.

[boiler717]

We have ADT. We have several motion detectors and a dog -- they make "pet motion" detectors that sense based on size so as long as your dog isn't 90+ lbs you should be okay.

Our system also monitors for heat in the attic, fire through out the house (priceless since we have a dog) and glass breaks in the basement.

I think it is totally worth the peace of mind. At our old house we had a break in and they set off a motion and left before taking anything. We have them set to call a cell phone before the police, and we've never been charged for a false alarm run.

[midwest07]

We use ADT and it's around $45 a month (sounds like we need to look into some discounts others are getting!). As others have said, it has both Stay (motion detectors off) and Away (everything on). We have two dogs, around 55 pounds each. They have not set the motion detectors off. When they were installed, the tech said they are supposed to be able to tell the difference between something smaller and horizontal versus a person walking. We do have one that monitors our entry/part of the front staircase, and it will go off if we walk up/down the stairs, but not the dogs. In any event, we set it at Stay during the day or if we are home and want it to be on. At night and when we are away with the dogs, we set it at Away.

We do not have detectors on the windows. The tech said those are the most common cause of false alarms. Instead, we have motion detectors in spaces where someone might break the window and then come in. Ours also monitors for fire. We have the type with a built in cell phone device, so we don't have to have a home phone.

In our city, I think you get one free false alarm a year, and then any false alarms after that are $25. But the company will first try to call our cells and if they don't get us, then they call the police.

We freely use those stickers and signs that say we have a have am alarm system, to hopefully ward off robbers. So far, nothing has happened, so hopefully it's good we have it. It also makes me feel better when I am home alone.

[MrsMB]

I have a little bit of info in the top of my response to the OP regarding security. I'd have more than one person come out to set up your sensors.