A Personal Finance Guide

There are a number of ways of minimising the risk of being burgled at home. There are physical deterrents such as fences and gates, security screens on your doors and windows and of course deadlocks on your doors and windows. You might also choose to keep an aggressive looking dog on your premises.

There are also deterrents that act to increase the risk of the burglar being discovered while in the act of robbing your home. Home alarm systems are the most common of this type of deterrent, while some people also choose to install security video camera’s.

What types of home alarm systems are available? There are basically two types – those that produce a very loud alarm noise inside and outside the premises after being triggered (this is the most common system), and those that register a disturbance at a monitoring station somewhere remote from your home (most commonly referred to as a ‘back to base alarm system’). Both of these options can be hard wired to your homes electricity supply or run as an isolated system on batteries, solar cells and/or a generator.

In both cases the alarm system will have a network of movement detectors placed around the home. They will be placed in such as way as to cover all points of entry into your home (windows, doors and even skylights), plus the main internal passages that must be traversed if a person is to move around the house.

The detectors will trigger the alarm system if they sense movement anywhere within their viewing range. Although the sensitivity of detectors does vary, they should not go off if you leave a fly or moth in the house. On the other hand, if a spider or insect crawls across the front of the sensor it may appear to be a much larger creature to the sensor and so trigger a response. This may not happen often, but one way to minimise this annoying event is to spray the sensor and the surrounding area with insect repellent.

Alarm systems that produce a loud shriek when set off should discourage the burglar and encourage him or her to leave the scene quickly before neighbours investigate. Alarm systems that are monitored by a remote security firm will also send a message to the monitoring station that will trigger a certain response (call the premises, call the police, send a security patrolman to investigate).

If you are thinking about having an alarm system fitted to your house you should consider the ease of use of the control panels (try them out before purchasing as some can be complicated to use), whether a remote control is included, what sort of power back up is built into the system (in case the electricity to your home is disrupted) and what costs are associated with the different response options provided by the monitored security firms (remember that your home & contents insurance premium should be reduced if you fit an alarm system).

Always look carefully at the warranty and after sales service, in particular, what they will do if the alarm system triggers for no good reason.

Note: This information is general and provided as a guide only. It is recommended that you discuss your specific circumstances with an appropriate advisor.