Home security systems...

[UnfilteredDregs]

What do you all recommend? Latest and greatest?

Need to upgrade, etc..

[Too Tall]

Personally I think it's all about "the guy". Get a recommend from someone for a installer who knows their stuff and you'll be golden. The only thing I can add is that I'm really happy that we changed to a cellular connection. LOL if you can remember things like active zones at night than consider a "go to bed" mode that puts the entire house into paranoid mode except for your bedroom / bathroom. That's a slick setup as anything will cause instant alarm...no countdown....just remember to change modes when you go downstairs for coffee ;)

[Brandon White]

I don't like the big companies that pile on monitoring fees and push a hard sale. We went from one of the "big guys" to Frontpoint 4 years ago and have been happy. I know everything is wireless now but it was an easy setup 4 years ago and we haven't had to change a thing. We've gotten one false alarm from a garage door (accelerometer style) that we switched to a normal sensor. Most sensors can be purchased through other channels for cheaper prices too and added to the system.

[davids]

What the big guy said.

I have no idea what our system is, but I love the guy who recommended & installed it. He listened to what we wanted, and that's what we got - a couple door/window sensors, a couple glass-break detectors, and a cellular connection (which made installation much simpler, especially as we no longer have a POTS line.)

It was around $1350 installed. And we pay $240/year for monitoring.

And it works - our GC's guys set it off twice during the project (don't ask...) and the calls from the monitoring center were spot-on. Including the one I missed, that resulted in the BPD being dispatched. Where they found a sheepish carpenter sitting on our stoop...

alarm.jpg

[Drew]

If your home is already wired, I feel like that's the best way to do it. Just update the panel and the sensors that have a finite life (smoke, heat, motion). We inherited a 1993 vintage First Alert system in our new (to us) home. Every window has plunger sensors, glass breaks in each room, etc etc etc.... the new (cellular) panel brains, two new keypads, and updated sensor kit was about a grand installed, and we're at $200/year for monitoring by a local place (same dudes that did the install). That monitoring cost includes a mobile access app. If you're in the southeast, Alarm South is the company that did our install.

We considered FrontPoint, ADT, etc - the local option was by far the cheapest, and I have no doubt that they provide the best install service. Their price installed for the updated kit was about the same as the FrontPoint setup. FrontPoint will call you relentlessly while you are comparing systems... just be prepared for that. I am very happy with the decision we made.

[rec head]