Can anyone help me with home security systems?
I could use some clarity, as I feel like most of what I'm reading regarding home security is either FUD or marketing. I don't trust most of the comments I read online, as almost everything about this seems predicated on creating fear in me so that I'll pay up.
Simplisafe and Frontpoint are supposedly easy (and Simplisafe is quite cheap), but reviews online are mixed, and many people seem to think a self-installed wireless system is garbage no matter who it's from or who's doing the monitoring. Is this true, or is this just stratrgic doubt trying to drive me to a different or more expensive solution? I don't know!
Also, ADT sent me an ad that was a straight up lie. The person on the phone had to guess at how they might be able to stack discounts to even get close to the price I was looking at on their flyer, and the best she could offer was ~50% higher than what was shown, with their higher tiers costing well over double the price in the ad. I politely terminated the call.
My home security needs are simple. All I need is basic protection, and, honestly, I'm less concerned about a break-in than I am a fire. That's what I'd want to make sure I have solid monitoring for. My stuff can be replaced, but my home itself and my dog cannot.
Can anyone help me cut through all of the crap out there and just give me accurate information? What's my best bet?
woah, that is so cool, I had not heard of these!
You are right everything I hear from home security/monitoring is pretty much FUD. Look into your own personal threat model, everyone's is different. Figure out what you, want to protect, do your own research and then go looking for services/products that fill that void. Going to the consumer security market will just get you minimum wage workers talking from a call-sheet on what metrics corp is pushing that month.
But if your above is pretty accurate, you can get almost everything you need by just getting a Smart Fire Alarm. The small amount of research says that the Nest Smart Protect is the best out their. You can always add a home security camera system, and buy a protected by ADP sign for your front yard. That will get you 90% of the way there.
The security advice I've seen mentioned most - and am using myself - is to put up a sign from an actual security service up (and the stickers). Most security companies sell their signs and stickers so don't use a fake one from Amazon as those are recognized as fake evidently. For additional display, put a dog bowl in the back yard and maybe hang a leash near an entryway window. The sign alone will prevent a significantly large percentage of opportunistic home invasion. Like most security, you don't have to outrun the bear, you just need to outrun the other guy.
I have cameras but those aren't very preventative at all because without more info, having a picture of the person doesn't mean anything typically - there is no "scan the database" like you see on TV - unless they are already known to police. They can be useful for after the fact proof (police, insurance, delivery thefts) and to just keep an eye on things at home.
A few points:
You've already got the best security system there is. Dogs that bark and make a lot of noise when someone they don't know comes to the door are an excellent deterrent for burglars.
I have a Simplisafe system and I really love it. It has a cellular connection so even if the power is out, it will still work and maintain a connection. It took me a few hours to get everything setup and working, but it was pretty easy and mostly involved an extra trip to the store because I don't know how to count (I bought one fewer sensor than I needed).
As for the FUD that's out there, the biggest knock against so called DIY systems is that they are susceptible to signal jamming. There's really nothing that can be done about that. The system can alert you to potential jamming attempts, but they can't really stop it from happening. Some systems mitigate this issue better than others, but as far as I know, Simplisafe doesn't do a great job.
Thanks for your insight!
My dog is, unfortunately, not the ideal alarm system. He would most likely be excited by the brand new friends in masks who just showed up to visit! He'd kill them... with kindness. I love this about him (he loves everyone!), but it does make him a poor watchdog.
One of the other issues I've read about regarding Simplisafe is false alarms. Have you had any issues with that?
I haven’t had any issues at all with SimpliSafe. It’s been extremely reliable for the year that we’ve been using it.
https://youtu.be/UlNkQJzw4oA
Lockpicking lawyer on YouTube bypasses the door sensor with a $2 remote. It will sometimes detect interference and notify you, but the level of interference needed to block the transmission is much lower than what will activate the interference detection. I would imagine with the door sensor and $2 remote located farther from the base station, the remote would almost never set off the interference detection.
Home security systems are a market made entirely out of FUD. Anti-burglary systems are doubly so. Break-ins are already very rare, and the numbers have been declining for over a decade. It takes a few minutes for dispatch to even start to call them to your house, and by the time the police make it the burglers will be long gone.
As far as fires go, that's much more likely. However in this particular case, simple prevention is a better option. Just be careful with your heat sources and you will likely be fine.
If you really want to be more secure, the best answer is insurance. If your stuff gets stolen, there is little to no chance you will ever get the stuff back. If things get lost in fire, there's no way you're getting it back and your house may be damaged too much to live there anymore. Insurance will make sure to pay you damages and ensure that you can get back to your life much faster than if you had to pay for the damages out of pocket. It may end up being cheaper than traditional home security monitoring systems as well.