Find out why a wireless burglar alarm system may be your best choice.
Today, a wireless burglar alarm system isn’t much more expensive than a hard-wired system. In the past few years, prices have really come down. And nowadays, the hassle of a hard-wired system — which can take several days to install — seems hardly worth the effort. The new generation of wireless systems is almost as reliable as the old hard-wired systems.
Wireless alarm systems work on the same principal as hard-wired systems, but running wires through walls and doors is time-consuming, costly, and disruptive. If a wireless home security system costs more, you should factor these disruptions into the equation.
Hard-wired home security systems require professional installation, often involve some demolition, and usually take several days to install. But wireless burglar alarm systems can easily be installed by handy home owners and do it yourselfers. In most cases, professionals can install a wireless burglar alarm system in just a few hours.
If you install a wireless system yourself, then you can shop for the best deal on monitoring, without signing a long-term contract. This gives you greater flexibility and maximizes your cost savings.
Many of today’s wireless systems include cellular service in case land telephone lines are down, and back-up batteries to ensure service during power outages. If you choose not to have a monitoring service, you can program the auto dialer to phone the police and incur no monthly monitoring charges.
The first step is to figure out where to put the control panel. It should be easily accessible, but in a place that’s not obvious to intruders. And it should be near an electrical outlet. Use the control panel worksheets in the manual to program it.
The name wireless security system implies that there are no wires. But there are a few. The system should be connected to the keypad and control panel, and if you’re having monitored service, to a telephone line, as well.
Make sure the control panel can target specific zones. For instance, once the kids have gone to bed, you may want to arm the upstairs and leave the downstairs disarmed.
The next step is attaching the burglar alarm sensors to the window and doors. Usually, the transmitter gets attached to the jamb, and the magnet gets attached to the window or door. This is a fairly easy task that completes the system.
One of the advantages of wireless is that the sensors can be easily moved, unlike with hard-wired systems. And if you decide later on that you want to put sensors on additional windows or doors, it’s easy to expand.
There are lots of sophisticated features you can add to your system, including remote control and programming, video surveillance cameras, speakers that connect to the monitoring service, and more.
Wireless burglar alarm systems also offer the advantages of being portable and easily expandable. The only downside is that you have to monitor the batteries and change them when needed.