Sometimes it can be hard to translate information from back to base alarm monitoring companies into actual benefits for your home … even when it’s written in English! If you’re new to the concept and reality of back to base alarm monitoring, today we remove the jargon and technical terms, and look at what real homeowners have to say about the topic.
“I’m not sure I want to get a security company to monitor my alarm, I’m sure that would be costly”
Rather than giving you the traditional corporate spiel about safety, we’ll let another forum member answer this question. They mentioned that there are DIY alarm kits that you can buy which have a ‘callback’ feature, to alert you if your perimeters have been breached. However, they also mentioned that you will feel terrible if you’re across town or interstate when the call comes. Even if it is a false alarm, having back to base alarm monitoring will let you know that, and save you a lot of stress! And don’t forget all the other reasons for having back to base alarm monitoring for your system…
“If you’re going to alarm the roof cavity, don’t just arm the manhole, because the thin ceiling panels are no match if a crim wants to kick through the ceiling and drop down into a room”
This forum member is absolutely correct; if you’re going to alarm your house for back to base monitoring, you want blanket coverage. A significant proportion of break-ins (don’t worry … not the largest proportion) are conducted by someone known to the homeowner, or someone that has investigated the property first.
“Will the cheaper kits be any good, or will they go off falsely and have other issues?”
Another commenter who has personal experience with self-installed cheap alarms (without back to base alarm monitoring), recounted how the alarm slowly deteriorated in function. First it started going off at 4am (yeouch!); then refused to recognise the door trigger switch; and after a while it came up with an error code that wasn’t in the handbook … which was barely legible anyway.
“The police won’t respond to an alarm being triggered, only reports from real people who can verify a breach in security”
This is correct … unfortunately for both you and your neighbours, if you install a home alarm system and forego your back to base alarm monitoring, your alarm could be sounding for as many hours as it takes for you to come home. False alarms are a fact of life, which is why police response to an alarm activation doesn’t make sense … but having a neutral back to base alarm monitoring company ring you to check, then go investigate themselves, does make sense.
“There are reliable systems out there but most are designed to be connected to the telephone system, so you need a licensed person to install them”
This is absolutely correct. Pacific Security Technology has a nationally issued Security Master License number, and so should any back to base alarm monitoring company, and especially installer, that you utilise.